Lyft Business

The European Space Agency (ESA) Metal 3D Printer, Developed By Airbus & Partners, Successfully Printed The First Ever Metal Part In Space, In August 2024, At The ISS. The Printed Parts Will Be Analyzed In Europe. This Technology Will Enhance Mission Autonomy For Future Moon & Mars Explorations, Allowing For On-Demand Part Manufacturing.

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iRonCub3, Developed By The Italian Institute Of Technology, Is The World’s First Jet-Powered Humanoid Robot. Weighing 70 Kg, It Flies Using 4 Jet Engines—2 On Its Back And 2 On Its Arms. Equipped With Advanced Control Algorithms And Heat-Resistant Materials, iRonCub3 Could One Day Assist In Natural Disaster Rescue Missions Or Reach Inaccessible Areas.

Nvidia’s New Blackwell B200 GPU Is The World’s Most Powerful Chip For AI. The B200, Which Offers 20 Petaflops, When Combined With The GB200 (Featuring Two B200 GPUs And A Grace CPU), Boosts AI Computing Efficiency And Performance. Nvidia Claims The B200 Cuts Costs And Energy Use By Up To 25x Over The H100 And May Cost $30,000 To $40,000.

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Climeworks Launched “Mammoth,” The World’s Largest Direct Air Capture (DAC) Plant In Iceland, Which Is 10x Bigger Than Orca. It Aims To Remove 36,000 Tons Of CO2 Annually, Using Geothermal Energy To Capture And Store Carbon Underground. While Promising, DAC Tech Faces High Costs, Scalability Issues, And Fossil Fuel Distraction Concerns.

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Mercedes Became The First To Sell Autonomous Cars In The US, In CA & NV, Allowing Drivers To Do Other Activities While Car Drives At Low Speeds On Approved Freeways. Their “Level 3” Tech, Drive Pilot, Surpasses Tesla’s Level 2 Tech But Trails Waymo Or GM’s Cruise Near-Total Autonomy Level 4 Tech. Mercedes Aims For Level 4 By 2030.

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Chinese Scientists Created One Of The Stretchiest Materials Known To Science By Linking Polymer Coils With Carbon Atoms. The Elastic Hydrogel (HG) Stretches Up To 15x Its Size Before Reverting To Its Original Shape, Unlike Traditional HGs. The HG, Tested With Robot Grippers, Proved Gentle On Fragile Items, Hinting At Wide Commercial Use.

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Harvard Researchers Have Developed A Breakthrough Eco-Friendly Solid-State Lithium Metal Battery That Is Rechargeable In 10 Mins And Can Be Recharged Over 6,000 Times, More Than Any Pouch-Shaped Battery. The Battery Could Significantly Enhance Electric Vehicle Range. Harvard Would Lease The Battery To Adden Energy To Commercialize It.

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Scientists Innovated Aerogel Glass Bricks With The Highest Insulation For Bricks, Plus Light Transmission. The Product Excels In Thermal Insulation Without Added Thickness, Reducing Lighting/HVAC Energy. This Is A Breakthrough In Building Materials, Even In Space. Eco-Friendly Brick Alternatives Include Ferrock And Sugarcrete Bricks.

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Stella Terra, An SUV Created By TU/e Students, Is The World’s First Off-Road Solar Vehicle. The Solar Panels On Its Roof Charge The Battery, Enabling Long-Distance Travel Without Charging Stations, Up To 710 Km On Roads & 550 Km Off-Road In Sunny Conditions, With A Top Speed Of 145 Km/H. The Goal Is To Inspire Sustainable Vehicle Innovation.

The World’s Largest Cruise Ship (WLCS), Royal Caribbean’s (RC) “Icon Of The Seas,” Has Conducted Its First Sea Trials. It Spans 365 M And Weighs ~250,800 Tones; Can Hold 5,610 Passengers And 2,350 Crews. The Ship, Which Boasts The World’s Largest Waterpark At Sea, Will Begin Its Caribbean Sail In Jan. 2024. The Previous WLCS Is RC’s “Wonder Of The Seas.”

Alef’s “Model A,” Is The First Flying Car/Electric Car To Receive Legal Permission From The FAA For Road And Air Testing, Allowing Limited Flight Locations And Purposes, Before Public Release. Model A Is Available For Preorder, Priced At $300,000, With Drive And Flight Ranges Of 200 Miles And 110 Miles —Alef Plans To Start Deliveries By Late 2025.

Colorado’s Biofire Has Launched The First Biometric Smart Gun With Facial Recognition And Fingerprint Verification. The Gun Grip Has A Fingerprint Sensor, While The Back Has 3D Facial Recognition. When Held, A Green Light Turns On To Indicate The Firearm Recognizes The Holder. Pre-Orders Began In April 2023, Aiming To Improve Gun Safety.

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United Airlines, If Approved By The FAA, Plans To Launch North America’s First Commercial eVTOL Air Taxi Service Between Downtown Chicago And O’hare International Airport In 2025. An eVTOL, Of The 200 Archer Midnight eVTOLs Purchased From Archer Aviation For $1 Billion, Can Complete The Route In 10 Mins, A Fraction Of The Hour-Long Drive, At ~$100/Trip.

A Japanese Start-Up, Aerwins, Has Built The World’s First Flying Motorcycle Called XTurismo Hoverbike. The Bike Can Fly For 40 Mins And Reach Speeds Of 100km/Hr. The Craft Is On Sale In Japan And A Smaller Version Will Be Available In The US In 2023 For $777,000. Aerwins Plans To Make A Smaller Electric Model By 2025 That Would Cost $50,000.

A Chinese Electric Vehicle Firm, BYD, Has Surpassed Tesla In The Global Sale Of Electric Vehicles In The First Half Of 2022. BYD, Partly Owned By Warren Buffett, Sold 638,157 Electric Vehicles While Tesla Sold 564,743 Vehicles. However, In Fairness, BYD Vehicles Are Electric Or Plug-In Hybrid Compared To Tesla’s Full Battery Electric.

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The World’s First Zero-Emission Hydrogen-Powered Flying Boat, Called “The Jet,” Which Can Soar 3 Ft Above The Water Surface Will Be Built In Dubai In 2023. The Noiseless Jet, Which Can Transport Up To 12 Passengers, Including A Pilot, Will Span 32 Ft, Weigh 6 Tones, And Cruise At Speeds Of Up To 40 Knots, Or 46 Miles Per Hour.

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An Israeli Company, NanoScent, Has Modified A Device To Detect COVID-19 From A Person’s Breath. The Device, Initially Built To Detect Cancers Or Other Health Predicaments Based On The Molecules In A Person’s Breath, Comprises A Breath Airbag And Sensors Equipped With Smart Algorithms, Which Can Indicate Whether Or Not A Person Has COVID-19.

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NASA Has Launched The World’s Largest And Most Powerful Telescope Ever, After More Than 30 Years Of Development/ Delays. The Tennis Court-Sized 10 Billion Dollar James Webb Space Telescope, Which Will Orbit The Sun, Is Designed To Study The Early Days Of The Universe And With Sensistivty To See Previously Undetectable Celestial Objects.

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BMW Has Created The First Car, From A BMW iX, Which Changes Color. And This Color Changing Ability Is Due To The Car’s Body Panels Comprising E Ink Displays, Just Like Those Found In Screens Of E-Readers. The E Ink Display Technology Would Enable The Car Or Part Of The Vehicle To Display Different Colors And/Or Information Like Images And Text.

The US FDA Has Approved The First Long-Acting Injectable HIV PrEP Medication. The Drug, Called Apretude, Given To Patients Every 2 Months, Is Said To Be 69% More Effective Than The Daily HIV Prevention Pills, Like Truvada and Descovy, For Cisgender Men And Transgender Women Who Have Sex With Men, And 90% More Effective For Cisgender Women.

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