The Innovation Report
Postal Service Pushed to Get More EVs
In one of his first actions in January, President Biden announced an ambitious plan that he said would create jobs and reduce the federal government's greenhouse gas emissions. "The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles," he said Jan. 25, "which...
Waymo Says Autonomous-car AI Would Avoid Fatal Human Crashes
Alphabet's self-driving car unit Waymo is claiming that its artificial intelligence could have avoided or mitigated the majority of a set of fatal accidents. In a white paper published Monday, the company simulated 72 deadly-crashes that occurred between in 2008 and...
Tesla Owner Spends $160 Driving Cross-country in All-electric 2021 Mustang Mach-E
During that whole trip, Sergio Rodriguez spent 586 minutes charging at a cost of $159.85. He charged exclusively at DC fast chargers en route, with no overnight charging. "None of the hotels outside California had any" chargers. A feature...
GM Extends Shutdown Citing Chip Shortage
General Motors will keep two of its assembly plants shuttered until at least mid-April, another until the end of March and will idle a fourth, all due to a severe shortage of semiconductor chips used in various vehicle parts. But the automaker is doing everything...
Volkswagen and Argo AI Plan to Launch a Self-Driving Electric Taxi in 2025
Volkswagen plans to launch a self-driving electric van for urban ride-hailing service in 2025, deploying a commercial version of its ID. Buzz, an electric minivan inspired by the iconic 1960s VW Microbus. It will be the first VW vehicle to use the autonomous-driving...
Sea-Tac Airport to Test Anti-drone Tech
The Federal Aviation Administration this week named Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as one of five airports nationwide to help it develop drone detection and mitigation equipment. Drones can pose a danger to planes, both in the air and on the ground. It is an...
A Better Forecast for Climate Tech
There’s a new wave of interest in what has been renamed “climate tech,” and lots of money is once again flowing. Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy Ventures in January committed an additional $1 billion to investing in startups that can reduce carbon emissions, and one...
Biden Makes Cybersecurity Top Priority
The Biden administration is calling cybersecurity a “top priority” that requires both a diplomatic and military response from the federal government. Following the SolarWinds breach that has impacted nine agencies so far, the White House, in its Interim National...
T-Mobile Unveils 5G Wireless Routers for Remote Workers
With the work-from-home phenomenon becoming more of a long-term reality, T-Mobile is looking to capitalize on its 5G wireless network — expanded thanks in large part to its Sprint merger last year — to drum up more business from large companies. The Bellevue, Wash.,...
Volvo to Sell Only EVs by 2030
Volvo had already announced plans to convert its entire lineup into electric vehicles or hybrids. But this decision goes a step further, eliminating hybrids, which use more fuel-efficient gasoline powertrains than traditional internal combustion engines. General...
