Category: Automotive

Porsche and Boeing are partnering to develop ‘premium’ electric flying cars

The electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) industry is heating up, with a lot of companies finding dance partners for what looks like could be a boom industry — provided the significant technical and regulatory hurdles still standing in the way of viable commercial consumer air travel are overcome. Now, automaker Porsche is throwing its… Continue reading Porsche and Boeing are partnering to develop ‘premium’ electric flying cars

Sources: Lilium is looking to raise up to $500M for its electric flying taxis

“Flying cars” — airborne vehicles designed for urban and other short-distance commutes to replace conventional private automobiles — are (at best) still years away from being a reality, with significant safety, technology and business model hurdles to clear before they ever hit the sky. Now, sources tell us that one of more promising startups in… Continue reading Sources: Lilium is looking to raise up to $500M for its electric flying taxis

Northwestern University Partners with Via to Provide New On-Demand Safe Ride Program

Published September 19, 2019 5:37 pm, Via NYC
Northwestern University Partners with Via to Provide New On-Demand Safe Ride Program
The partnership allows students to book a Via on-demand for free, providing more vehicles and driver hours than the university’s previous Safe Ride program.

September 18, 2019 (CHICAGO, ILLINOIS) — Via, the world’s leading provider and developer of on-demand public mobility solutions, today announced a new partnership with Northwestern University, one of the country’s leading private research and teaching universities. Starting this year, Northwestern students will be able to hail a free Via during the evening hours, safely shuttling students around the university’s Evanston, IL campus.

The decision to partner with Via comes in response to student feedback about Northwestern’s existing Safe Ride program, and after examining ridership data over the past two years. By partnering with Via, students will see a 38 percent increase in the total number of hours that drivers are available, utilizing an increased number of dedicated and trained drivers each night.

Via’s partnership with Northwestern marks the company’s third high-profile university deployment in America. Via currently operates dynamic, on-demand student shuttles at both Harvard University and Northeastern University.

“Via has a demonstrated record as a transportation partner with other universities,” said Julie Payne-Kirchmeier, Northwestern’s interim vice president for Student Affairs. “We are confident they will create a ride service that is more available and able to meet the needs of our Northwestern students.”

Isabel Dobbel, president of Northwestern’s Associated Student Government, said wait times and past app difficulties have disproportionately affected low-income students on campus.

“Many times, students would request a private ride, paid for by themselves, through a separate app,” Dobbel said. “The Safe Rides partnership with Via shows potential to improve the user side of the experience, remove a difficult barrier for low-income students and increase access to safe and free transportation on campus.”

Northwestern’s partnership with Via means Safe Ride will continue to provide unlimited free rides for all undergraduate and graduate students, increasing campus safety by making it easier than ever to request a ride on-demand. As in years past, the Safe Ride program will operate seven days a week from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. during the fall, winter and spring quarters. Under the partnership, more vehicles and driver times will be available to students, a move designed to decrease wait times.

Safe Ride drivers will be paid an hourly rate instead of per ride. Drivers will be carefully selected with preference given to those with the highest ratings, positive customer feedback and the best driving records.

“We are delighted to partner with Northwestern University to bring a new level of convenience and efficiency to the school’s Safe Ride program,” said Daniel Ramot, co-founder and CEO of Via. “Students shouldn’t have to think twice about getting around campus safely. We’re looking forward to providing students with a smart, efficient and sustainable campus transportation solution.”

Riders can download the Via app (iOS and Android) to hail vehicle directly from their smartphone. Via’s advanced algorithms will enable multiple riders to seamlessly share the vehicle. The powerful technology will direct passengers to the nearby pickup point, allowing for quick and efficient shared trips without lengthy detours, or inconvenient fixed routes and schedules.

Via has been tapped by cities, universities and transportation players around the world to help re-engineer public transit from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via now has more than 80 launched and pending deployments in more than 20 countries, providing more than 60 million rides to date. To learn more about Via, visit www.platform.ridewithvia.com.

About Via

Via is re-engineering public transit, from a regulated system of rigid routes and schedules to a fully dynamic, on-demand network. Via’s mobile app connects multiple passengers who are headed the same way, allowing riders to seamlessly share a premium vehicle. First launched in New York City in September 2013, the Via platform operates in the United States and in Europe through its joint venture with Mercedes-Benz Vans, ViaVan. Via’s technology is also deployed worldwide through dozens of partner projects with public transportation agencies, private transit operators, taxi fleets, private companies, and universities, seamlessly integrating with public transit infrastructure to power cutting-edge on-demand mobility. For more information, visit www.platform.ridewithvia.com.

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New Conductive Epoxy for Space-Environment Assembly

Master Bond has expanded its range of adhesives which have passed the NASA low outgassing test with a new two-component silver-filled conductive epoxy, EP21TDCS-LO, aimed at dealing with harsh conditions like temperature and pressure extremes experienced in space-environment assemblies. According to Master Bond, electromechanical assemblies in this sort of environment  rely strongly on how robust… Continue reading New Conductive Epoxy for Space-Environment Assembly

Michelin : Déclaration du nombre total des droits de vote et du nombre d’actions composant le capital social

10 octobre 2019Déclaration du nombre total des droits de vote et du nombre d’actionscomposant le capital social(articles L.233-8 du Code de commerce et 223-16du règlement général de l’Autorité des marchés financiers)* Compte tenu de 833 625 actions en auto détentionCOMPAGNIE GÉNÉRALE DES ÉTABLISSEMENTS MICHELINSociété en commandite par actionsAu capital de € 359 770 848855 200 887… Continue reading Michelin : Déclaration du nombre total des droits de vote et du nombre d’actions composant le capital social

Renault CEO tells staff Nissan alliance is key, not personnel

PARIS, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Renault's CEO Thierry Bollore, evoking reports of his potential departure, told staff on Thursday that the future of the carmaker's alliance with Nissan was what mattered, not people, according to two company sources.
A senior management shake-up at Renault is on the cards, a source close to the French government told Reuters on Wednesday, after Le Figaro newspaper reported that chairman Jean-Dominique Senard was poised to kick off a process to replace Bollore.
Speaking to staff on Thursday in an internal video exchange, Bollore referred to the media buzz and said that what mattered for the company was the alliance, and that it was “not a question of people”, the Renault sources said.

#aCoffeeWithCarlosTavares: Meeting n°6: Autonomy – Interview with Luc Julia

In order to support the Group’s shaping of its sustainable and profitable growth, the Chairman of the Managing Board is engaged in a dialogue with experts from civil society. Among the 7 mega trends that will shape the future of mobility, the sixth one is Autonomy, about which Carlos Tavares spoke with Luc Julia, expert… Continue reading #aCoffeeWithCarlosTavares: Meeting n°6: Autonomy – Interview with Luc Julia

ID Light feature inside VW ID 3 electric car communicates without clutter

With its first ground-up electric effort, Volkswagen chose to produce a car that is conventionally practical while embracing the high-tech approach taken with many EVs. One of the ID 3's unique features is an intelligent LED-based communication system designed to deliver alerts and status updates in a simple, easily interpreted manner.

The system is inspired by the LEDs you find on smart home devices. It illuminates in different colors and patterns for different notifications, and reacts to voice prompts with directional animations to indicate whether it is listening to the driver or passenger for additional input.

The LED strip is integrated with just about every vehicle system, including navigation, driver assistance features, infotainment and even the powertrain.

While it may sound like something out of “Independence Day,” the interplay is far more innocuous—not to mention productive. Per VW, strategic lighting design in a car's interior can lend it additional character. Long-time VW fans surely remember the company's use of light blue gauge illumination as a long-standing interior signature.

“For all its innovativeness, ID. Light functions intuitively by using familiar colours. This use of light, makes the vehicle more ‘personable’ and is a very simple and intuitive way of communicating,” says VW UX designer Valentina Wilhelm.

Volkswagen included some of the basic animations in a feature overview released Wednesday. Entry and exit are accompanied by animations reminiscent of a television being turned on and off. Door locking is indicated by an inward red animation; unlocking goes the opposite direction and appears in green. An upcoming turn is indicated by a blue effect running in the desired direction, and an emergency braking indicator is a full-width flash of red. Other notifications modes include incoming telephone calls and battery charge status.

The ID 3 will launch in Europe next year, and while it might eventually be brought to Canada, no U.S. distribution is likely. The first vehicle member of the ID family, a model to be called ID 4 (or ID 4X), hasn't yet been detailed, but look for ID models to share some common interface traits—and this might very well be one of them.