The Innovation Report
Honda: Hydrogen Semi Trucks Make The Case For Fuel Cells
from Digital Trends Honda remains committed to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, but the market for those vehicles remains limited. So Honda is looking at other uses for fuel cells — including commercial trucks. To show how that could work, Honda converted a semi truck to...
New Spacecraft To Visit ISS
With its perpetually upturned pectoral fins, and blunt nose, the Dream Chaser looks more like a killer whale than a spacecraft. But unlike an orca, the Dream Chaser will soon be going to orbit: it’s set to take food and supplies to the International...
Retired GM Engineer: Hydrogen Can Power Hot Rods
Mike Copeland takes a sharp right onto Grand River Avenue in Brighton, shifts gears and punches the throttle of his cherry red 1948 Chevrolet pickup. It's a warm, sunny day in early May, and the 67-year-old Copeland flies down the road with the windows wide-open to...
With AVs On The Road, Researchers Study Adding 4th Traffic Light
Anyone who has gotten behind a wheel knows the feeling of being stuck at a red light, and researchers are working on ways to reduce that occurrence. One way to do this is by changing traffic signals. A Detroit police officer is credited with adding the yellow light to...
Transportation Department Seeks AI Solutions For Transit Infrastructure
The Department of Transportation aims to incorporate artificial intelligence throughout the nation’s transportation infrastructure, seeking automated systems that can specifically aid in lowering long-term infrastructure costs and improve efficiency in transportation...
Time For Heavy Duty Hybrid Pickup Trucks To Replace Diesel
When full-size pickup trucks were first equipped with diesel engines in the late 1970s, it wasn’t part of an effort to post huge performance numbers. Instead, General Motors’ much-maligned 350-cubic-inch diesel V8 was tuned primarily to sip fuel and spun out a paltry...
Washington State Deploys Drone To Combat Graffiti
Washington state is readying a $1 million anti-vandalism project, part of which involves testing a $30,000 drone that paints over graffiti. Signed into law on March 15 by Gov. Jay Inslee, the “Graffiti Abatement and Reduction Pilot Program” is scheduled to go into...
Will AI Replace Doctors Who Read X-rays
How good would an algorithm have to be to take over your job? It’s a new question for many workers amid the rise of ChatGPT and other AI programs that can hold conversations, write stories and even generate songs and images within...
Germany: Solar Power Output Jumps To Record Highs
Solar farms produced over 60% of Germany's electricity for several hours a day over the past week as bright sunshine combined with new solar generation capacity helped accelerate the country's energy transition away from fossil fuels. During the week to May 13,...
Former Tesla Engineer Designed Battery Making $25K EV Possible
Lithium-ion battery prices have dropped nearly 90% since 2008, the year that Tesla released its first electric car. Since batteries are the most expensive part of an EV, that’s a big part of the reason that the cars are finally getting close to price parity with gas...
