The Innovation Report
Gasoline vs. Electric Cars: A Plug-In Hybrid Can Give You Best Of Both Worlds
Despite the growing popularity of traditional electric vehicles, not everyone is ready for one. There's another option that's a good first step for many drivers: plug-in hybrids. "A plug-in hybrid is the gateway drug for EVs," says Amelia Dalgaard, an automotive...
US Ending Electric Vehicle Carpool Lane Access Program
The federal government is barring states from allowing electric vehicles and other clean cars to use carpool lanes without meeting vehicle occupancy requirements starting October 1, California officials said on Wednesday. California Governor Gavin Newsom said single...
A Chameleon’s ‘Ballistic Tongue’ May Inspire Blood Clot-Clearing Robots
The sticky, slimy tongues of chameleons and salamanders may not sound like a great inspiration for engineering projects or medical innovations. But according to researchers at the University of South Florida, the same biological mechanics used to capture and devour...
Why Some Planes Are Now Flying Without Pilots Onboard
The shift towards unmanned planes is driven mainly by cost efficiency and the need to address pilot shortage issues. Operating unmanned planes can significantly reduce labor costs, and they can also help mitigate the risk of human error, which is a leading cause of...
Smart Mobility Today: 8 September 2025
There has always been a tug of war between humans and nature, and nature more often wins. In this week's Smart Mobility Today, listen to stories about how researchers and inventors are using science and technology to find solutions to the constant pull between us and...
Drones Blasting AC/DC And Scarlett Johansson Are Helping Biologists Protect Cattle From Wolves
For millennia humans have tried to scare wolves away from their livestock. Most of them didn’t have drones. But a team of biologists working near the California-Oregon border do, and they're using them to blast AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck,” movie clips and live...
How Autoworkers Are Retraining For The Robot Revolution
General Motors Co. worker Annie Ignaczak spent years walking in circles on concrete factory floors, assembling the same parts and counting down hundreds of pieces she and her coworkers needed to finish before lunch. "You're doing the same movement hundreds, if not...
Irvine Deploys Robots To Scout Sidewalks For Accessibility Issues
If Pixar’s Wall-E and Eve had a kid, it might look a lot like Smokey and Turbo — two white, tread-wheeled service robots with big blue eyes that can light up into smiles or even heart shapes. Aim a camera at them, and they cock their heads as if they’re posing. The...
Calfire Partners With Sikorsky To Evaluate Autonomous Capabilities For S-70i Firehawk Firefighting Operations
The California state fire agency is partnering with rotorcraft manufacturer Sikorsky to explore how autonomous vertical-lift solutions can improve wildfire response. Under a five-year initiative announced on 3 September, Sikorsky and CalFire plan to test the...
37 To Lose Jobs As Holland Battery Plant Closes
In a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification letter filed with the state, Natron Energy, Inc. said it is closing both its manufacturing plant at 70 W. 48th St. near I-196 in Holland and its facility in California. A total of 95 employees, including 37 in...
