EOLAB, which takes its name from combining the name of ‘Aeolous’ God and Ruler of the Winds in Greek mythology, and ‘Laboratory’, is capable of achieving 1l/100km (282mpg) and 22g/km CO2 emissions on the official NEDC cycle.
To achieve such low figures, the designers focused their efforts on three main areas: minimising weight, refining aerodynamics and using “Z.E. Hybrid” technology for all, a brand new initiative which permits zero emissions* motoring during everyday use.
Each streetlight doubles as a Wi-Fi hotspot and charging station, and comes with a suite of atmospheric and environmental sensors. They also come with built-in surveillance cameras, which may carry potential privacy concerns. After the big success of the project in Las Vegas, the company EnGoPlanet plans a large-scale installation in New York City parks to start soon.
Announced at the first annual Clean Bus Summit in London’s City Hall, the move will see emissions from the city’s bus fleet - touted as being one of the cleanest in the world - reduced even further. Following suit, a total of 24 world cities committed to rolling out over 40,000 ultra-low emission buses by 2020 at the global summit. A number of vehicle manufacturing giants, including Volvo and Wright Bus, were also in attendance.
Imagine you’re hiking fifty miles from the nearest human, and you slip, busting your knee wide open, gushing blood. Today, you might stand a chance of some serious blood loss–but in less than a decade you might be carrying a portable laser pen capable of sealing you back up Rambo-style.
Electric car company Faraday Future unveiled “a new species” of car in Las Vegas: an electric sedan that will have the acceleration of a Formula One car and the ability to learn and adapt to the driver. The FF 91 would see Faraday Future compete with Tesla for the electric sports car market. The FF 91 has 1,050hp and can accelerate 0-60mph in 2.39 seconds, while the Tesla Model S P100D can reach 60mph in 2.5 seconds.
At present the results of some publicly funded research are not accessible to people outside universities and similar institutions without one-off payments, which means that many teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs and others do not have access to the latest scientific insights.
A tennis court-sized telescope orbiting far beyond Earth's moon, Webb will detect infrared radiation and be capable of seeing in that wavelength as well as Hubble sees in visible light.
Infrared vision is vital to our understanding of the universe. The furthest objects we can detect are seen in infrared light, cooler objects that would otherwise be invisible emit infrared, and infrared light pierces clouds of dust, allowing us to see into their depths. Webb will unleash a torrent of new discoveries, opening the door to a part of the universe that has just begun to take shape under humanity's observations.
Going under the innocuous name of ‘Sesame Credit,’ China has created a score for how good a citizen you are. Instead of measuring how regularly you pay your bills, it measures how obediently you follow the party line. In the works for years, China’s ‘social credit system’ aims to create a docile, compliant citizenry who are fiscally and morally responsible by employing a game-like format to create self-imposed, group social control. In other words, China gamified peer pressure to control its citizenry; and, though the scheme hasn’t been fully implemented yet, it’s already working — insidiously well.
The craft is the brainchild of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and Burt Rutan, founder of Scaled Composites. The Stratolaunch Carrier Aircraft will have huge wingspan of 385ft (117 metres) when its complete. It will be powered by six 747-class engines during its first flight in 2016 and will weigh 1,200,000 lb. Dreamchaser could be launched from the plane to send astronauts to orbit, and back to a runway. Will initially deliver satellites into orbit 112 miles to 1,243 miles (180 km and 2000 km) above Earth.
According to its developers, an aircraft powered by the SABRE (Synergetic Air-Breathing Rocket Engine) engine such as the super palne Skylon will be able to go from standstill to reaching speeds of over 5 times the speed of sound while still in Earth’s atmosphere. The engine then transitions to a rocket mode, hitting spaceflight speeds at orbital velocity, as fast as 25 times the speed of sound. One of the pivotal innovations of the system is in cooling. It uses ultra-lightweight heat exchangers 100 times lighter than existing technologies that can cool extremely hot airstreams from over 1,000°C to -150°C in less than 1/100th of a second.