The Innovation Report
Spacex To Launch 144 Missions Next Year
SpaceX intends to boost its unprecedented launch cadence to dizzying new heights. Elon Musk's company has already launched 74 orbital missions in 2023, more than any private outfit ever has in a single year. (The previous record was 61, set by SpaceX in 2022.) But...
MIT Develops AI To Make Robots Expert Packers
Some things come easy to humans but are vexing problems for machines. You can probably stack groceries in a trunk or set a table with little trouble, but a robot stumbles over the numerous constraints we process without hesitation. A team at MIT has created a...
Cruise Updates Its AVs To Better Recognize Emergency Vehicles
While General Motors’ autonomous vehicles subsidiary, Cruise, has been expanding to more and more regions, and gaining more legislative freedom, some have raised concerns. In particular, first responders have raised alarm bells after several awkward, disruptive, and...
GM And Honda Team Up On Autonomous Ride Service For Japan
General Motors and Honda, along with Cruise — GM’s autonomous driving subsidiary — have agreed to create a driverless ride-hailing company in Japan. The company will use the Cruise Origin autonomous vehicle to give rides in Tokyo, Japan’s largest city. The companies...
Most Americans Unlikely To Choose EVs
Even as electric vehicles dominate headlines and hot new models hit the market, most Americans aren't interested in giving up gasoline. In a recent poll conducted by Yahoo Finance and Ipsos, 57% of respondents said they were not likely to choose an EV...
NYC Launches Smart City Testbed
New York City has devised a new way to pilot emerging technologies. On Wednesday, the city’s Office of Technology and Innovation launched the “NYC Smart City Testbed Program,” an initiative allowing city agencies to collaborate with companies and academic institutions...
GOP States Raise Fees On Electric Cars As Gas Tax Revenue Falls
At least eight states, all but one controlled by Republicans, now require drivers of electric vehicles to pay a hefty annual registration fee of $200 or more. GOP lawmakers say it’s an effort to make up for lost gas tax revenue. EV advocates say it’s an effort to...
A Flying Car That Anyone Can Use Will Soon Go On Sale
Electrically powered vertical-take-off-and-landing (evtol) aircraft—flying cars, to the layman—are an idea whose time has not quite yet come, but is fast approaching. Many firms are jostling with each other, offering designs that range from scaled-up multirotor...
What Is IoT SAFE – And How Does It Shore-Up IoT For A Shot At Massive Scale?
We are a little tardy with this, but it is worth bookmarking in time for the upcoming RCR Wireless report and webinar on smart meters (October 19; sign-up here!), and memorialising for future IoT articles and reports. The GSMA’s new IoT SAFE standard, launched back in...
This Compact Robotic Tank Is Designed To Shoot Down Drones
On the second floor of the Walter E. Washington convention center in the District of Columbia sits a robot tanklet, designed to hunt drones. The uncrewed vehicle is the TRX SHORAD, and it is part of the display from defense giant General Dynamics Land Systems,...
