Rinspeed amphibious zero emission concept car

Gizmag has taken a new look at the Rinspeed sQuba amphibious zero emission concept car that turned up at last year's Geneva Motor Show.

The sQuba is designed to go 75mph on land and about 2mph in the water, it is powered by a single 54 kW motor plus a four additional engines for underwater:2 x 800W units drive the twin stern propellers and up front, 2 x 3.6kW Seabob jet drives for steering.

The open top combined with going underwater is a bit strange though: do you wear a wetsuit all day in case you need to go underwater or do you just get your clothes wet and keep some spare clothes in the truck?

(more at gizmag)

Belltronics RX35 radar detector reviewed

CNET has reviewed the $330 Belltronics RX35 radar detector.

Here's what they thought:

"The good: The Beltronics Pro RX65 offers a nice set of programmable features and its tested performance ranks with the best.

The bottom line: The Beltronics Pro RX65 works well for novice to advanced users, giving long distance warning about radar monitoring. Although we had some interface issues, the device works very well overall."

Personally we don't bother with a radar detector, everyone drives 20 over the limit and as long as you stay with the flow of traffic you never get ticketed.

(more at cnet)

21st Century Dump Truck

Munich-based truck maker F.X. Meiller GmbH & Co KG has seen the future of construction hauling, and it is a sleek all-wheel drive tipper capable of dumping on all four directions.

Chinese transportation designer Haishan Deng created a series of concept drawings depicting what Meiller's new "super tipper" truck in action that won him a 2007 red dot award for product design from Germany's Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen, an institution formed in 1955 to promote industrial design aesthetics. Inspired by the movement of quadruped animals, Deng designed the super tipper with independent suspension arms that absorb uneven terrain better than conventional dump trucks.

(more at scientificamerican)

Continue reading "21st Century Dump Truck"

Tesla electric car showroom opening

Next week the Tesla Roadster electric car will move from development to market with the opening of their first showroom in Los Angeles.

The Tesla is no souped-up gold cart, it is a $109,000 electric powered sports car that does 0-60mph in under 4 seconds, has a top speed of 125mph, and a range of 225mph. Once the battery runs out of oomph you just plug it in and it recharges in 3.5hrs.

This takes a lot of battery power: the lithium-ion batteries account for 1,000lb of the Tesla's 2,700lb weight and they have an expected lifespan of 100,000 miles.

Don;t expect to walk into the showroom and buy one though - there is a current wait of 15 months to get one, but if you see one driving down the street take a look at the driver - Arnold Schwartenegger, George Clooney, and Kelsey Grammer have all ordered one.

Thales optronic mast to make submarines less detectible

The British Royal Navy's new Astute class of attack submarines are doing away with the traditional periscope and instead will be fitted with an optronic mast designed by Thales UK.

The mast (SHU: Sensor Head Unit) will pop-up, capture a 360-degree scan of the surrounding area, and disappear back beneath the waves before enemy ships have a chance to detect it. It is pressure-proof, can operate in a wide range of temperatures, is blast hardened, and contains stabilized high-performance cameras and optics as well as environmental sensors.

(via gizmag)

2 hypersonic test flights planned for 2009

DARPA has announced two test flights of it's Hypersonic Technology Vehicles next year in May and October.

Both will be launched by Minotaur solid-fuel rockets from Vandenberg Air Force Base and will impact near Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific.

If these flights are successful the next flight demonstrator may be the reusable Blackswift plane and we will be a step closer to getting anywhere on the planet in just a few hours.

(via flightinternational)

Solar panel roof for your Prius

Now this is a smart idea for those people who feel that their hybrid car lifestyle just isn't good enough for the environment.

The SEV solar module for 2004-2006 Toyota Prius cars generates 215 watts of power which the makers claim provides up to an extra 20 miles of gas-free travel a day and a 29% better fuel economy overall.

They claim it will pay for itself in 2 to 3 years, but only if you take liberties with a Federal energy tax credit by buying it at the same time as a residential solar system and conveniently include the price in with your residential system.

(via redferret)

Have you lost weight TomTom?

TomTom has revamped their entry level one and XL products to make them lighter and more portable.

Each also has an S version (for $50 more) that adds text-to-speech reading of directions.

The new TomToms should ship in may and will cost $200/$250 for the TomTom One and $350/$300 for the TomTom XL (with larger screen)

(via crave)

Falx solar assisted VTOL aircraft

Falx Air Vehicles are preparing a prototype of a single or twin-seat hybrid-electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) aircraft that uses a combination of a 100hp engine and solar panels to achieve fuel economy of about 2.5 gallons per hour of flying.

They hope to have the prototype up by this summer but I expect they have a long way to go to achieve anything more than a simple mock-up.

(more at gizmag)

Next generation Toyota Prius hybrid rumors

The Truth About Cars has posted some rumors about the next generation Toyota Prius that is likely to debut at the 2009 Detriot Motor Show.

The next-gen hybrid is likely to be 3 to 4 inches longer, boast 50 more horses under the hood, and get better fuel economy than the current prius.

(autoobserver via thetruthaboutcars)

Navigation system standard in all 2009 Suzuki SX4

We love in-car GPS navigation systems, we've used then for at least 7 years now, and we would be completely lost (literally) without them.

Suzuki apparently feels the same way as they are making the Garmin T.R.I.P flip-up GPS nav system a standard feature in all 2009 SX4 sport and SX4 crossover vehicles.

(press release after the jump)

(via autoblog)

Continue reading "Navigation system standard in all 2009 Suzuki SX4"

Mira H4V: plugless plug-in hybrid

A consulktancy firm in the UK, MIRA, has created a hybrid car system that can be retrofitted to existing cars at a cost of about $4,000.

The H4V takes the form of three large battery packs that sit in the trunk of your car and can be unplugged and moved elsewhere to be recharged if needed.

On their test car (a Skoda Fabia) the H4V system increaded fuel economy by 61 percent and reduced emissions by 39%.

We see only two flaws with this system:

1: Skodas aren't sexy.
2. How many people will be comfortable moving heavy battery packs with the words "DANGER LARGE DC VOLTAGE" on them?

(via autobloggreen)

Continue reading "Mira H4V: plugless plug-in hybrid"

New seats to make flying economy more tolerable

As I write this entry my wife is half way through an 11hr flight back to the US from Japan, and last week she flew almost 15hrs to China in economy. I have been on many similar trips so trust me when I say flying long-haul in economy is a nightmare.

Imagine the typical flight, you are stuck in a middle seat with an obese guy asleep next to you, he is leaning in your direction, falling into a deep deep sleep, he start snoring, then falls face first into your lap.

That is why I am excited at the concept of the Cosy Suite Seat from Thompson Solutions: you are still crammed into roughly the same space but you have room to lean and fall asleep without nosediving into someone else crotch.

For space they claim 2 more inches of width and leg room but I bet they use the extra space to cram more rows in.

Delta is going to install the Cosy Suite Seats in their 767 and 777 aircraft by 2010, and I hope American and United are taking notes: you need to make economy more comfortable too!

(via dvice)

Continue reading "New seats to make flying economy more tolerable"

Airbag for pedestrians

Sometimes the simplest ideas are the best ones: we have multiple airbags in cars to protect the occupants in a crash but whenever a car hits a pedestrian there are severe injuries, why not have airbags on the outside of the car as well?

Well autoliv had that idea and they have come up with two systems:

Active Hood: where airbags push the rear part of a padded hood up in case of a collision, and

Pedestrian Protection Airbag: where airbags in the windshield pillars deploy protecting pedestrians from the glass.

If they can design it so it doesn't look like a couch driving down the road I think autoliv are onto a winning idea.

(via autoblog)

Think Electric Car coming to the US

Norwegian Automaker Think Global has announced plans to sell their Think electric car in the US.

The Think can go 110 miles without needing to recharge it's batteries, has a top speed of 65mph, and is 95 percent recyclable.

Think has lined up two venture capital firms and plans to build the cars in Southern California, they hope to sell 30-50k cars a year at $25k a pop.

Not a bad car for people who stick to the city and suburbs, but don't think of going on the interstate unless you want to end up as roadkill plastered to the front of a 50,000lb truck.

$1 a gallon gasoline

Researchers at UMass Amherst have come up with a way to make gasoline out of cellulose (i.e. plant material).

Currently the process is about 50% efficient and the researchers say if they can get close to 100% efficient the cost will be about a buck a gallon.

Don't start chopping down plants and showing them into your gas tank yet - commercialization of the technology will probably take another 5 to 10 years.

(more at popularmechanics)

GPS Navigation meets Google Maps

NDrive has launched two new GPS navigation systems in Europe that include aerial photos of major cities similar to Google Maps. The photo maps of the UK and Ireland are stored on an 8GB memory card that can be switched out for maps of other countries.

Other features of the devides include speed camera alerts, a large points of interest database, audio video and photo playback, bluetooth, and an FM transmitter.

The G280 costs £199 ($400) and the G800 £315 ($630).

(more at biosmagazine)

Navigation system to warn of crime hotspots

Mitsubishi has unveiled a prototype of a new GPS navigation system for Honda cars in Japan that warns motorists when they are approaching a high crime area.

I doubt the system would work in the US though: some lowlife would sue because the system discriminates against him and where he lives.

(more at physorg)

Future of Space Ship One and Two

Burt Rutan (of first private spaceship SpaceShipOne) fame has talked to the Palm Springs Desert Sun newspaper about the future of SpaceShipOne and his plans for it's successor SpaceShipTwo (AKA Virgin Galactic's VSS Enterprise).

SpaceShipOne, despite receiving a lot of requests for flights and cargo runs, will be preserved in the Air and Space Museum on the Mall in Washington DC and will not fly again.

SpaceShipTwo, which will carry 9 people higher than SpaceShipOne, should be flying in two and a half years and should be starting commercial flights in four years.

In the longer term he things that in twenty to twenty-five years people will be able to visit hotels in orbit.

Put me down for a weekend stay at the hotel to celebrate my 55th or 60th birthday.

Full Interview

Jetpod Flying Taxi

In 5 years you could be taking a flying taxi to London's Heathrow Airport instead of the usual black cab, and it will even cost about the same.

London-based developers Avcen have come up with a concept for the Jetpod Flying Taxi: a small (5 passenger) plane that can take off and land in 400ft, is ultra-quiet, and will cruise at 350mph.

The trip from the center of London to the Airport would only take 2 or 3 minutes: I just hope they don't make you turn up for the Jetpod 2 hrs before departure.

(daily mirror via tech digest)

Pioneer AVIC-N2 Navigation System

I had a navigation system in my last car and used it all the time, it made it so easy to get anywhere I hadn't been before. My current car doesn't have a navigation system and I really miss it, so I'm very interested to hear about a new gadget from Pioneer: the Pioneer AVIC-N2 Navigation System.

The Pioneer AVIC-N2 Navigation System seems to have it all: a 6.5" LCD touchscreen, XM satellite radio access, DVD/CD/MP3 player, and 4x50w output.

If that isn't enough for you the Pioneer AVIC-N2 Navigation System also supports XM Radio's NAVTEQ traffic system that warns you of traffic holdups (in 20 major cities), although it's not clear if it automatically suggests an alternate route around holdups.

One downside to this device is that it only has 7.5mb of flash memory for caching driving/mapping information, which limits driving directions if you are listening to a CD/DVD instead of having the mapping DVD in the unit. Come on Pioneer, if I can buy a 1GB CompactFlash card for well under $100 you can put a bit more memory (or even replace the DVD with a 5GB microdrive) in your $2000+ navigation unit.

Press Release

(via gizmodo)

205mph Speeding Ticket

Did he or didn't he? Minnesota State Patrol claim they clocked a teenager by the name of Samuel Armstrong Tilley speeding at 205mph over a measured quarter mile on his Honda RC51 motorbike.

A regular RC51 can "only" go 165mph, so either something was wrong with the speed measurement or Tilley made some major modifications to his bike.

The 200mph+ club for motorcyclists is an exclusive club, achieving 200mph over a quarter mile is something usually reserved for well planned events at places like the bonneville salt flats.

If Tilley keeps behaving like this he will be up for a Darwin Award soon.

(more from CNN)

Fly into Space with Virgin Galactic

Richard Branson and his Virgin company have announced a deal with Burt Rutan creator of SpaceShipOne to lauch a commercial space flight service.

The new service, Virgin Galactic, aims to fly 3,000 people into space in the next 5 years.

Virgin Galactic will operate a fleet of 5 space ships based upon Rutan's SpaceShipOne, which is expected to win the X-Prize for the first privately funded flights into space.

Virgin is investing up to $100 million into the venture and they expect flights to start in 2007. The price of a ticket: about $200,000 (including 3 days training).

BMW H2R

BMW have announced that their H2R Hydrogen Gas powered car has set nine world speed records with a top speed of 174 mph.

The BMW H2R also went from 0 to 60 mph in under 6 seconds and produces 232 horsepower.

The BMW H2R is, unfortunately, just a single seat test car based upon the engine from the BMW 7 series, and even if you could buy one you would spend most of your time searching for gas stations that sell hydrogen.

(BMW press release)

Hummer not Big Enough?

Are you tired of everyone having a hummer?, tired of being able to fit into parking spots?, want to really look like you are making up for having a small *blank*? Then the International CXT may be the pickup for you.

Based on International's line of dump trucks and snowploughs, the CXT can tow up to 6 tons, seats 6, and has all wheel drive, 6 speed automatic transmission, and air brakes.

Expect the CXT to cost about $100,000, and at over 21 feet long expect it to be a real bitch to park outside the grocery store. On the bright side, at 9 feet high you will be able to see over the little Volkswagon Beetle you just crushed into the highway.

Night Vision for Cars

At the same time as announcing 3 green scooters Honda announced a new night vision system for cars that warn of pedestrians in the way.

The system can only recognize people from the shape of a head and shoulders so it won't work for people with umbrellas, on bicycles, and presumably those with silly large hats. I guess if it is raining you have to choose between staying dry or not getting run over.

Oh, and it only works when the temperature is below 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

More from MSNBC

Honda Green Scooters

Honda has introduced 3 new environmentally friendly scooters, along with a photo of one of then painted green, witty huh?

These are concept vehicles so it isn't know if any will actually be built.

The all-electric version is really ugly and small, but the other two look ok.

The hybrid is based on a 50cc scooter and contains the obvious statement "Honda says this gas-electric scooter gets better mileage than gas-only peers."

The fuel cell version is based upon a 125cc scooter but they are having problems with wieght and no storage space. Definately a work in progress.

More at MSNBC
(via I4U)

Tire Pressure Monitor

Doran has released a Tire Pressure Monitoring system for trucks that tells you the pressure of up to 34 tires and warns you when there is a problem.

Why don't car manufacturers have something like this built into new cars? over or under inflated tires lead to a lot of avoidable accidents, and slow leaks are a hassle that can be reduced by early warning of a small puncture.

Pedal-Powered Submarine

Researchers at the Saint Petersburg State Marine Engineering University are looking for investors to help create "Blue Space", a new kind of submarine.

Blue Space is "put in motion by means of a foot drive", which is marketing speak for pedal-powered, can stay underwater for 4 hours, and can be propelled at a speed 2-5mph on the surface and 2-3mph underwater.

THe submarine will carry two people (who stay dry inside it) and price is listed at a maximum of $19,000.

(more at Near Near Future via engadget)

Scramjet worked well

The Industrial Physicist has a detailed review of last years successful test of a scramjet.

Their description of "what is a scramjet" still left me wondering "what is a scramjet??" but basically its a conventional jet engine on steroids, where air at supersonic speeds is mixed with jet fuel and combusted. End result: very fast engine, reusable, much cheaper than the space shuttle.

In the NASA test last year the scramjet worked for 10 seconds and zoomed to a speed of Mach 7, or 5,000mph.

I know, you can't get far in 10 seconds, but the conclusion of the article is that this test proved the scramjet theories and that we should have scramjet missiles in 5 years, scramjet planes in 10 years, and scramjet spacecraft in 15 years.

Personally I can't wait for it to take 3 hrs to fly to Australia instead of 24hrs.