Important Innovations Collection

New Cobalt Free, Less Expensive Battery                                                       Source:  Tesla On Model 3's in China Tesla has made an important move on the battery front in China.  It's about to start selling Model 3 vehicles in China equipped with much less expensive, cobalt-free lithium ion phosphate (LFP) batteries.  China-made Model 3's currently use nickel-manganese-cobalt batteries.  The starting price in China with government incentives on Model 3 is $39,900.  Reuters says the Tesla announcement about the battery upgrade may come tomorrow. EV Marketplace In the electric vehicle marketplace, the technology race is all about bringing down battery costs and extending range.  Cobalt is one of the most expensive metals in the world.  Taking that cost out of the battery will be a big savings for Tesla. Tesla will use the China made LFP batteries in all Model 3 vehicles made in China.  That will significantly bring down the cost of producing the vehicles and

Discovery of  Underground Lake & Nearby Salt Ponds                   Source:  European Space Agency's Mars Express Water Could Mean Some Form of Life Exists on Mars There may be life on Mars.  Scientists have found evidence of a large underground lake and a number of small salt ponds nearby.  This discovery raises the possibility that some form of "Martian" life exists on Mars.  Scientists say where there is water, there is life. ESA's Mars Express Spacecraft The new science comes from Europe.  Italian scientists used data from the European Space Agency's Mars Express Spacecraft.  They specifically analyzed data from the Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding instrument (the MARSIS). They determined that the lake is large - 18.6 miles by 12.4 miles.  The scientists says that the subglacial lake could have important consequences for "astrobiology and the presence of habitable niches on Mars". The extra finding of a number of nearby

New Plane With World's Largest Engines                                                       Source:  Boeing FAA Clearance For GE Engines The Boeing 777X is the world's largest twin engine passenger plane.  General Electric GE 9X engines for the 777X just received FAA certification.  It is the largest engine ever put on a plane.  Its diameter is wider than a 737 fuselage.  The engine is huge but very efficient.  It cuts emissions by 30% and operational costs by 10%. This clears a big hurdle to bring the jet to market.  After thousands of hours of test flight hours, the GE 9x has been given FAA part 33 certification. Big Boost for GE This is a big boost for GE.  GE has orders and commitments for 600 plus GE 9X engines.  It has delivered 8 GE 9X test engines and 2 test spares for Boeing's four 777X test planes. Long Journey In 2019, GE found wear in a part of the engine, which it fixed.  This will be new business for GE and Boeing, which expects to put the 777X into service i

Unprecedented Amount of New Energy Innovation                                             Source:  SAIC-GM MINI EV Hydrogen, Electric, Hybrid Vehicles China's biggest automaker SAIC Motors plans to introduce an unprecedented 100 new energy models with its partners by 2025.  The new energy vehicles include hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles.  The hydrogen and battery electric will have zero emissions.  60 of the new energy models will be SAIC's own brands.  10 will be hydrogen and 20 plug-in hybrid models.   Beijing International Auto Show The announcement was made by SAIC President Wang Xiaoqui while the Beijing International Auto Show is underway. It is the first large, in-person global auto show since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.  SAIC partners with Volkswagen and GM, both of which have big plans for selling electric vehicles in China, which is the world's largest auto market. The GM-SAIC partnership has already resulted in th

Neutral Nation's Value of Self-Reliance                                       Source:  Swiss Hornet Fighter Jet Extremely Close and Innovative Vote For the Swiss, armed neutrality is a long standing tradition.  In an extremely close vote, Swiss voters have backed a government plan to buy top of the line innovation in jet fighters, to the tune of $6.5 billion. The vote in favor was 50.2% and it is binding.  It's a sign of our globally turbulent times. And, for the Swiss, this is a case of the virtue of self-reliance in the supersonic and coming hypersonic age of fighting jets. Virtue of Self Reliance in Defense Supersonic jets and fighter jets can traverse Switzerland in under ten minutes.  The Swiss government argued that it is now necessary to replace their aging fleet of 30 F/A-18 Hornet jets that go out of service in 2030.  Switzerland is a neutral country and may have no apparent enemies but global conditions rapidly change.  And Swiss voters have agreed with the government

Chinas Human Horizons HiPhiX Source:  Human Horizons "Super SUV" Debuts at Beijing International Auto Show What may very well be the most intelligent, connected, advanced technology laden, electric luxury SUV just debuted at the Beijing International Auto Show.  It's called the HiPhiX and is the invention of Human Horizons of Shanghai.  The company says it combines cutting edge innovation, sustainable manufacturing and state-of-the-art design "to create the world's 1st continuously evolving Super SUV" Intelligent Mobility The vehicle is the world's first touch-free, door handle-less production vehicle.  It has: Facial recognition entry 5 G-V2X communications network Level 4 Autonomous Valet Parking (AVP) 562 built in sensors capable of continuous monitoring of its systems, occupants and surroundings "Largest" number of voice controlled functions in any car Over the air updates for continuous improvements of all the car's systems The vehicle

New Space Agreement Between US and Italy Source:  NASA Focus: Technology For 2024 Artemis Mission to the Moon The US and Italy have signed an agreement to explore space together.  Specifically, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Italy's Undersecretary to the Presidency Riccardo Fraccaro have agreed to cooperate on NASA's Artemis mission that will land US astronauts on the Moon.  Other space projects are also covered in the agreement.  According to the CEO of the Italian aerospace and defense group Leonardo, the agreement will generate at least $1.16 billion for the Italian space industry. Artemis and Italy's Technology NASA's Artemis mission aims to land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface in 2024.  NASA wants to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon by the end of this decade.  Leonardo CEO Allesandro Profumo says Italy will be making a significant technology contribution by developing habitable surface modules for human explorers and by dev

 New Flying Car Unveiled                                                       Source:  Xpeng Electric Vehicle Market Hot The Beijing Auto Show 2020 opened today and it is a rare, in-person trade show event in the Covid-19 worried world.  The show stopper was the unveiling of a new electric flying car by the Alibaba-funded China startup Xpeng.  The all-electric vehicle has eight propellers and a capsule-like frame that can sit two.  It's one of a series of flying vehicles that the electric automaker Xpeng is developing.  The prototype at the moment can reach 16.4 feet in altitude.  Xpeng says the future of vehicles will include smart mobility autonomous driving features and other technologies that will create "a multidimensional ecosystem that will be very exciting". China Auto Market Strongly Recovering China is the world's largest automotive market and it is in recovery mode from the Covid lockdowns.  Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida, during a news conference via satellite

 2035 Ban on New Gas Powered Cars                                                            Source:  VW VW Unveils New Electric SUV In California by 2035, new, gasoline powered cars will not be allowed to be sold.  California Governor Gavin Newsome just signed an executive order to that effect.  At least one major Detroit automaker is cheering the move.  Ford says it is proud to stand by California.  Ford is in the process of electrifying its biggest brands including the F-150 pickup truck and the iconic Mustang Mach E. VW ID4 Meanwhile, Volkswagen has just unveiled a new, all-electric SUV for the US market.  The ID4 is priced just under $40,000 and has a range on a single charge of 250 miles.  Governor Newsome's order coincides with that of 15 nations that have similar goals of banning gas powered cars and supporting clean, green travel vehicles.  It demonstrates that government regulations and the heavy financial investments that global automakers have put into the development o

Spotify Founder/CEO To Invest in European Tech Startups                                                       Source:  Spotify Seed Money For European Entrepreneurs The founder and CEO of Europe's most valuable technology company - Spotify's Daniel Ek - is building a European Silicon Valley. Speaking at a technology conference, he said he will invest one-third of his personal wealth - 1 billion euros or $1.2 billion - into European technology startups.  The highly successful entrepreneur says he will focus on "moonshot projects" in biotech, materials science and machine learning. Spotify 37 year old Ek's Spotify is a media services provider and audio streaming platform that recently offered a series of podcasts by former First Lady Michelle Obama. Spotify just announced an upcoming podcast series with Prince Harry and Megan Markle.  Ek routinely flies 17 hours from his home in Stockholm to San Francisco, which is one of Spotify's headquarters.  He says he'

Tesla Rapidly Expanding Production in China                                             Source:  Tesla Shanghai Tesla Model Y and Model 3 Production Tesla Giga Shanghai facility is rapidly expanding production.  It is targeting the production of 200.000 Model Y's annually and 450,000 Model 3's  Those two vehicles will combine to produce 650,000 vehicles yearly by Tesla's new Giga Shanghai facility.  The Tesla Model Ys will begin production in November in Shanghai.  A fully  functional Model 3 factory has been built in record time at the Shanghai plant. And a second phase of construction is just about complete for the Model Y all-electric crossover production facility. What Does This Mean For Tesla in China? The stakes for Tesla expanding production in China are huge.  The Model Y production in the gigafactory could greatly expand Tesla's reach into the Chinese mainstream auto market. The Model 3 is the first vehicle that Tesla produced in China and it is very successful

Licensed, Patented, In Production                                                       Source:  Boeing "Magic" Wand That Zaps Viruses Onboard Planes & Elsewhere  Boeing has designed and developed an ultraviolet (UV) wand that quickly kills bacteria and viruses, including COVID-19 in airplane interiors.  Boeing just entered into a patent and technology licensing agreement with Florida based Healthe, Inc. to quickly manufacture and sell the technology to airlines and others.  The device is handheld and, according to Boeing, rapidly sanitizes passenger cabins and cockpit interiors killing any viruses.  The commercial wand is designed to help airlines and other public access areas combat COVID transmission, protect the public and restore public confidence. UV Wand Available This Fall Boeing says the technology should be available for airlines to buy by late fall.  The new UV wand uses 222 nanometer UVC light that research indicates kills pathogens.  Boeing says an entire fli

Tesla Battery Day & Annual Shareholders' Meeting 2020                            Source:  Tesla 2020 Shareholders' Meeting New, Breakthrough Battery Tesla's 2020 Annual Shareholders' Meeting and Battery Day did not disappoint.  CEO Elon Musk revealed that he has a $25,000 electric car in the works that will be fully autonomous.  The EV, which hasn't been named yet, will be on the market in three years.  The breakthrough price, Musk said, has been made possible by his new breakthrough battery technology. Big Battery Upgrade - The 4680 Musk's next generation battery is a very big deal.  At one-half the cost, the 4680 delivers six times more power, provides 5 time more energy and expands the driving range by 16%.  Production on it has already started.  The battery's cost savings and increased power will impact the entire Tesla product line over time.  Tesla has brought down battery costs from $600 kWh to $150kWh.  According to The Wall Street Journal, to re

Sweden Based EV Maker Expanding Globally                                              Source:  Polestar Taking on Tesla Polestar, the premier EV manufacturer based in Sweden and owned by China's Geely, is expanding its market penetration into Asia and the Middle East and doubling the number of showrooms it has in current markets.  It started producing the Polestar 2 EV sedans in China in 2020 and is selling them in the US, Europe and China.  The 5-door, Polestar 2 electric fastback starts at $59,900. Polestar Technology Polestar 2 has two electric motors, front and rear and gets 275 miles on a single charge.  It goes from 0 to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds and has power of 300 kw/408 hp.  This EV adjusts itself to the owner.  It recognizes their voice via their smartphone and adapts by implementing their favorite home screen apps and preferred seating position. Plans Going Forward Polestar is designed to take on Tesla.  CEO Thomas Ingenlath wants to double the number of global markets they

Employees' Remote Work Working Well                                        Source:  Apple CEO Tim Cook                                              Source:  Apple Workplace Apple To Extend Aspects of Remote Working Permanently Apple CEO Tim Cook is innovating the Apple workplace.  He is very impressed by the remote work being performed by Apple employees.  Speaking at the Atlantic Conference, he said some aspects of remote working will be permanent at Apple long after the pandemic is over. Products On Time During the pandemic, Apple employees created new products such as the latest Apple watches and iPads on time, despite the fact that most were working from home because of COVID-19.  Cook says that he has learned that "some things actually work out well virtually".  He added Apple won't be returning to their old ways of doing business but will be shifting to a more robust, dynamic, hybrid approach that includes virtual and online.  He added there is also great value

Cezeri Successfully Test Flights                                   Source:  Cezeri Flying Car, Baykar  eVTOL Quadcopter Turkey's first flying car, named Cezeri, has successfully completed its first series of test flights.  Tethered and untethered, the 507 pound vehicle rose and hovered 33 feet in the air.  The vehicle is an electric, vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) quadcopter.  The test flights, done by remote control in Istanbul, took place a year and a half after local engineers came up with the concept and started drawing designs. Technology The Cezeri is composed of large quadcopter-like blades with a small, glass enclosed pilot/passenger unit and take-off/landing gear grounded underneath.  It flies entirely on electricity.  It has eight electric motors, propellers and a rechargeable battery.  With three redundant intelligent flight systems, developers say that it will be equipped with AI systems in the future.  The goal is to have it reach a cruising speed of 62 mph, a fl

Road E-Bike for Hill Climbing and Racing Source:  Lamborghini e-bike Made for the Toughness of the Italian Dolomite Alps Lamborghini, the Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs, just launched with Cervelo Cycles of Canada, a state-of-the-art electric road bike for climbing hills and competitive racing.  This bike is designed to raise the performance benchmarks in e-bikes and was specifically created to tackle the steepest uphill and downhill tracks in the Italian Dolomite Alps. This is the ultimate e-bike for biking enthusiasts.  It also comes at the ultimate price-point of $18,000. Very Limited Edition This e-road bike is the limited edition Cervolo Automobili Lamborghini.  There are just 63 bikes to honor the year that Lamborghini was established in 1963.  The $18,000 bike can be bought through Cervelo retailers and distributors. Celebrating Racing History The e-bike is dedicated to the Aventador SVJ, the Lamborghini racing car that set the fastest time record

UFO Caught On Tape Trailing the ISS                                                  Source:  NASA ISS Feed Spacecraft With Speeds of 27,000 km Per Hour NASA's live camera feed from the International Space Station (ISS)  captured, in infrared video, the speeding image of an unidentified flying object chasing the ISS,  The object was a large white orb speeding at 27,000 km per hour (16,777 mph) behind and toward the ISS.  It was visible in the live NASA feed for forty minutes.  It moved upwards, passed the ISS and then faded away.  UFO expert Scott Warring said it is proof of the existence of an alien space vehicle. Is It A Satellite, Meteorite, Unknown Spaceship from Earth or UFO? The object was first spotted leaving the Earth's atmosphere, which suggests it may have launched somewhere near the planet Earth.  It first appeared as a small dot on the screen and then flew closer and closer to the ISS.  Warring says he thinks the aliens controlling the vessel might have been trying

Eye-Catching ZOOX Wins California Testing Permit                                                  Source:  ZOOX ZOOX On the Road With No Human Drivers Amazon, the world's largest online retailer, is aggressively expanding and investing in self-driving technology.  And, it just scored a big win in California. Amazon acquired the autonomous car maker ZOOX in June.  ZOOX just was awarded permission by California state authorities a test permit to drive its self-driving cars on the roads without a human, backup driver onboard.  As you can see in the image, the ZOOX is an eye-catching autonomous vehicle. Next Steps For ZOOX ZOOX will be testing two self-driving vehicles with no human drivers onboard on designated streets near its Foster City, California headquarters.  Other major players like Google's Alphabet parent company's Waymo, China startup AutoX and Nuno have received similar test permits that they are using to test their vehicles.  Self-driving vehicles with no human ba

NASA Solicits Private Companies to Mine the Moon                                             Source:  NASA - Venus Is This The Rise of Planet Snatching? The head of the Russian Space Agency Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, claims that Venus is a Russian planet.  His reasoning is that a Russian spacecraft was the first and only spacecraft to do a soft landing there.  He added Russia wants to send its own new mission to Venus in addition to an already proposed joint venture with the United States called "Venera-D". President Trump, The Planet Snatcher Rogozin is a a former deputy Prime Minister of Russia.  Several months ago, he accused President Donald Trump of planet snatching as the US started a process of developing international accords to govern mining rights and other commercialization of the Moon and planets.  Last week, NASA began seeking private companies that are part of lunar missions to provide NASA with moon dirt and moon rocks and be paid for it. Venus and Life The Rus

UK's Tesco & Manno Aero Drones of Ireland Partner                                                                     Source:  Manno Aero Drone New Tech, Drone Grocery Deliveries to Start in Ireland The world's 3rd largest supermarket/retail group Tesco is partnering with Irish entrepreneur Bobby Healy and his Manno Aero drone company to test home deliveries of groceries by Manno drones, first in Ireland.  Healy's drones are currently following fast food deliveries with their drones.  Tesco is headquartered in the UK. Its CEO Dave Lewis calls drone grocery deliveries the kind of disruptive innovation he wants to do.  Manno is an accomplished drone company and has been delivering medicine during COVID in Ireland.  Tesco CEO Dave Lewis says Manno has the proven capacity to deliver goods with its drones and now he wants to apply it to Tesco operations, specifically for its grocery store customers. Next Steps - Real Fast Orders Tesco will start with delivering a few grocery

A First in the UK                                   Source:  Tesla Megapack  Tesla As An Energy Provider For the first time, a Tesla UK facility composed of six huge, megapack batteries kept the lights on in Britain.  The breakthrough, renewable energy event happened this week.  The Tesla batteries helped balance electricity supply and demand and kept Britain out of the dark. Since March when the pandemic hit with full force, electricity demand in the UK has been very difficult to predict. National Grid The Tesla facility's six giant batteries store energy from renewable energy sources for use at times of peak demand.  A new computer system used by energy utility National Grid in the UK allows the company to tap into new technologies like Tesla batteries in their efforts to balance supply and demand. For National Grid use of green renewable energy is crucial to reach their goal of operating the grid with zero carbon emissions by 2025.  Tesla As An Electric Utility Tesla was awarded

Project to Move Self-Driving Cars Thru Tunnel About Done                          Source:  The Boring Company Vegas Loop Elon Musk's Tunnel Vision - "Embrace Tunnels" Entrepreneur Elon Musk has made major global news in 2020 with his huge SpaceX accomplishments and Tesla leadership in electric vehicles.  He's about to make more news with his tunnel company, The Boring Company.  Musk has almost completed his first operational Loop tunnel under Las Vegas.   In a tweet, Musk said that tunnels under cities with self-driving cars "will feel like warp drive".  That's his description of the future of urban transportation.  For the past year under contract by the city of Las Vegas, Musk has been building an underground loop tunnel system for public use.  It will shuttle passengers in self-driving Tesla cars to destinations in Vegas within minutes. Musk's Vision Tunnels are a key part of Musk's green, driverless urban transit vision along with electric ve

 Just Published by Amazon and Kindle                                             Source:  Amazon  https://amazon.com/author/ekane   Top New Smart Devices, Future Travel Vehicles, Robots My latest e-book "Top New Inventions for 2020's" has just been published by Amazon and Kindle.  If you'd like to be in the know on the top new smart devices, robots and future travel vehicles, this is a book you'll enjoy For a free preview, go to  https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B08J8F2BT1&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_E05yFbTWGJ72H&tag=ejkane2-20

BMW Using Israel's Tactile Mobility Software                                             Source:  Tactile Mobility Making Smart Vehicles, Smarter Starting in 2021, Israel's Tactile Mobility's unique software will be embedded into BMW Group's BMWG.DE next generation vehicles.  The software enables the vehicle to analyze the road surface conditions under the tires to make smarter decisions.  The software uses the vehicles non-visual sensors, such as wheel speed and angle, gear position and RPM to help smart and autonomous vehicles "feel" the road, road dynamics and road conditions. The software detects control, pressure, traction and more. Tactile Mobility Tactile Mobility is a hot startup that last October secured $9 million in funding including from Porsche.  Now, it has a deal with BMW to make BMW vehicles even smarter. Their software provides "an extra sense of touch" between the tires, the road and road conditions through tactile sensing technolog

 GM CEO Mary Barra Very Interested in Building Flying Cars                                                Source:  Flying Car Concept Growth in Aerial Urban Transport Fascinating news from GM CEO Mary Barra.  GM has an interest in the flying car market.  They're particularly interested in the aerial taxi market. At a RBC conference, CEO Barra said electric flying cars fit in with GM's development of electric vehicles and its Ultium advanced electric battery business.  Barra said the strength and flexibility of GM's Ultium battery systems open doors for GM that include aerial mobility. eVTOLs GM is specifically interested in building electric, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles or eVTOLs.  These vehicles use electric motors rather than jet engines.  The vehicles take off and land like a helicopter and don't need airport runways.  When regulations permit, eVTOLs will be able to takeoff from driveways.  To quote GM, urban air mobility is an area "we're really e

Mercedes EQC Debuting in India Luxury, Power & Performance With No Emissions Mercedes-Benz has one of the hottest electric vehicles in the global marketplace.  The company's first, all electric SUV - the EQC - is so hot and in such demand in Europe that Mercedes is postponing its debut in the United States until 2021.  The EQC is going to hit a very big market - lndia - in late September.  The Mercedes EQC gets 450 km on a single, 40 minute charge.  It's the first of a sub-brand -EQ - under which Mercedes will launch its electric cars. Mercedes says it will have 10 brand new, EQ models by 2022. Based on the GLC midsize crossover model, the EQC directly competes with the Audi e-tron, Jaguar 1-Pace and the Tesla Model X. The base price of the vehicle in Europe is 67,900 euros. Power and Performance The interior of the vehicle is luxurious.  An automotive expert in India called it the equivalent of a "7-star hotel".  What differentiates the EV is its powerful, dual m

Incredible Scientific Finding: Gas That Signals Life on Venus Source:  NASA - Venus Search for Life in Space  Space scientists have just discovered a huge surprise in their search for other forms of life in space.  Unexpected phosphine gas has been detected in the clouds 33 to 39 miles above Venus.  The gas suggests to top global scientists that some form of alien life, perhaps at the tiny microbial level, may exist there.  The finding is astounding and there is no conclusive decision about what it might be yet. Venus because of its incredibly harsh, hot and punishing environment, has not been a target by NASA and other space scientists' search for life in space.  But, space scientists say the phosphine gas finding may be the most important finding yet for the presence of other forms of life in space. Space Biosignature The findings are from an international team of scientists lead by University of Cambridge and Cardiff University in the United Kingdom. They call it a legitimate ca