Important Innovations

  Powerful Luxury Version of BMW 8-Series                                        Source:  BMW - Alpina B8 BMW & Alpina's Unique Partnership BMW and Alpina have just unveiled a powerful and luxurious new sedan, the Alpina B8 Gran Coupe.  The B8 Gran Coupe is Alpina's version of the BMW 8-Series Gran Coupe.  Germany-based Alpina is a separate company but it is BMW's luxury and performance automobile craftsman.  Alpina develops high performance versions of BMWs.  The company builds engines and parts and customizes luxury interiors by hand.  BMW does the final assembly of the souped-up BMW's.  So, the two companies just unveiled the powerful, luxurious and very expensive new B8 Gran Coupe to some great automotive reviews. Power Performance and Elegant Luxury The Alpina B8 is the most expensive entry in the new BMW 8-Series lineup.  Experts say it combines many of the 8-Series lineup's best qualities into a classic, luxury and powerful performance car.  Almost everyt

Germany's BioNTech & Pfizer Test COVID Vaccine for Kids                                                             Source:  Stock Image of Child & Vaccine                                                            Source:  BioNTech & Pfizer Breakthrough Medical Innovation Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech hope to be able to vaccinate children under 12 years old against COVID-19 by early 2022.  Early stage trials started in late March 2021.  The volunteers (via their parents) are as young as 6 months old.  The Pfizer BioNTech COVID vaccine for adults was the first authorized for use in the US in mid December 2020 and among the first to hit global markets in late fall 2020. In the US alone, 66 million people have received it. Shot In The Arm Only the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine is being used on 16 and 17 year old teens in the US.  Moderna's vaccine has been cleared for those 18 years and older.  No vaccine has been authorized for use on children under 16 year old in

  Fighting Climate Change Destruction of Forests With Tech Source:  German Black Forest                                                       Source:  AI Forest Protection/Management System Sustainable Forests Climate Change is devastating forests around the world, including in Germany.  The worst conditions in Germany are taking place in Baden-Wurttemberg, where 43% of all forest areas are damaged.  German scientists are starting to deploy artificial intelligence and big data in an innovative program to make forest systems more resilient and resistant to Climate Change. AI Based Forest Management Scientists from Karlsruher Institute for Technology (KIT) and EDI Gmbh (an intelligent software spinoff) have developed an AI based assistance system for forest management.  This is a collaborative big data gathering effort by the South German Climate Office, the German Weather Service, KIT and EDI Gmbh.  They're developing a cloud based, decision making support system based on AI to bett

  Franzi Cleans Hospital Floors, Talks, Sings & Cracks Jokes                                         Source: Dr. Rettler SERVICE A Robot Putting Smiles on Patients' Faces During the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, a new robot named Franziska, or Franzi for short, is spotlessly cleaning the hallway floors in a Munich, Germany hospital.  And importantly she is cheering up patients, staff and visitors along the way with her talking, singing and joke-telling.  Franzi can clean floors for ten hours on a single charge.  She receives her cleaning duty commands by smart phone.  The 3.3 feet tall robot has become quite the sensation while doing highly valuable service and keeping human workers out of harms way. Robotic Workforce in the Pandemic Franzi is an advanced member of the robotic workforce during the pandemic.  She is stationed at Neuperlach Hospital in Munich and is part of Dr. Rettler SERVICE, a German company that specializes in hospital cleaning, which is a critical service du

  The Sport & The Cross                                                  Source:  Porsche High Performance E-Biking in Style Porsche just unveiled two new e-bikes with very impressive performance capabilities and jaw-dropping price tags.  The E-Bike Sport is priced at $10,700.  And, the E-Bike Cross is priced at $8,549.  They were unveiled alongside the new Porsche Taycan Cross Turimo.  The bikes' design styles were inspired by the car's aerodynamics. The Sport The bikes were built by Porsche's own design studio.  The Sport has a full suspension carbon frame and integrated front and rear lights.  Its Shimano EP8 mid-drive motor can support up to 25 km/h.  It is a road bike designed for everyday use. The Sport is road legal in most European countries with a top speed of 15.5 mph.  It has very large disc brakes to stop quickly if necessary. The bike weighs 48 pounds. The Cross The Cross has a more rugged design for off-roading and weighs 48.7 pounds.  The seat and handleb

  Robot Designed to Prevent Drownings                                          Source:  Fraunhofer Institute Rescue Aquatic Robot German researchers have created an autonomous, underwater robot to rescue people in danger of drowning.  The team of scientists and roboticists are from the Fraunhofer Institute for Optronics, System Technologies and Image Exploitation in Germany.  The robot, called DEDAVE, is said to be a world robotic first.  DEDAVE is a prototype now under development Advanced Technologies When used at a pool, DEDAVE uses surveillance cameras mounted on the ceiling above the pool to spot the movement patterns of someone in danger of drowning. The movement is identified by artificial intelligence based computer system. The robot is stored in a docking station at the bottom of the pool.  The camera sends coordinates to the robot that pinpoints the location of the person in distress. The robot releases from the docking station, uses its onboard cameras to locate and then res

  Could Cameras On Tesla EVs Be Used For Spying?                                                           Source:  Tesla stock image of Elon Musk Virtual                                             Source:  Tesla Stock Image China Thinks Tesla EVs Are Potential Espionage Weapons China is the world's largest electric vehicle market.  It is of vital importance to Tesla, as 30% of its total sales are now coming from China.  China thinks that advanced cameras on Tesla vehicles could be used to spy on them.  That is why the Chinese military just banned Tesla cars from entering any of its military complexes.  The Chinese military specifically cited security and intelligence concerns over the cameras that are installed on Tesla cars.  Tesla is a huge player in the China EV market.  It has a gigafactory in Shanghai that is accelerating its operations.  For Tesla CEO Elon Musk, this is one big global EV headache.  The Tesla founder, entrepreneur and CEO has just reacted to the allegation t