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Transport
Thailand begins coloring petrol and diesel
By Gizmag Team
13:56 January 28, 2010 PST
One of the major problems with motorized transport across Asia is that mass fraud takes place with petrol retailing. Octane-91 petrol is sold as Octane-95, Diesel B5 is sold as diesel B2 and to a much greater extent, cocktails are brewed and sold to increase profits for the retailer, with alcohol mixes very common. The mixing not only cheats the motorist but often has dire consequences for the motors using the fuel, causing massive destruction that’s difficult to trace. The Thai Government is the first to take action to overcome the problem by introducing colored petrols. From February 1, octane-91 petrol will become yellow, octane-95 petrol will be blue, and diesel B5 will be red. Read More
The world's first motorcycle comes up for auction
By Gizmag Team
14:22 January 16, 2010 PST
An unrestored example (top left) of the very first vehicle to which the name ‘motorcycle’ (motorrad in German) was ever applied is to come up for auction in April. The 1895 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller motorcycle sounds like a modern motorcycle in its specification – twin-cylinder, four-valve, water-cooled, 1488cc engine – but it is indeed as unconventional as it is rare. Check out the diagram and you’ll see the rear wheel doubled as a pseudo flywheel and indeed, the piston connecting rods and the pushrods that actuate the valve gear are also attached to the rear wheel, there’s no clutch, no brakes and there’s a lot of work to be done on a machine that’ll cost you GBP40,000 to 60,000 before you start. At the end of it all though, you’ll have a bonafide centrepeice for any transport museum. Read More
Beyss Go-One Evolution: the next step in the Evolution of human-powered vehicles
By Ben Coxworth
18:06 January 6, 2010 PST
Picture it: You’re zipping down the road in a sleek, exotic vehicle that looks like it came straight out of Blade Runner. You pull up at a red light, and a gawking onlooker asks what sort of an engine it has. To their amazement, you open the top to reveal that it’s propelled by nothing but the superhuman power of your own body. Well, that fantasy can become a reality if you’re willing to spend several thousand dollars on a velomobile. There are a number of such vehicles being produced, but perhaps none are more lusted-after than the German Beyss Go-One3. That model may soon be upstaged, however, as Beyss is set to release their latest creation, the Go-One Evolution. Read More
The Cargoshell: ingenious collapsible replacement for the standard shipping container
By Mike Hanlon
14:14 January 6, 2010 PST
It’s just over 50 years since the shipping container took its first trip. Though it has changed little in the subsequent half century, standardised containerisation has dramatically reduced global transportation costs and supercharged international trade. Containerisation remains a beacon of efficiency only because it exists within the obscenely inefficient, environmentally irresponsible and otherwise resistant-to-change shipping industry. Now a new collapsible composite container is being trialled which is ingeniously more efficient, lighter, cheaper, more easily trackable, more accountable in terms of its contents and more environmentally-friendly. Despite a raft of advantages, it might not go into service because ... Read More
Microscopic 'ants' can transport objects inside a microchip
04:16 December 29, 2009 PST
A collaboration between MIT, Boston University and German researchers has produced a new system that could soon be used to move tiny objects inside a microchip. The system is self-assembling, can be controlled via software and can transport particles up to 100 times the size of the beads carrying them. The objective is to give scientists new insights as to how cells and other objects are transported by tiny cilia throughout our bodies. Read More
IBM forecasts the next 5 big ideas for the next 5 years
By Darren Quick
19:20 December 20, 2009 PST
Casting one’s eye into a crystal ball is a risky undertaking that can leave the forecaster as visionary or fool – particularly if they are short term predictions that can easily be checked. But that hasn’t deterred the soothsayers at IBM coming up with their fourth annual “Next 5 in 5” list of innovations that will impact our lives in the next five years. Based on market and societal trends as well as emerging technologies, the latest list focuses on innovations that have the potential to change how people live, work and play in our burgeoning cities. Read More
Airbus A400M makes maiden flight
By Darren Quick
23:52 December 15, 2009 PST
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
Fast charging i-Miev for the UK
By Paul Ridden
16:53 December 13, 2009 PST
As Mitsubishi's iMiev electric cars become available to the public next year, the UK will be the first to benefit from technology that will see the Lithium-ion batteries recharged to 80 percent capacity in just 30 minutes. Mitsubishi UK will be the first company in Europe to showcase the city car's fast charging capabilities. Read More
Honda cracks snack-sized P-NUT concept at LA Auto Show
By Darren Quick
01:56 December 3, 2009 PST
With the variety of different engine technologies emerging to replace the traditional internal combustion engine, Honda has taken a very smart approach with its Personal-Neo Urban Transport (P-NUT) ultra-compact vehicle. The concept car features a modular rear engine bay designed to accommodate a wide variety of potential powertrain technologies including a conventional small internal combustion engine, a hybrid system, or a battery-electric drivetrain. Read More
Researchers discover recipe for cheaper, more efficient fuel cell
19:25 December 1, 2009 PST
Known mainly for their potential application in hydrogen cars, fuel cells are a promising technology with several unresolved issues, including working temperatures. Scientist at the University of Calgary have discovered a new material that allows a common kind of fuel cell to work at higher temperatures, increasing efficiency while decreasing manufacturing costs. Read More
KLM conducts Europe's first biofuel-powered passenger flight
By Darren Quick
19:30 November 29, 2009 PST
Commercial aircraft are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, but manufacturers and operators are taking steps to tackle the problem. Operators such as Virgin Atlantic have conducted demonstration flights using biofuel, and now KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has completed its first ever passenger flight powered by sustainable kerosene. Using a 50 percent biokerosene/50 percent normal jet fuel mix to power one of its four engines, a Boeing 747 carrying 40 select passengers last week circled the Netherlands for an hour in what KLM claims is the first flight of its kind in Europe. Read More
car2go car sharing program hits the US
By Darren Quick
21:22 November 26, 2009 PST
car2go, the innovative car sharing program first seen in Ulm, Germany, has launched in Austin, Texas. A joint partnership between the City of Austin and Daimler will initially see 200 smart fortwo vehicles made available 24/7 within the city to a select group of city employees and their relatives, with plans to increase the number of cars and make them accessible to all Austin residents and students in early 2010. Read More
E is for electric: The BMW C1-E concept scooter
By Alan Brandon
21:36 November 17, 2009 PST
When BMW released their original C1 scooter in 2000 nobody had seen anything like it on the road. And not many C1s were seen on the road after it was released either. In the three years that BMW produced the scooter-with-a-roll-cage, only about 12000 were made. The riding public didn’t quite know what to make of the C1 and BMW never sold as many as it had hoped. Now BMW has brought the urban runabout back as the C1-E concept vehicle with an electric drivetrain. Could it be the C1’s time has come? Read More
Are EVs risking or saving the planet?
By Jeff Salton
19:05 November 12, 2009 PST
“Electric cars should be rewarded for their energy efficiency, not for moving emissions from exhaust pipes to powerstation chimneys” says the UK's Environmental Transport Association (ETA). In a report titled "How to avoid an electric shock - Electric cars: from hype to reality", the ETA has taken a close look at electric-powered vehicles (EVs) and their associated technologies. In what could be a shock to some commuters – and governments - the report states that EVs could potentially speed climate change, rather than reduce it, and might not be as good for the planet as some of the spin suggests. Simply put, it’s not necessarily the cars themselves that will cause the damage, but the way the electricity is generated to power them and how often we drive them. For instance, EVs powered by “green energy” - wind or solar - are obviously superior, but if the electricity comes from coal, hybrids perform better. Read More
Boat tail reduces truck fuel consumption by 7.5 percent
By Darren Quick
18:57 November 5, 2009 PST
European tests have shown that a boat tail – a tapering protrusion mounted on the rear of a truck – leads to fuel savings of 7.5 percent. The fuel savings, which also means a cut in emissions, were realized by the boat tail dramatically reducing the drag caused by the lower-pressure effect that occurs in the wake of a vehicle. Read More
Toyota to show very futuristic FT-EV compact concept
By Gizmag Team
15:41 October 6, 2009 PDT
Toyota is set to show a new compact four-seat electric vehicle concept at the Tokyo Motor Show which is even smaller than the iQ. The FT-EV II is designed primarily for urban driving with drive-by-wire technology controlled by a joystick which incorporates the accelerator, brakes and steering to free up legroom in the space currently used by those components. This is a very futuristic vehicle with a second windscreen below dashboard level, and see through tailights for greater rearward visibility. Read More
DUSTBOT collaborative, multifunctional robots keep your town clean
20:14 September 23, 2009 PDT
A group of European companies and universities have collaborated to produce a series of multifunctional robots for urban hygiene tasks. With abilities ranging from door-to-door garbage pickup and transportation, to automated street cleaning, the DUSTBOTs recently demonstrated their skills at a station in the town of Atxuri, Portugal. Read More
Solar panel roads to power our homes
By Jeff Salton
01:09 September 10, 2009 PDT
Idaho-based Solar Roadways founder Scott Brusaw is excited that his company has a received a USD$100,000 U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) grant to develop further his prototype that turns roads in giant electricity-generating solar panels. Apart from providing energy to power our homes, street lighting and so on, the roads could contain thousands of embedded LEDs to provide better street signage and make driving safer. He also believes the solar panel roads could last up to three times longer than the current petroleum-based asphalt surface and even be heated in winter to discourage dangerous ice build ups. Read More
Old meets new in the form of the YikeBike
By Paul Ridden
15:10 September 7, 2009 PDT
So what do you do when you challenge yourself to come up with a design to make traveling around busy, congested cities as easy and stress-free as possible? According to the folks behind the YikeBike - which was officially launched at Eurobike 2009 trade fair in Friedrichshafen Germany this month - you start with a blank sheet of paper, throw a good-sized front wheel in for stability, swap pedals for a brushless electric motor and abandon the familiar forward-leaning riding position of the bicycle altogether. Read More
GoPet scooter - 25 miles on 10c of electricity
By Jeff Salton
03:29 August 26, 2009 PDT
If a Segway isn’t really your style and a bicycle’s too hard going, a four-wheel scooter is a little too pedestrian and jogging is out of the question, then perhaps the GoPet Personal Electric Transportation scooter from MyGoPet Inc will meet your needs. GoPet is a three-wheeled electric vehicle that's easy to ride and eco-friendly. It has a top speed of 16mph and can travel 25 miles on 10 cents worth of electricity courtesy of its 48V, 350W front hub direct drive motor, say the manufacturers. Read More
Chevy Volt to go the distance with 230 mpg expected in city driving
By Darren Quick
00:30 August 20, 2009 PDT
We’ve been following the Chevrolet Volt since it was a gleam in GM’s eye and, with the anticipated production date of 2010 rapidly approaching, GM has announced that its extended-range electric vehicle is expected to achieve city fuel economy of at least 230 miles per gallon. Read More
Korean electric vehicle solution
By Paul Ridden
00:08 August 20, 2009 PDT
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed an electric transport system where the vehicles get their power needs from cables underneath the surface of the road via non-contact magnetic charging. As well as potentially saving Koreans a lot of money by reducing crude oil imports, widespread adoption of the technology also offers the potential of improving air quality in currently polluted cities. Read More
Eaton announces major development of plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles
By Jeff Salton
19:52 August 18, 2009 PDT
Eaton Corporation’s truck and electrical businesses will play a major role in producing 378 plug-in hybrid electric power vehicles, the largest commercial hybrid deployment to date in the U.S., thanks to a USD$45.4 million government grant. Eaton will also provide the electrical charging infrastructure for these vehicles. Read More
NASA and Goodyear develop puncture proof tire for the 21st Century
By Paul Ridden
02:31 August 16, 2009 PDT
It looks like seventies science fiction television is (finally) going to meet reality with NASA planning to set up a real Moonbase Alpha by 2020. In order to meet the heavy load/long range transport requirements of life on the moon, NASA recently teamed up with Goodyear to review and redesign some 40-year-old technology in the shape of the airless tires first seen on the Lunar Rover Vehicles of Apollo missions. Read More
Keeping supersonic transport quiet
By Paul Lester
20:54 August 4, 2009 PDT
Supersonic business jets have traditionally got a bad rap when it comes to practicality and the environment, with high costs, loud noises and short range far outweighing the benefits of speed. The future of air travel will therefore be subject to stringent criteria to ensure that economy and eco-credentials, particularly noise pollution, don’t take a back seat to comfort and performance, and with this in mind Supersonic Aerospace International seem to have hit a luxury-class balance between the two. Read More
dariusvons
- February 10, 2010 @ 00:56 UTC
