DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF by Maryanne Kane, Journalist

 DAILY INNOVATION BRIEF

                                                                      

                 By Journalists Edward Kane & Maryanne Kane

APPLE'S MIXED REALITY HEADSET - VISION PRO

                        

                                        Source:  Apple

• Apple CEO TIM Cook kicked off the WWDC 2023 event with the words "It's going to be an historic day...we're going to make some of our biggest announcements ever" at the annual developers conference and he certainly did
• Apple's stock hit an all-time high on Monday, valuing the company at $2.8 trillion, ahead of the launch of its first VR/AR headset
• The new mixed reality headset, called Apple Vision Pro, is Apple's most innovative, riskiest and ambitious technology product in years
• It's similar in size and shape to ski goggles, costs $3,499 and will be available in 2024
• Powered by Apple's industry leading M2 chips 
• Headset blends virtual & augmented reality in a product you look through, allowing the wearer to overlap virtual images into the live video of the real world
• Has over a dozen cameras
• Eye & gesture-based control
• 4K micro-OLED display
• External battery pack
• So powerful some leading experts believe it will eventually replace the iPhone
• Present for Tim Cook's speech, Disney CEO Bob Iger who called Vision Pro a "revolutionary technology" & talked about how Disney will create new content for it including experiences from ESPN, Marvel, National Geographic &, of course, Disney
• Apple also launched new Macs, software updates for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch & also new operating systems

KIA'S VERY HOT NEW CONCEPT EV 9

                                            Source:  Kia

• Kia's upcoming electric flagship, the new, all-electric Concept EV9 will be formally launched later this year
• To build excitement the automaker has put it on display at Vivid Sydney which is the world biggest light show and festival of music, light & ideas
• It's on a stage of lights that showcase its highly innovative design
• It's joined by Kia's most powerful EV, the EV6 GT
• Concerning the much-anticipated 2024 EV9 here's what we know:
• 2 versions: 2 electric motors with 378 hp, 442 lb-ft of torque & 336 mile range or 1 rear electric motor with 201 hp & 258 lb-ft of torque
• 800 volt electrical system for fast charging
• 99.8 kWh battery
• Boxy, upright, big silhouette with 6 or 7 seat configuration
• For Europe, Level 3 autonomous driving with 2 LIDAR systems on front bumper
• For US, number of autonomous driving features but not at Level 3 
• Traditional door mirrors or digital cameras as an option
• Much of the interior is made of sustainable materials
• Pricing:  Expected to start at $55,000 & hit $70,000 for a fully loaded vehicle.

HYUNDAI'S FLYING CARS

                                    Source:  Hyundai    

• Hyundai expects flying cars, including its own, to become a reality within 7 years -- meaning this decade
• Specifically, Hyundai's top UK executive Michael Cole expects to see some intra-city, Urban Air Mobility, for cargo shipment and passenger travel by 2030
• Hyundai is substantively engaged in the development of flying cars
• It has developed an autonomous vertical take-off and landing vehicle (VTOL)
• With its US based, advanced air mobility subsidiary Supernal, it's developing a 5-passenger flying car that mimics the flight of butterflies
• The South Korean automaker is working with the UK government to launch its own flying vehicle for cargo shipments
• And Hyundai is working on both battery-powered, and hydrogen-powered flying cars for use by the end of this decade.