DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF

                                                                      

         By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane

NISSAN MOVES TO CUT PRICES ON EVS

                                                                    Source:  Nissan

• Japanese automaker Nissan is revolutionizing its powertrains for all electric and hybrid-electric vehicles to greatly reduce the cost
• The goal is to bring hybrid-electric vehicle prices down to the cost of gas-powered car by 2026
• The powertrains being developed will be smaller, lighter and cut the cost of making the car by 30% by 2026
• Costs are being reduced by sharing and the modularization of EV and e-POWER core components
• They've developed a 3-in-1 powertain prototype that modularizes the motor, inverter & reducer for EVs
• Also, a 5-in-1 prototype that additionally modularizes the generator & increaser for e-POWER vehicles
• They call it the X-in-1 approach which enables EVs & e-POWER vehicles to be produced on the same production line
• Nissan is also developing alternatives to expensive precious metals currently used in batteries to further significantly cut costs
• The company hopes to shift to less expensive, solid state batteries
• Nissan says the new powertrains' smaller size & weight will increase vehicle performance
• Japanese automakers are placing bets on hybrid electric cars, which, they believe, consumers prefer over all-electric vehicles.

HARVARD & US PENTAGON's SEARCH FOR UFO'S

                                                    Source:  US Department of Defense

                                        Source: NASA

• Harvard University Astronomer Avi Loeb and the head of the US Pentagon's UFO Office Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick have teamed up on a report calling for a more rigorous scientific approach to identifying Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) or UFO's
• Their report, now undergoing peer review, states that the UAP could be man-made, natural atmospheric phenomena or extraterrestrial in origin
• These leading scientific experts are calling for a greatly upgraded scientific method approach to determine what the UFO's really are
• At the moment some of the unidentified flying objects could remain unidentified because of the limitations of current technologies
• The number of UAP/UFO sightings is escalating
• A 2021 Pentagon Report on UFO sightings (2004 to 2021) by military personal, including USAF & US Navy pilots, documented 144 credible, unidentified flying objects, characterized by unusually high speeds and maneuverability
• A 2022 Pentagon report saw the number rise to 171 in a year
• The Pentagon believes the sightings are worthy of investigation and our intelligence community does not know what the aerial objects are
• Harvard's Dr. Avi Loeb is a believer that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the cosmos and that we need advanced scientific tools to know exactly what the mystery objects are and what we earthlings are dealing with.

LATEST INFORMATION ON THE UPCOMING APPLE CAR

                                   Source: Stock Apple Car Image & Lexus with Apple Tech

• Apple cross-disciplinary teams remain at work, developing a self-driving, all-electric Apple branded car for consumers
• Some top news organizations have sources indicating that the Apple car "Project Titan" could be ahead of schedule with production to start in 2024
• There are also expectations that the 2024 Apple car will be powered by a radical new battery technology
• Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo differs on timing & targets a production date between 2025 & 2027 - all within the next 4 years
• Apple car is now expected to look like a highly advanced traditional car with semi-autonomous driving & a steering wheel
• The self-driving may be fully autonomous on highways & go to manual driving on city streets
• Apple car will be Very Smart with deep iOS integration
• Equipped with an Apple designed chip that is said to be the most advanced component Apple has developed to date with 4Xs the power of 4 Mac chips
• AI-specific features with Siri
• Apple has more than 60 test vehicles on the road testing various new technologies designed for the Apple car, including a Lexus equipped with the Apple autonomous driving system
• Targeted to be priced below $100,000
• Apple is looking for an experienced car manufacturing partner and is said to be talking, once again, with Hyundai.

For more news stories like those in my blogs, go to New Cars With Exponential Tech

or take a look at Search For Life in Space  for the latest news on top scientific searches for UFOs and an historic perspective on the likelihood of life beyond Earth.