Important Innovations Collection

D A ILY INNOVATION BRIEF   By Journalists Edward  Kane & Marya nne Kane   DARPA's WIRELESS INTERNET FOR ENERGY                                            Source:  DARPA & Stock DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, and Raytheon are developing a wireless internet for energy delivery.  It's being developed for US military energy needs but has significant potential to go into everyday use for consumers and business.  Here's what we know: Called POWER or the Persistent Optical Wireless Energy Relay DARPA just awarded Raytheon $10 million to develop it It's a wireless internet network for energy distribution initially for the US military Purpose is to cut US military's dependence on fossil fuel delivery and storage Big deal because of the potential civilian utilization such as having "the cloud"...

   D A ILY INNOVATION BRIEF                 By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane PEUGEOT'S INCEPTION CONCEPT: FUTURE OF DRIVING                                                       Source:  Peugeot For Peugeot, the Inception concept, just unveiled in London, showcases the simpler, more refined design approach that will be showcased in its new models starting in 2025 But the EV showcases a lot more:  the future of driving surrounded by brand new, futuristic technologies, including: Charging by induction, which is wireless charging by driving over an electrified pad Next-G intelligent cockpit Steering by wire that eliminates the traditional steering wheel Dashboard replaced by "Hypersquare" control with digital electric touch controls and tablet screen replacing...

            DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF                                                                                                  By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane                                                                                     Source:  Faraday FARADAY FUTURE'S LUXURIOUS, POWERFUL EV California-based Faraday Future will start production this month on a very powerful, luxurious E...

 2023 BMW XM SUV IS BEING CALLED "WUNDERBAR"                                             Source:  BMW XM The 2023 BMW XM is the first electrified SUV from BMW's M Division that is famous for creating iconic sports vehicles like the M3 sedan Hybrid electric, 2 row, 5 seat SUV Twin-turbocharged, 4.4-liter V8 engine augmented by hybrid-electric powertrain Pumps out 664 hp and 590 pd-ft of torque 8-speed automatic transmission that delivers power to all 4 wheels 0 to 60 mph in 4.1 seconds Hybrid battery provides 30 miles of fully electric driving on a charge Has stunning power and good looks that some automotive experts are calling "wunderbar" Pricing starts at $160,000 AI FIGHTER JET PILOT FROM DARPA                                       ...

Dear Viewers: We are launching a new, innovation news service on this blog called "Daily Innovation Brief".  At least one of the daily news stories will be transportation related, including new car, eVTOL and plane concepts.  The first edition of "Daily Innovation Brief" is below.  Thanks for viewing. Ed Kane MCLAREN'S NEW FLAGSHIP                                                                                     Source:  McLaren   Currently, the British performance automaker is developing its 750 S new supercar for unveiling this spring 740 hp supercar will replace the 720 S as the brand's flagship Powered by twin turbo 4.0-liter V8 Big rear wing, big air vents and inside a new front dashboard with an instrument pa...

Robot Completes Outdoor Run in 53 Minutes                                      Source:  Oregon State University Cassie the Robot Makes Robotic History Cassie, a bipedal robot developed at Oregon State University, has made history by being the first robot to run a 5K race.  She finished the 3.1 mile course in 53 minutes, which is almost as good of a running time as that of the average human runner who can run the same distance in 30 to 40 minutes.  The technology and split second adjustments this feat took are considered major milestones in robotics. DARPA Funded Project Cassie was created by students in the University's Dynamic Robotics Lab under the guidance of Robotics Professor and Agility Robotics co-founder Jonathan Hurst.  To build Cassie they used biomechanics, existing robot control technologies and new machine learning tools.  Cassie is the firs...

Bezos' Blue Origin Wins DARPA/Pentagon Contract for Nuclear Spacecraft                                             Source:  Blue Origin                                              Source:  DARPA Nuclear Powered Spacecraft Nuclear Powered Trips to Space Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' aerospace company Blue Origin has won a US Department of Defense contract to design a nuclear powered spacecraft.  The $2.5 million contract was awarded by the Pentagon's DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) as part of its DRACO program (Designated Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations).  Lockheed Martin and General Atomics were awarded similar contracts for the DRACO program. Nuclear Thermal Propulsion The DARPA progra...

Pentagon's DARPA Seeking JetPack Prototypes Source:  JetPack Stock Image Portable Personal Mobility Vehicles The US Pentagon's DARPA, or Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, wants to equip the US military with highly advanced and reliable flying jetpacks, also known as portable personal air mobility systems.  They have invited companies to send their prototypes for jetpacks and other unique, personal, portable flying technologies for development. Technologies of Interest DARPA's level of interest for new forms of personal air mobility is fascinating.  Beside jetpacks, technologies of interest include powered wing suits, powered gliders and powered parafoils which, according to DARPA, "can leverage emerging electric propulsion technologies, hydrogen cells or conventional heavy fuel propulsion systems." No Pilots License Required DARPA wants these vehicles to be extremely easy to operate.  Additionally, they should require very little training and no pilots li...

Interceptor to Neutralize Hypersonic Nuclear Warheads                                       Source:  DARPA Glide Breaker DARPA's Glide Breaker Project The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is developing a hypersonic interceptor vehicle, which experts are calling a potential gamechanger.  It's called Glide Breaker. The vehicle would travel at extremely high, hypersonic speeds while flying at such a low altitude that it evades early warning radar systems that track ballistic missiles.  The technology is extraordinary and straight out of science fiction. Twenty Times The Speed of Sound The technology is designed to take down a nuclear warhead travelling at 20 times the speed of sound.  It's the equivalent of hitting a bullet with a bullet.  And, the enemy "bullet" is capable of evasive maneuvers.  The interceptor, tha...

Reusable, Affordable, Flying, Highly Advanced Drones                                Source:  DARPA's Gremlins Program For the US Military and Multi-Purpose Missions DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency, has a fascinating, highly advanced drone program underway to launch and catch airborne drones.  DARPA calls it the Gremlins program and it just completed the first flight test of its X-61A drone vehicle that is designed for airborne launch, free flight, swarming and then retrieval in the air, for re-use thereafter.  Drones Within Inches of Retrieval What DARPA is striving for is the aerial recovery of multiple drones that are low cost and reusable, unmanned aerial systems or  GAV (Gremlin Aerial Vehicles). The test drones each flew two hours autonomously and successfully tested for all formation flying positions and for safety.  But, with...

 DARPA Expediting & Optimizing eVTOL Designs                                      Source: Flying Taxi Stock Image Artificial Intelligence Created Flying Taxi Designs The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency - DARPA - has awarded a $7.2 million contract to Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas to test air  taxi designs created by artificial intelligence systems.  The team will analyze the AI designs and evaluate their capabilities.  The purpose is to use AI to optimize and accelerate the development and deployment of flying taxis, known as eVTOLs or electric, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles. Short Distance Air Taxi Travel The Texas research team has a set of priorities to follow from DARPA. DARPA wants flying taxi designs that can carry at least two people, travel 20 to 30 miles and be no larger than two cars parked ...

Highly Advanced Sensors to Warn of COVID in the Air                                                                           Source:  COVID-19 stock image US Defense Dept.'s DARPA Push The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA plans to build a series of prototype detectors capable of spotting the COVID virus in the air.  The devices are targeted for use in office buildings and schools.  The sensors would quickly and accurately detect the presence of the virus in the air in order to alert occupants and prevent the spread. Rising COVID Toll Experts have warned that the virus is airborne.  More than 52 million people worldwide have been infected and more than 1 million have died.  Both Europe and the US are experiencing a ...

DARPA's Blackjack Satellite Program on a Space Rideshare Source:  Loft Orbit Small Sats, Low Cost, Low Earth Orbit Ridesharing is a growing megatrend in Space.  A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will fly on a ridesharing mission, early in 2021, carrying a Loft Orbiting satellite with a DARPA Blackjack Pit Boss mission system inside for a space demonstration.  Loft buys space buses (satellites) and rents space.  The US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) will be flying onboard the SpaceX rocket with many other customer payloads.  DARPA's Blackjack programs aims to deploy low cost, small, low earth orbit satellites into operation for the US Military. Create Amazon Business Account Space Experiment DARPA's testing of Blackjack will commence in early 2021.  The experiment is called Sagittarius A.  It's designed to demonstrate any risks or problems before the main Blackjack satellites go into production and launch in late 2...

DARPA'S Impressive Tech R&D Project for US Navy Super:  DARPA Linked Autonomous Ships This is a highly impressive and innovative new project by DARPA, the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA is developing unmanned surface ships (USVs) that would physically link together like train cars to cross the ocean as a sea train.  Linking the ships together lets them overcome wave resistance and make much longer trips with much greater efficiency.  The Sea Train concept envisions many unmanned ships physically linked together to traverse oceans and grow the US Naval fleet.  Audible Gift Memberships Naval Force of Unmanned Vehicles The Navy is investing in all sizes of USVs, including large 300 ft. ones and medium sized ones of 39 to 154 feet.  DARPA's Sea Train project is focused on the medium sized USVs that are more efficient, more difficult to detect but less capable of making long journeys.  The Sea Train concept sh...

Harnessing Ocean Energy As A Power Source Source:  DARPA Sustainable Energy The concept of underwater energy harvesting by drones is being developed by the US Defense Department's Advanced Research Agency DARPA.  This could not only revolutionize naval propulsion, particularly for drone submarines, by providing them a sustainable energy source.  But also, if the drones transport the harvested ocean energy to ships at sea, there would be far less need to return to port to refuel.  The time and energy efficiencies would be breakthrough. Manta Ray Project DARPA calls the program the Manta Ray Project.  It's goal is to develop unmanned underwater vehicles - drones - that can operate underwater for very long, extended periods of time, all the while harvesting the energy of the ocean as a power source.  Four companies have just been selected for the job.  Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman and Navtek LLC are working on the drones.  And Metron ...