🚘 Transportation
Transportation in all forms and sizes are getting cleaner and the vehicles are self-driving. We for example cover electric cars, airplanes and trucks but also drones and all kinds of autonomous vehicles.
✈️ New aircraft flies at supersonic speed without sonic boom
XB-1 has completed three supersonic flights without creating an audible sonic boom on the ground. Sound waves bend when traveling through air with different temperatures. Due to the colder temperatures at high altitude, the sound waves make a U-turn in the atmosphere.
✈️ First privately developed supersonic aircraft reaches Mach 1.1
Boom Supersonic's demonstration aircraft XB-1 reached a speed of 750 mph (Mach 1.122) at an altitude of 35 000 feet during its first supersonic flight. XB-1 is the first civil supersonic aircraft developed by a private company, without government or military support.
🌴 Waymo expands its driverless taxi service to Miami
Waymo will begin testing driverless Jaguar vehicles in Miami during 2025, with planned launch of the taxi service in 2026. The company already operates over 150,000 trips per week in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Austin.
✈️ Boom Supersonic ready to deliver supersonic aircraft in 2029
Boom Supersonic will deliver the passenger aircraft Overture, flying at 1,300 miles per hour (Mach 1.7), to airlines in 2029. A journey between New York and London will take 3 hours and 40 minutes, compared to today's 7 hours.
📦 Europe's first drone cargo airline can reduce freight costs by 50 percent
Dronamics becomes Europe's first licensed cargo drone airline, offering cost-effective deliveries. The company's drone, Black Swan, can carry 350 kg of cargo and fly 2500 km. The technology enables deliveries to remote areas and can reduce costs by up to 50 percent.
🚗 Waymo self-driving vehicles are significantly safer than human drivers
Waymo's self-driving cars have been involved in fewer than one accident with injuries per million miles driven. They estimate that their vehicles have 70 percent fewer accidents with injuries than human drivers.
🚗 Waymo doubles the number of paid robotaxi trips to 100,000 per week
Waymo now provides over 100,000 paid robotaxi trips per week in the USA. The company has expanded its service to new areas in California and Arizona. Waymo is now testing driverless vehicles on highways around the San Francisco area.
🔥 Much lower risk of fire in electric cars compared to fossil fuel cars
The risk of fire in a rechargeable vehicle is 0.0012 percent, compared to 0.1 percent for combustion engine vehicles. According to this statistic, fires in gasoline or diesel-powered cars are over 80 times more common.
🔋 Battery prices continue to drop, lowering the cost of electric vehicles
The price of lithium-ion batteries in China has decreased by 51 percent in the past year. Lower battery prices make electric vehicles cheaper than fossil fuel cars in many segments, and large-scale battery solutions in energy systems become more profitable.