Important Innovations

Fascinating SK & Israeli Partnership on Self-Driving Tech Source:  Hyundai Ioniq Autonomous Car Hyundai Mobis and Israel's Cognata A global partnership between Hyundai Mobis and Israel's Cognata has just been announced to accelerate to market autonomous, self driving vehicles.  Cognata develops simulation software and training data for driver assistance systems and autonomous, self driving vehicles.  Hyundai Mobis, a software provider and part of the Hyundai group, has selected Cognata to test its offerings to facilitate the use of self-driving vehicles and accelerate them to the global market .  Rolling Out Self-Driving Vehicles to Market Large scale, simulations provide the only environment where advanced driver assistance system programs (ADAS) and autonomous vehicle technology can be safely tested and validated, according to Cognata.  Cognata CEO Danny Atsmon says there is tremendous growth and momentum coming out of South Korea on both ADAS and self-driving technologie

Flying Cars for Urban Air Mobility Source:  Embraer DreamMaker eVTOL Future of Aerial Ride Sharing Despite the global pandemic, Brazil based aircraft manufacturer Embraer and Uber Elevate are moving forward with speed to deploy fleets of "urban air mobility" vehicles in the skies near you.  By 2023, they say they will offer travelers the option of an affordable shared flight.  They hope to get vehicle testing underway by the end of this year.  Uber, the ride sharing service and Embraer, the aircraft maker are partnering in the effort. eVTOLs The flying cars that will serve as flying, shared ride taxis, are eVTOLs - electric, vertical takeoff and landing vehicles.  Uber Elevate and Embraer have just launched an eVTOL simulator to ensure that the vehicles meet necessary requirements, including noise levels.  Between now and the target deployment date of 2023, eVTOLs need to be finalized and tested. And advanced urban air traffic management systems must be put in place.  Embraer

New CEO's Focus on High Growth, New Auto Technologies Source:  Ford's CEO Jim Farley Source:  Ford EV Charging Station Veteran Ford Exec Jim Farley Named CEO The incoming CEO of Ford, Jim Farley, intends to expand Ford's business operations into new, high growth technologies.  The technologies include software, electric vehicle charging and fleet management.  He says these are new growth initiatives that will result in a great deal of value for Ford.  Farley is a Ford veteran who has overseen virtually all of Ford's global markets.  He succeeds CEO Jim Hackett as Ford's 4th CEO since 2014. COVID Damage Jim Farley's job will not be an easy one.  He will be managing global restructuring for Ford operations that took a major hit from the COVID pandemic and forced shutdowns, as did many global corporations.  The US #2 automaker is loaded with debt.  Year to date, Ford's share price is down 26% and its market cap is 1/10th of Tesla. Transition and Revitalization

Airbus Pushing Hydrogen Commercial Planes Source:  Hydrogen Plane Concept  European Union's Hydrogen Strategy In Europe, there is growing consensus building around utilizing hydrogen as a primary, green, renewable energy source. The momentum is coming from the both the European Union and global aerospace giant Airbus. France-based Airbus believes that hydrogen fuel is the quickest means to turn commercial passenger jets into zero emissions passenger flights.  Company leadership forecasts that hydrogen airliners could be flying in much greener skies by the early 2030's.   Hydrogen Agenda To develop and deploy hydrogen commercial jets by the early 2030's, Airbus Vice President for Zero Emissions Technology Glenn Llewellyn recommends utilizing and reconfiguring automotive and space launch hydrogen technologies that are already developed to create hydrogen commercial passenger jets.  Toyota is a major developer of hydrogen fueled cars and the Japanese automaker also advocates f

US Dept of Transportation Pushes the Technology Forward Source:  Hyperloop TT LA to Vegas in 20 Minutes In the US and Dubai, hyperloop transportation is very close to reality.  This summer, the US Department of Transportation became the first government agency in the world to issue guidance and establish regulations for hyperloop technology.  In the US, Virgin Hyperloop and Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (TT) are working on hyperloop technologies and projects in population centers like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Chicago. In the United Arab Emirates, the first commercial hyperloop operation developed by Hyperloop TT is expected to break ground later this year. What Does This Mean For You? It would mean getting to your destination at incredibly fast speeds.  For instance, LA to Las Vegas in 20 minutes. Chicago to Pittsburgh, with 5 stops in between, in 45 minutes. The hyperloop uses magnetic levitation and vacuum pumps to propel a pod, carrying passengers, through a tube at speeds

2 NASA Astronauts Safely Return to Earth Source:  NASA - Crew Dragon onboard SpaceX Rescue Ship SpaceX Founder Elon Musk's Magnificent Accomplishment For the 2 brave astronauts, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who took the ride of their lives on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and hurtled into space onboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the ISS in May, it is now mission accomplished. They made it safely back to Earth today, having accomplished the first private space mission with US astronauts launched from the US into space for NASA.  They've made history. Perhaps NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine put it best calling the mission "the next era in human spaceflight", as NASA will be purchasing space rides from SpaceX.  For SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk, this is a huge accomplishment that he says he wasn't sure he could do when he founded SpaceX in 2002.  He kept on perfecting his rocket science technology and he did it with a great victory today. SpaceX Victories For E

PAL-V May Be the Flying Car Closest to Public Availability Source:  PAL-V Driving on Roads in the Netherlands in August In August, the Dutch flying car company PAL-V will be allowed to drive the flying/driving vehicle on roads in the Netherlands for the first time.  The National Road Traffic Agency is currently performing its last round of inspections before the PAL-V joins regular highway traffic.  This is a major step forward toward making the PAL-V available for commercialization and deliveries to the public.  PAL-V appears to be at the head of the pack in the emerging flying car industry.  This vehicle could also be on the roads of New Hampshire in the US.  NH has just passed landmark legislation in the US allowing flying cars to drive on its public roads.  PAL-V's US office is located at Manchester Airport in New Hampshire. Public Availability The PAL-V company (Personal Air Land Vehicle) says the flying car will be available to the public in 2021.  It expects to start commerc