The Industry Innovation Report
NASA, DARPA To Launch Nuclear Rocket To Orbit By Early 2026
NASA and the U.S. military plan to launch a nuclear-powered spacecraft to Earth orbit in late 2025 or early 2026. The project, known as DRACO ("Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations"), aims to give an in-space test to nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP),...
Waymo Taps The Brakes On Its Autonomous-Trucking Project
Six years after launching its autonomous-truck program, Waymo has said it’s decided to focus more on developing its ridesharing ambitions using its self-driving cars and minivans. The California-based, Alphabet-owned company said its decision to effectively put...
Smithsonian Adds Autonomous Vehicle To Its Museum
Nuro’s first generation autonomous shuttle prototype R1 has been added to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History as part of Earth Day 2023. The R1 was introduced in 2018 and was built to carry not passengers but goods. It gave Nuro the ability to see...
Battery Shortage Forces GM To Pause Commercial EV Production
General Motors has idled production of some of its electric vehicles due to a battery shortage. BrightDrop—a GM startup brand that's building last-mile delivery vans for companies like FedEx and Verizon—has stopped building EVs at its plant in Ingersoll,...
EV Chargers Could Be A Serious Target For Hackers
Given that EV chargers must be connected, securing them is important. However, research by Sandia National Laboratories indicates that thus far, EV charger companies haven’t done the best job at protecting their systems. Researchers investigated a variety of...
Drivers, Teamsters Want To Put Brakes On Use Of Automated Trucks In CA
Dozens of truck drivers and teamsters rallied in San Francisco Friday. They are concerned about the possibility that self-driving trucks could soon be on California roads, and they want to put the brakes on the testing and deployment of self-driving vehicles. Today's...
Lego Robot Used To Make DNA Structures For Tiny Machines More Quickly
A robot made of Lego can quickly perform an important step for creating machines made of DNA. “This started as a final project in an undergraduate lab course,” says Rizal Hariadi at Arizona State University, who tasked his class with building tools using...
Tesla Electric Pickup Truck Starts Rolling Off The Assembly Line
Tesla says its first production Cybertruck electric pickup has rolled off the assembly line, nearly two years behind the original schedule. The company tweeted a photo on Saturday showing scores of workers in helmets and yellow vests surrounding the truck. “First...
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Deals Send Nikola Stock Skyward
Nikola’s stock experienced a sharp increase following the announcement that the hydrogen fuel cell electric truck company has entered into two major deals for its vehicles. Of the two large hydrogen fuel cell deals, the first was with BayoTech, a small-scale H2...
Kodiak Pilots Autonomous Truck Roadside Inspection Program
Autonomous trucking company Kodiak Robotics said it is the first to pilot the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s enhanced inspection system, which allows self-driving trucks to pre-clear roadside inspections. CVSA approved the Enhanced Commercial...
