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Category: transportation – Page 5

In a jaw-dropping announcement that has sent shockwaves through the automotive and tech industries, Elon Musk has revealed that Tesla’s next-generation vehicles will feature an innovative new capability: the ability to chat with drivers. This game-changing feature will allow Tesla cars to interact with their owners through natural language, responding to commands, engaging in conversation, and even providing real-time assistance to drivers on the road. Musk’s revelation marks another leap forward in Tesla’s mission to redefine the future of transportation and push the boundaries of what cars can do.

The announcement comes on the heels of Tesla’s ongoing efforts to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technology into its vehicles, further blurring the lines between traditional cars and cutting-edge, self-driving machines. With this new feature, Tesla is set to revolutionize the driving experience by introducing a level of interactivity and intelligence that has never been seen in a vehicle before.

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Fast-charging lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous, powering everything from cellphones and laptops to electric vehicles. They’re also notorious for overheating or catching fire.

Now, with an innovative computational model, a University of Wisconsin–Madison has gained new understanding of a phenomenon that causes lithium-ion batteries to fail.

Developed by Weiyu Li, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UW–Madison, the model explains lithium plating, in which fast charging triggers metallic lithium to build up on the surface of a battery’s anode, causing the battery to degrade faster or catch fire.

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A modified manufacturing process for electric vehicle batteries, developed by University of Michigan engineers, could enable high ranges and fast charging in cold weather, solving problems that are turning potential EV buyers away.

“We envision this approach as something that EV battery manufacturers could adopt without major changes to existing factories,” said Neil Dasgupta, U-M associate professor of mechanical engineering and and engineering, and corresponding author of the study published in Joule.

“For the first time, we’ve shown a pathway to simultaneously achieve extreme fast charging at , without sacrificing the energy density of the lithium-ion battery.”

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The world of robotics is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by rapid advancements in physical AI. This evolution is accelerating the time to market for new robotic solutions, enhancing confidence in their safety capabilities, and contributing to the powering of physical AI in factories and warehouses.

Announced at GTC, Newton is an open-source, extensible physics engine developed by NVIDIA, Google DeepMind, and Disney Research to advance robot learning and development.

NVIDIA Cosmos launched as a world foundation model (WFM) platform under an open model license to accelerate physical AI development of autonomous machines such as autonomous vehicles and robots.

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These limits have kept solar tech stuck on rooftops and in fields. But a new type of cell, almost invisible to the eye, may soon change that. Transparent solar cells could turn windows, cars, and even skin into energy-harvesting surfaces.

Unlike the old models, these next-gen cells don’t clash with their surroundings. They blend in while still capturing sunlight. Some are so clear they reach up to 79% transparency. On average, most hover above 70%, allowing them to function without being noticed.

A major reason for this leap forward lies in materials only a few atoms thick. Known as 2D materials, they’re helping reshape what solar panels can do. One group, called transition metal dichalcogenides, absorbs light well and has band gaps that can be tuned.

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Commuters in downtown Barcelona have been able to ride the bus for free this week. There’s just one catch: this mini-bus has no one at the wheel.

The bus pulls away from the stop with its passengers on its own, brakes before changing lanes and eases down one of Barcelona’s most fashionable boulevards.

Renault is testing a new driverless mini-bus in Barcelona this week. The autonomous vehicle is running on a 2.2-km (1.3-mile) circular route with four stops in the center of the Spanish city. Adventurous commuters can jump on free of charge.

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Unlike conventional silicon-based solar cells, perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are not only thin and lightweight, but can also be seamlessly applied to curved surfaces, like building facades and vehicle roofs. What’s more, they can be easily manufactured at room temperature using a solution process, leading to significantly reduced production costs.

However, for PSCs to achieve commercialization, it is crucial to develop technologies that maintain high efficiency over extended periods. A research team affiliated with UNIST has successfully made strides in this area. Their work is published in the journal Joule.

Professor Sang Il Seok of the School of Energy and Chemical Engineering at UNIST, along with researchers Jongbeom Kim and Jaewang Park, has developed an interlayer that leverages the specificity of organic cations on the surface of PSCs, simultaneously achieving and durability.

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A phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform named ‘Lucid’ has been targeting 169 entities in 88 countries using well-crafted messages sent on iMessage (iOS) and RCS (Android).

Lucid, which has been operated by Chinese cybercriminals known as the ‘XinXin group’ since mid-2023, is sold to other threat actors via a subscription-based model that gives them access to over 1,000 phishing domains, tailored auto-generated phishing sites, and pro-grade spamming tools.

Prodaft researchers note that XinXin has also been using the Darcula v3 platform for its operations, which indicates a potential connection between the two PhaaS platforms.

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A research team has identified a previously unknown degradation mechanism that occurs during the use of lithium-ion batteries. Their findings are published in Advanced Energy Materials.

The team includes researcher Seungyun Jeon and Dr. Gukhyun Lim, led by Professor Jihyun Hong from the Department of Battery Engineering at POSTECH (Pohang University of Science and Technology), in collaboration with Professor Jongsoon Kim’s group at Sungkyunkwan University.

Lithium-ion batteries, which are essential for , typically use nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) ternary cathodes. To reduce costs, recent industry trends have favored increasing the nickel content while minimizing the use of expensive cobalt. However, higher nickel content tends to shorten the overall cycle life of the battery.

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