Important Innovations

  Solar Car With Power and LIDAR                                                   Source:  Polestar 5 Automotive Innovation & Breakthrough Tech from Sweden Sweden-based solar car company Polestar has unveiled its newest prototype car, Polestar 5, that pumps out nearly 700 hp and features LIDAR.  Here are the key tech facts: 4-door GT sedan that is all-electric and solar powered Highly advanced, LIDAR, 3-D laser scanning developed by Luminar, which is cuttting-edge tech for levels of semi-autonomous driving 800 volt powertrain architecture with 2 electric motors delivering 664 lb-ft of torque and 873 hp Designed to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds Lightweight, bonded, strong aluminum body designed for maximum aerodynamics, efficiency and range Polestar 5 is more powerful than a Porsche Taycan Turbo S in hp Polest...

  Solar Car With Power and LIDAR                                                   Source:  Polestar 5 Automotive Innovation & Breakthrough Tech from Sweden Sweden-based solar car company Polestar has unveiled its newest prototype car, Polestar 5, that pumps out nearly 700 hp and features LIDAR.  Here are the key tech facts: 4-door GT sedan that is all-electric and solar powered Highly advanced, LIDAR, 3-D laser scanning developed by Luminar, which is cuttting-edge tech for levels of semi-autonomous driving 800 volt powertrain architecture with 2 electric motors delivering 664 lb-ft of torque and 873 hp Designed to accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds Lightweight, bonded, strong aluminum body designed for maximum aerodynamics, efficiency and range Polestar 5 is more powerful than a Porsche Taycan Turbo S in hp Polest...

  LIDAR Standard Equipment in Electric XC90 SUV in 2022                              Source:  Volvo & Luminar Technologies                    Volvo's Long Standing Commitment to Life Saving Technologies Sweden based Volvo, now owned by China's Geeley, has a long history of being the first with life saving automotive technologies.  It was the first automaker to make side impact airbags standard equipment.  It was also the first to make 3 point seatbelts standard.  Now, it is the first to make LIDAR sensors standard, no extra cost equipment, starting with its next generation electric XC90 SUV in 2022.  This is a major commitment by Volvo to automated and autonomous driving.  LIDAR uses laser light pulses to provide precise images of the environment surrounding the car to avoid obstacles, pedestrians, other v...

  LIDAR Standard Equipment in Electric XC90 SUV in 2022                              Source:  Volvo & Luminar Technologies                    Volvo's Long Standing Commitment to Life Saving Technologies Sweden based Volvo, now owned by China's Geeley, has a long history of being the first with life saving automotive technologies.  It was the first automaker to make side impact airbags standard equipment.  It was also the first to make 3 point seatbelts standard.  Now, it is the first to make LIDAR sensors standard, no extra cost equipment, starting with its next generation electric XC90 SUV in 2022.  This is a major commitment by Volvo to automated and autonomous driving.  LIDAR uses laser light pulses to provide precise images of the environment surrounding the car to avoid obstacles, pedestrians, other v...

  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' (...

  Roboats Loaded with Tech to Communicate and Connect                                             Source:  MIT C-SAIL In Service, Self-Navigating Amsterdam Canals From the world famous MIT C-SAIL a team of engineers and roboticists created the Roboat, a robotic boat that uses the same autonomous self-driving technology for cars but adapted for the water. That adaptation was extremely innovative.  Roboat II has been under development for five years.  It is now large enough to carry passengers through the tricky canals in Amsterdam. It does so autonomously.  Importantly, the Roboats are capable of communicating and connecting with each other because of greatly advanced control algorithms and navigation systems.  That capability opens up new forms of transportation possibilities on water. Tremendous Tech Layered In The Roboat has fo...

German Tech Giant Bosch's Lidar Sensor Source:  Bosch Putting Autonomous Cars in the Fast Lane German tech giant Bosch has developed a sensor that enables autonomous cars to see a 3-dimensional view of the road as part of the autonomous system.  The company adds the lidar sensors are not expensive.  This technology breakthrough could accelerate the development and widespread use of self-driving cars.  Bosch believes this sensor could make mainstream cars self-driving a lot sooner than predicted. Sensor Sees Short & Long Distances, Providing 3D View of Highway Bosch says it will launch the lower cost lidar sensors and showcase the breakthrough technology at the annual CES in Las Vegas next week.  The sensors "see" both short and long range distances on the highway and work in tandem with camera and radar technologies.  Lidar uses light to generate a 3D view of the road.  Bosch is not providing timing on the actual launch date...

IBM, Cera Care Test Self-Driving Car Sensors for New Use Keeping Elderly Home Longer with Tech This is a six month pilot program to see if LIDAR laser sensors can be used to help the elderly stay longer in their homes.  One of the big uses of LIDAR is to help self-driving cars "see".  IBM Research UK and Cera Care are teaming up to test the unique use of the LIDAR technology, Mapping Safety LIDAR uses laser light pulses to generate images and maps of surroundings and to help self-driving cars navigate streets.  In June, 15 volunteer households in the UK will have LIDAR sensors installed by IBM Research UK and Cera Care.  They'll use IBM machine learning software to build a detailed picture of each patient's daily routines and home environment.  They'll utilize the images to pinpoint and alert caregivers of any possible problems in health, falls, etc. during the patient's routine to let caregivers know when they need to be in the home.  It's a cutti...

World's 1st Commercial Robotic Apple Harvest Source:  Abundant Robotics Now Harvesting in New Zealand The apple picking robot is the design of roboticists at Abundant Robotics, headquartered in Hayward, California.  It relies on machine vision to identify and harvest the fruit.  The robotic system is now performing the world's first commercial robotic apple harvest in New Zealand. LIDAR on Board The robot navigates the apple orchard with LIDAR.  It recognizes ripe, ready to be picked fruit with machine vision.  And, it uses its vacuum tube arm to pull the apples from the trees. The apples are transported by conveyer belt to a bin for pickup. On Duty 24/7 The apple picking robot is currently harvesting apples in New Zealand.  It can roam the rows of apple trees 24/7.

3-D Laser Mapping Unveils 61,000 Structures from 3000 Years Ago Mayan Kingdom 3-D Map Ancient Mayan Civilization Comes to Light Archeologists have uncovered 61,000 ancient Mayan structures hidden by rainforest overgrowth in the tropical lowlands of Guatemala.  They used highly advanced 3-D mapping to do it.  The tech is called lidar, which is similar to sonar & radar.  But lidar uses bursts of laser light to map an area.  It's a case of breakthrough technology unmasking the ancient past.  The discovery was led by University of Houston researchers. Rewriting History There are farms and canals in the swampland.  Huge fortresses and hidden pyramids in the jungle.  There are roads through the rainforest.  These are among the 61,000 structures discovered essentially by laser beams being shot from a plane.  The Mayan civilization lasted 2500 years from 1000 BC to 1500 AD.  The finding were just published in Science.  An...