Important Innovations

  John Deere's Smart Autonomous Tractor                                                                                Source:  John Deere Highly Advanced Robot  Illinois-based farm, lawn and construction equipment company John Deere has won a Best in Innovation award in the "Vehicle Tech and Advanced Mobility" category at CES 2023 for its fully autonomous farm tractor.  The tractor is a highly advanced robot that can be managed from a smartphone.  For the farming industry, the autonomous vehicle has the potential of being a significant time saver and provider of enhanced productivity.   The farmer has a choice with this new leap in agricultural technology:  they can drive it or let it operate on its own. Highly Adva...

  "Breakthrough Concept Cars 2020's" by Edward Kane Source:  Amazon  ASIN: B08YTGFCG2 The Future of Driving Take a look at journalist Edward Kane's breakthrough book "Breakthrough Concept Cars 2020's" that showcases the latest concept cars from the world's leading automakers.  It's a look at the future of driving.  I co-authored it with Ed. https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B08YTGFCG2&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_58C46MASEPM4VVG0FM8P

  Austin Russell's Luminar Technologies                                                Source:  Austin Russell Autonomous Driving Tech with Lasers Leading the Way This morning, 25 year old entrepreneur Austin Russell woke up a billionaire.  His company Luminar Technologies of Florida went public yesterday on the Nasdaq.  By the end of day, it hit $22.98 a share with a market value of $7.8 billion.  Russell founded the company at the age of 17.  He owns more than 100 million shares and his net worth overnight skyrocketed to $2.4 billion. He has created lidar sensor technology that uses lasers to power autonomous vehicles.  His technology is considered breakthrough.  Forbes is calling Russell the world's youngest, self-made billionaire. Lidar & Laser Tech with Big Investors Backing It Luminar Technologies' (...

Amazon Buys Autonomous Mobility Startup Zoox Source:  Zoox Amazon Moving People and Packages Amazon has purchased self-driving startup Zoox of Foster City, CA for more than $1.2 billion.  It's the e-commerce giant's biggest investment yet in the self-driving, autonomous category.  And, it's the second biggest acquisition that Amazon has ever made after purchasing Whole Foods.  This catapults Amazon into potentially another new business category.  It may not be just moving packages but also people.  Zoox's expertise is designing a world-class autonomous ride-hailing service, also known as RoboTaxis.  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is always on the move for new avenues of business. Zoox's Approach Zoox's approach to self-driving is different.  It's not retrofitting existing cars with self-driving technology.  It's developing a whole new, purposed, self-driving vehicle with no steering wheel that can move in any direction.  Some analyst...

Toyota & Suzuki Invest in Each Other to Develop Electric and Autonomous Technologies Source:  Toyota New Global Example of the Rules of the Road to Innovation Toyota and Suzuki are taking small equity stakes in each other.  The purpose, according to the Japanese automakers, is to develop new innovative technologies and come out on top in the rapidly changing global automotive industry. Deepening Japanese Alliance This announcement deepens the alliance between the two global automakers with Toyota taking a 4.9% stake, amounting to $908 million, in the smaller rival Suzuki, which owns Mazda and Suburu.  Suzuki is investing $453 million in Toyota for 0.2% of Toyota shares. All About Developing Expensive Electric and Autonomous Technologies Today's R&D innovation tie-up between Suzuki and Toyota is another leading example of the technology partnerships in the global automotive industry.  It's all about joining forces, with big competitors, to defray...

Driverless Rooms to Your Destinations Source:  Aprilli Design Studios Important Innovations in Transportation Here's an entrepreneurial gamble on future travel innovation.  Hotel rooms on autonomous wheels.  Driverless, self-driving vehicles that pick you up at your house or travel takeoff point and take you in your  fully equipped hotel room suite, to your destination.  It's called Autonomous Travel Suites (ATS).  It's the innovation of Aprilli Design Studio's Steve Lee of Toronto.  Lee calls it a hybrid concept combining his expertise in hotel architecture/design and futuristic technology.  The concept won this year's Radical Innovation Concept of the year, a design competition for the hospitality industry. Mobile Hotel Suites The mobile hotel suites are designed for journeys of 6 to 10 hours.  They contain essentially what you find in a hotel room.  They come in a range of sizes for solo travelers to families.  Lee en...