Cargo

If you’ve shelled out several thousand dollars for a high-end road or mountain bike, it’s understandable that you might want to bring it with you when you travel to far-away cycling locales. Should you be traveling to compete in a race, it’s pretty much essential that you bring the bike you’ve trained on. It’s also understandable, however, that you might not want to entrust the safety of your precious cargo to a simple cardboard box or giant plastic bag. While several companies offer foam-padded bicycle-shipping cases, Biknd takes a different approach with its Helium case – it uses inflatable air bladders to protect your ride. Read More

The upright bicycle riding position offered by the familiar diamond-shape frame has been completely abandoned by designer Nick Foley in favor of a semi-recumbent driving pose. His Etta 3-speed prototype is claimed to offer users a more comfortable, natural ride whilst also providing better all-round visibility and a built-in storage compartment. Gizmag's Paul Ridden takes a closer look. Read More

If you were shipping, say... a cargo container of pineapples from Hawaii to Poland, you would probably want to know what was happening to those pineapples along the way. For instance, were they allowed to get too hot or too cold? Did they clear customs? Did they follow the planned route? Using wireless radio frequency identification sensors recently developed at Spain’s Public University of Navarre (UPNA ), you could know all these things and more, in real time. Read More

Airbus Military's all-new A400M four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft has taken to the air for the first time. The aircraft’s first test flight in the skies above Seville, Spain, comes after many delays – it was originally scheduled for Q1 2008 – but was successfully completed when the plane landed safely at 14.02, December 11, after a flight lasting three hours and forty-seven minutes. The A400M will increase the airlift capacity and range of the aircraft it was designed to replace - the C-130 Hercules and Transall C-160. Read More

Daihatsu's stand at the opening day of the 2009 Tokyo Motor Show featured six mini concept cars focused very much on practicality in an urban environment. Somewhat strangely, the company's concepts stood out because, unlike many other vehicles on the showfloor, none of the cars are electric or electric gasoline hybrid. Daihatsu has instead tried to refine existing technology both in lightweight manufacturing and engine efficiency to improve on fuel economy, but that's not to say the company isn't aiming for a zero-local emissions future - this is only the first step in its road map for powertrains that will culminate in a switch to a fuel cell based system. Read More

Danish duo Larry vs Harry have taken the obviously functional but visually uninspiring cargo-bike and given it a funky makeover. Notable for a streamlined design that's not much wider than your average bicycle and weighing as little as 22kg, the Bullitt range sports jumbo-sized hardened aluminum tubing, top quality gears, hydraulic braking and puncture-proof tires with an added dash of iconic branding. Cue the 1970s soundtrack! Read More

It won’t be cuddly, but it’ll certainly be efficient. The University of Sheffield is developing what it calls a cargo-screening ferret that uses a combination of laser and fiber-optic technology to sniff out the tiniest traces of drugs, weapons, explosives and even illegal immigrants. Read More