Important Innovations

  Perfect Day and Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger                                             Source:  Perfect Day Animal-Free Dairy Startup With $360 Million in Funding Europe and the US are leading the way in the development of animal free food and investors are bankrolling new startups.  A great example is the animal-free dairy startup Perfect Day.  Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger just made a significant investment in the company and now has a seat on its board of directors.  This after Perfect Day raised $360 million in investment funding this year.  The company has a unique history, innovative technology and commercially available products like its dairy-free ice cream. Transatlantic Roots Perfect Day was founded in Cork, Ireland by two young scientists Ryan Padya and Perumal Gandi.  Their approach to creating animal-free dairy products garnered global interest.  They've developed animal-free milk, cheese, yogurt, butter and ice cream.  Now headquartered in Berkeley, Cal

 Full Self-Driving System   Beta Testing to Get Underway                                                       Source:  Tesla Future of Autonomous Driving The dream of autonomous driving is getting a lot closer.  Tonight, Tesla is rolling our the beta version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) system.  In a tweet, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the rollout to a few, selected customers. They've received a software update that downloaded automatically into their Tesla vehicle to better steer and accelerate without human intervention.  Musk said the rollout and beta testing will be "extremely slow and cautious".  He didn't say where the self-driving test runs would be taking place. Highly Advanced Technology  Musk says Tesla has done a fundamental re-write of the entire Autopilot software system.  He said they are "re-labelling" 3D videos, meaning how the system understands the objects it sees with its eight cameras and how it should react to them.  Musk says the so

  1000 Horsepower All-Electric Truck                                                 Super: GMC Hummer Targeting Tesla's Cybertruck GMC just unveiled its brand new Hummer electric "Super Truck with unprecedented off-road capability".  The EV has three motors that put out 1,000 horsepower.  It can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds. The driving range is 350 miles on a single charge.  And it has a fast charging capability that generates 100 miles of range in ten minutes.  This is GM's first electric pickup truck and it is pricey.  You can reserve the "Edition 1" model which starts at $112,595.  The EV has GMC's most powerful drivetrain.  With the Hummer EV, GM is clearly targeting Tesla's Cybertruck. EV Truck Wars The 2020's are ushering in electric pickup truck wars.  The new Hummer will be competing against a new lineup of e-trucks from Tesla, Ford, Rivian, to name a few.  The biggest competitor is Tesla CEO Elon Musk's pet project, the

  SpaceX & Microsoft Tie-Up to Win Space Customers                                                  Source:  Tesla Starlink Starlink and Azure Cloud Computing This technology combination between Elon Musk's SpaceX and Microsoft is fascinating.  Microsoft is expanding its Azure cloud computing platform into space through a partnership with SpaceX's growing constellation of low earth orbiting satellites for inexpensive, global broadband internet - Starlink.  Starlink is a big space-based internet opportunity and is already being beta-tested in the northern US, in tribal communities and in southern Canada.  Starlink can give Microsoft's Azure a potentially big edge over rival Amazon's cloud computing platform for business. Cloud Business Demand Is Soaring Because of the restrictions of COVID-19, demand for cloud services are soaring as adults and children work from home.  Microsoft has tested its Azure cloud with satellites in space and established a space venture addr

  Next Generation of Renewable Energy Source:  Virtual Power Plant stock images Homes, Working Together, Forming a Virtual Power Plant The concept of virtual power plants is compelling and already in practice.  The plant consists of homes powered by solar panels working together and turning neighborhoods into virtual power plants that can feed excess energy back to the grid.  These virtual power plants are already deployed in locations around the world such as public housing in South Australia and apartment complexes in Utah and California.  It's the next generation of solar power technology.  At some point in the future, virtual power plants may consist of fleets of electric vehicles. Gaining in Popularity Virtual power plants are gaining in popularity for a number of reasons.  They are a promising, green replacement for aging electricity infrastructure and their power plants powered by polluting fossil fuels.  Virtual power plants can distribute energy over a much wider area and

  Grows to 835 Satellite System                                                                      Source:  SpaceX Starlink Launch Moderate Coverage for North America SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink internet satellites into orbit on Sunday with another batch ready to launch on Wednesday.  The Sunday launch to build an inexpensive global internet service brings the total sats deployed to 835 satellites.  That is enough to reach CEO Elon Musk's target of 800 deployed satellites in low Earth orbit to start testing for moderate internet coverage for parts of North America.  This was Space X's 14th launch of Starlink satellites.  To achieve global broadband coverage, Musk says he plans to launch 120 new Starlink satellites per week. Incredible Technology Not just the Starlink technology is incredible, so too is the rocket technology for launch that's being deployed.   The Sunday launch was aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket's sixth flight.  After the successful launch, the f

NASA & Nokia's Bell Labs Building Lunar Connectivity                                                                                Source:  4G stock image Wired, Connected Moon for Astronauts NASA and Nokia's Bell Labs are building a 4G network on the Moon.  Bell Labs has been awarded a $14.1 million contract for the project.  Bell Labs is partnering with spaceflight engineering company Intuitive Machines.  The purpose is to provide US astronauts with a more robust means of communications. 5G Coming Next As is happening on Earth, the 4G network on the Moon will be upgraded to 5G over time.  The 4G system is being built to withstand the Moon's radiation, extreme temperatures and space's vacuum.  The astronauts will use the 4G network for data transmission, control of lunar rovers, streaming of high definition videos and for real time navigation of the lunar surface.  Bell Labs will deploy small cell technology, which is much smaller and requires less energy than the