Lucid Motors claims 400 mile range for its luxury electric car

Lucid Motors electric vehicle
Credit: Lucid Motors/Electric Cars Report

Tesla has proven the practicality of electric vehicles. First with its Roadster, then with the Model S luxury performance car, & has demonstrated its Model 3, “mass market car”, with 200+ mile range. First deliveries of the 400,000 pre-orders are promised for the end of 2017.¹

Apparently based on the principle of, “everything is obvious once you know the answer”, almost all car manufacturers, plus a few startups, have announced plans to manufacture a 200+ mile (320km) electric car.^2,3,4,5

Most recent announcement – Lucid Motors luxury electric car with 100kWh battery & 300 mile range. Also promised is a larger 130kWh battery, 4WD courtesy of front-&-rear motors providing 1,000 horsepower combined, 2.5-second 0-60 mph time & 400 mile range. Production is planned for late 2018.

What Lucid Motors has at the moment, is an “Alpha prototype” – Slash Gear scored a ride.



Electric Cars Report
http://electriccarsreport.com/2016/12/lucid-air-luxury-electric-sedan-revealed-400-mile-range-0-60-mph-2-5-seconds/

Engadget
https://www.engadget.com/2016/12/15/inside-the-lucid-air-luxury-ev/#/

Tech Crunch
https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/14/lucid-motors-unveils-the-air-a-new-luxe-electric-car-with-a-400-mile-range/

Manufacturer’s web site
https://lucidmotors.com/car
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¹ Hichhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Tesla Model 3 revelations”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/tesla-model-3-revelations.html

² Hichhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Jaguar I-PACE electric SUV (video)”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/11/jaguar-i-pace-electric-suv-video.html

³ Hichhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Chevy Bolt electric vehicle – range claims supported by growing number of road tests”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/10/chevy-bolt-electric-vehicle-range_5.html

⁴ Hichhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Edna the electric drive train test mule meets Tesla & Ferrari at the drag strip (video)”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/07/edna-electric-drive-train-test-mule.html

⁵ Hichhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Dyson is developing an electric car”, https://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/03/dyson-is-developing-electric-car.html

/ Lucid Air 1,000 HP electric Tesla-killer 400 mile range luxury mobility Lucid Motors Tesla rival Lucid prototype shop Fremont California automaker formerly known as Atieva Lucid Air luxury sedan Lucid Air perfect commuter vehicle power of a sports car 1,000 HP 1,000 horse power modern car start-up automaker fully-electric powertrain bodywork VP of design Derek Jenkins poached from Mazda MX-5 Miata completely different strategy mainstays of the auto industry game-changer model EV heavyweight Tesla market Lucid Tesla former Model S chief engineer Peter Rawlinson Lucid’s chief technology officer Tesla Model S luxury Model X SUV mass-market car Tesla Model 3 Tesla brand Lucid’s first car sports car electric drive powerful seamless makes traditional engines feel antiquated interior space similar Mercedes-Benz S-Class blending sublime luxury modern design relax spread out new space in the luxury vehicle market amazing commuter vehicle right size for urban conditions small city garages same size Mercedes E-Class connected technology autonomous features range commuters Lucid’s homegrown electric motor hardware 600 HP 600 horsepower 600 horse power space traditional Tesla-style battery slung between the wheelbase front suspension condensed system integration engineers HVAC blowers ahead bulkhead reducing cabin noise second power bundle at the rear multi-link rear suspension switchable volume inverted air-springs active damping Lucid’s solution increasing cabin space reducing external dimensions inter-systems spatial optimization optimisation executive jet-style reclining rear seats fit into the footprint of a car this size range launch initially 100 kilowatt hour battery pack 300 miles of driving Peter Rawlinson 130 kilowatt hour option up to 400 miles charge through a port on the nose Lucid paving the way car to drive itself autonomous driving Autopilot enabled at the start whole range of sensors built-in standard performance Tesla increasingly squeezing more power out of its cars Lucid deliver same sort of grunt total 1,000 horsepower 2.5 second 0-60 mph time cabin 29-speaker audio system 12 beam-forming microphones dashboard multiple displays touch-friendly centre center display more storage space Lucid Alexa-style voice controlled assistant automatically adjust settings who identifies inside at the wheel Lucid’s headlights high-intensity LEDs 9740 micro-lens array lenses per headlight dynamically angled production Casa Grande Arizona late 2018 brand new $700m manufacturing plant was announced late November produce up to 130,000 cars each year /

What’s causing global warming?

World average temperature 1880-2014
Credit: NASA/Bloomberg

Scientists agree that the world is warming, & that human activity is substantially the cause.^1,2,3,4

1.4 °F (0.8 °C) since 1880.⁵

Climate change deniers have claimed a number of other possible causes:
● changes in the Earth's orbit
● changes in the output of the Sun
● volcanic emissions
● land use
● ozone pollution
● aerosols

Researchers at NASA have looked at the impact of all of these, separately & together, to reveal the combined outcome.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/
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¹ “Scientific consensus: Earth's climate is warming”, http://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/

² “The 97% consensus on global warming”, https://www.skepticalscience.com/global-warming-scientific-consensus.htm

³ “How to Determine the Scientific Consensus on Global Warming”, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-determine-the-scientific-consensus-on-global-warming/

⁴ “Survey finds 97% of climate science papers agree warming is man-made“, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/climate-consensus-97-per-cent/2013/may/16/climate-change-scienceofclimatechange

⁵ “Graphic: Global warming from 1880 to 2013”, http://climate.nasa.gov/climate_resources/28/ / NASA model researchers study Earth climate create models test assumptions theory hypothesis causes trajectory global warming research written 61 climate models different approach elements climate system ice oceans atmospheric chemistry computer model generated results graphic ModelE2 created NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies GISS climate projections ModelE2 500,000 lines of code run on a supercomputer NASA Center for Climate Simulation Greenbelt Maryland global research project GISS results international climate-science research initiative climate science Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase Five Phase-5 designed models replicate known climate history projections world’s temperature results Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change experiments Phase-5 research tests Earth’s temperature atmospheric carbon dioxide world’s climate burning fossil fuels current rate experiments research groups reproduce climate from 1850-2005 climate factors forcings contribute contribution temperatures graphic GISS observed temperature data Phase-5 historical experiment temperatures climate scientists report climate results temperatures annual temperature departs from an average baseline departures anomalies temperature anomalies more consistent absolute temperatures absolute temperature several degrees absolute temperature differences averages temperature fewer monitoring stations measurement simulation results aligned observations 1880-1910 average temperatures trends shape trajectory line single year’s temperature observed line GISS global land ocean temperature record temperature lines modeled modelled modelling modeling estimates climate factor contributes overall temperature simulated different initial conditions average GISS researchers historical simulations modeled years Phase-5 historical experiment observed data confidence ranges researchers models reproduce weather events El Niño phases models whole system behaves El Niño equatorial Pacific Ocean warms simulation El Niño temperature lines average model’s estimates uncertainty bands outer range reasonable estimates temperature lines modeled results observations 95% simulations forcing data raw observational model data /

This engine breaks a law of physics – but a NASA test says it works anyway

EM drive – thrust without exhaust
Credit: NASA

Newton’s third law of motion is popularly expressed as, “For every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction.” Existing rocket engines demonstrate this law – the force expressed as the high velocity ejection of exhaust from the rear, has as its, “equal & opposite reaction”, the forward motion of the rocket engine, plus any attached space vehicle.

Equally, Newton’s third law also implies that a space vehicle without an exhaust can’t produce propulsion. Which is what makes a series of experiments at NASA facilities which began over 2 years ago, remarkable – an experimental EM drive appears to have produced thrust without an exhaust!

National Geographic
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/11/nasa-impossible-emdrive-physics-peer-review-space-science/

The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/technology/sci-tech/this-rocket-engine-breaks-a-law-of-physics-but-a-nasa-test-says-it-works-anyway-20161122-gsvc0w.html

NASA – “Evaluating NASA’s Futuristic EM Drive”
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/04/evaluating-nasas-futuristic-em-drive/ / NASA team impossible space engine works the facts scientists published paper controversial EmDrive Em Drive produces thrust defies known laws of physics prototype EmDrive test chamber NASA lab years of speculation maverick research team NASA’s Johnson Space Center team formally published experimental evidence electromagnetic propulsion system power spacecraft without using any kind of propellant team electromagnetic drive EmDrive Em Drive converts electricity into thrust bouncing around microwaves closed cavity theory lightweight engine spacecraft Mars EmDrive defies the laws of classical physics team claims scientists aren’t sure how the thing actually works reports engine skeptic skeptics skepticism physicists EmDrive Em Drive Em-Drive pseudoscience level of scrutiny independent scientists suggests EmDrive really does work revolution space travel impossible spaceship engine British scientist Roger Shawyer developed tested engineers NASA’s Advanced Propulsion Physics Research Laboratory Eagleworks Eagleworks EmDrive generates thrust bouncing around electromagnetic energy microwave photons closed cone-shaped chamber photons collide chamber’s walls propel the device forward nothing is released from the chamber ion drives NASA spacecraft create thrust ionizing propellant xenon gas shooting out beams of charged atoms EmDrive Em Drive Em-Drive scrutiny future vehicles hurtle through space without needing to carry literal tons of propellant space travel staying light crucial for fast and cost-effective trips over long distances /

Keyless entry hack makes millions of modern cars vulnerable to theft

Credit: Pic Click CA

As computerised facilities are added to motor vehicles, they create new avenues for the security of those vehicles to be breached. Keyless entry is one such avenue.

Recently hacks have been uncovered which allow entry to vehicles & even the capability drive them away. Vulnerable vehicles include the 2017 Toyota Camry, 2016 Chevrolet Impala, 2015 Ford Edge, & 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid.

Wired
https://www.wired.com/2016/08/oh-good-new-hack-can-unlock-100-million-volkswagens/

Slash Gear
https://www.slashgear.com/keyless-entry-cars-can-be-stolen-with-this-new-mystery-hack-11467097/

PDF of the Garcia & Oswald paper is available at:
https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/usenixsecurity16/sec16_paper_garcia.pdf / cars more reliant computers operating systems engines ways drivers interact with them susceptible to hacks software-based attacks USA National Insurance Crime Bureau NICB identified new tool allow thieves unlock cars equipped with keyless-entry keyless entry keylessentry start engine drive off drive away mystery device NICB non-profit non profit nonprofit organization insurance industry third-party security expert overseas Europe rare reports official police reports identifying the device source car theft Los Angeles Times reports device two components driver parks locks their vehicle thief standing nearby amplify the signal sent from the key fob locked signal tricks vehicle into thinking it’s the key fob cars outfitted keyless ignition unlocked started and driven informal testing NICB cars vulnerable to the hack 2017 Toyota Camry 2016 Chevrolet Impala 2015 Ford Edge 2013 Volkswagen Jetta Hybrid NICB Relay Attack unit tool car manufacturers test network security vehicles no way to combat such a device not easy to come by plenty of other methods hacking keyless-entry systems Hack unlock steal University of Birmingham computer scientist Flavio Garcia and a team of researchers were preparing to reveal a vulnerability that allowed them to start the ignition of millions of Volkswagen cars and drive them off without a key Flavio Garcia Senior Lecturer in Computer Security Senior Birmingham Fellow School of Computer Science University of Birmingham /

Pebble scooped up by Fitbit

Original Pebble smart-watch
Credit: Pebble/Amazon

Pebble's original smartwatch took the Kickstarter crowd funding site by storm with over $10 million pledged.¹

Over $20 million was pledged for Pebble Time, the second generation Pebble smartwatch.²


Pebble 2 – third generation update of the original Pebble
Credit: Pebble/Kickstarter


Pebble Time 2 – third generation update of the Pebble Time
Credit: Pebble/Kickstarter

Perhaps a sign of things to come – only $12 million was pledged for the third generation of Pebble watches³ – & it appears that delivery of those devices will not be completed. Pebble has been sold to Fitbit, allegedly for $40 million. Apparently, Fitbit was interested in the technology, but not the Pebble name, which will be retired.

Slash Gear
https://www.slashgear.com/the-pebble-post-mortem-the-wisdom-of-the-crowd-08466845/

Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-07/pebble-said-to-discuss-selling-software-assets-to-fitbit

The Verge
http://www.theverge.com/2016/12/7/13867158/fitbit-buys-pebble-smartwatch-acquisition-deal
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¹ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Hands-on with the Pebble smartwatch – first round production units to ship January 23” – the original Pebble smartwatch, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2013/01/hands-on-with-pebble-smartwatch-first.html

² Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “Pebble Time — video” – second generation Pebble smartwatch, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2015/02/pebble-time.html

³ Hitchhiker’s Guide 2 Tech: “What Pebble had up its sleeve – two new smart watches & a new type of connected device” – third generation Pebble smartwatch, http://hhg2tech.blogspot.com/2016/05/what-pebble-had-up-its-sleeve.html / Pebble post-mortem post mortem wisdom crowd tech industry company bright and shiny startup bankruptcy Pebble lasted longer than many wearables firm was always being predicted for imminent death raising millions of dollars in crowdfunding cash original Pebble 2012 Apple Watch will crush Pebble Apple’s wearable two years later store shelves Apple Watch finally sealed Pebble’s death warrant analysts Google momentum Android Wear wearable technology segment Pebble fitness trackers usurped by smartwatches continued to dominate sales price cheap broadly-functional exercise tracking band well under $100 value proposition fitness wearable more readily understood traditional timepieces simply bare-wristed design battery life value basics of messaging and email your wrist modicum proactive uses without needing to reach for your phone Fitbit best of Pebble dumping the company’s watches color smartwatch monochrome smartwatch affordable fitness trackers fitness-first cementing their primary value smart features value-adds easier to explain Fitbit Pebble’s more vociferous fans useful company went for its second round of Kickstarter funding third drum-beating enthusiasts unofficial marketing fans Pebble positive retweets frustration and disappointment Pebble backers latest campaign will get refunds crowdfunding wasn’t Pebble’s first ambition strategy associated with founder and CEO Eric Migicovsky Kickstarter struggling to raise funding in more traditional ways company making headlines product raising money from customers your backers motivated vocal feedback cheerleaders bank venture capitalists customers backers interviewed Eric Migicovsky Pebble employees explanations rumors attempted buy-out by Citizen last year in excess of $700m sub-$40m price paid by Fitbit not even covering Pebble’s debts /

Wearable device allows graphic designer with Parkinson's disease to write her name again

Emma Lawton was a graphic designer. At age 29, she was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Three years later, hand tremors had progressed to the stage where she could no longer write her name, or draw a straight line. Now, a BBC project & Haiyan Zhang, Microsoft Research Cambridge’s innovation director, have produced a wearable device which allows her to do those things again.



Emma Lawton speaking at Being the Story. (The blue line across the screen which you may notice early in the video is not a fault in your equipment, or anywhere else – you’ll see the cause later in the video.)

/ graphic designer Emma Lawton diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago age of 29 BBC project Haiyan Zhang Microsoft Research Cambridge’s Microsoft Research Cambridge innovation director wearable device reclaim her lifelong passion for drawing and sketching The Big Life Fix BBC series got underway Emma Lawton featured first episode of the series focuses people United Kingdom’s top inventors solutions problems affect day-to-day life Parkinson’s disease cause sufferer’s hands shake uncontrollably making simple actions almost impossible Emma Lawton’s tremor becoming so severe career graphic designer serious jeopardy report from MS Power User Haiyan Zhang previously created cutlery disabled people reacts to their movements avoid spilling food building upon that foundation create wrist-worn device wearable dubbed the Emma facilitate facilitates drawing sketching counteracting impulses sent to the wearer’s arm The Emma intentionally shakes user’s arm interrupting feedback loop impedes normal movement while wearing the device Emma Lawton able to draw straight lines write legibly BBC program was filmed wearing the Emma on a daily basis Haiyan Zhang no plans to develop the Emma no commercial release commercial release designed the device to fit Lawton’s particular needs others will take the technology continue to develop it further /

Feathered dinosaur tail encased in amber

99 Million year old amber with the feathered tail of a dinosaur trapped inside – amber appears to have been shaped by a jeweller
Credit: Ryan McKellar/Royal Saskatchewan Museum/The Age

Fossilisation typically preserves the shape of the hard parts of an organism. Bones are not preserved as such. The process of fossilisation replaces the bones with minerals, atom-by-atom, so that the structure of the bones is preserved in stone. This is what we see in the image below – the fossilised skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex.


Fossilised skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex
Credit: bnps.co.uk/Daily Mail

Rarely, a softer structure, such as this sample of Triceratops skin, is fossilised – but because, once again, the original is replaced atom-by-atom, no colour information is retained.


Fossilised Triceratops skin
Credit: Fossils ourprehistoricworld/Pinterest

Shown in the image at the top of this post, & below, is the tail of a dinosaur which was engulfed by tree sap 99 million years ago. Subsequently, the tree sap hardened into amber, preserving bones, skin & feathers, almost wholly intact, without mineralisation. As a result, colour information has been preserved. It appears that the dinosaur was brown above & white below.


Detail from the piece of amber. Notice that the four tips in the top left & middle left all branch from the same shaft
Credit: Ryan McKellar/Royal Saskatchewan Museum/New York Times

Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Feathered dinosaur tail discovered in lump of amber from a market in Myanmar
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-09/99-million-year-old-amber-fossil-holds-dinosaur-bones-feathers/8092526

Sydney Morning Herald – Dinosaur tail feathers encased in amber found at a market in Myanmar
http://www.smh.com.au/technology/sci-tech/dinosaur-tail-found-encased-in-amber-found-at-a-market-in-myanmar-20161208-gt7bia.html / feathered dinosaur tail discovered lump of amber from market Myanmar amber piece chestnut brown feathers sprout fossilised tail dinosaur Royal Saskatchewan Museum RSM/R.C. McKellar preserved bones feathers tip dinosaur tail amber piece chestnut brown feathers sprout fossilised tail dinosaur Royal Saskatchewan Museum R.C. McKellar exquisitely preserved bones feathers tip dinosaur tail discovered piece 99-million-year-old amber found palaeontologist hunting fossils Myanmar market piece dinosaur tail preserved 99-million-year-old amber 99 million year old amber first time dinosaur skeleton material found in amber help scientists understand development feathers dinosaurs birds astonishing fossil contains first skeletal remains dinosaur ever found preserved amber international team scientists journal Current Biology spotted amber market last year palaeontologist Dr Lida Xing tail fragment young dinosaur about size sparrow lived mid-Cretaceous period amber was originally assumed contain some sort plant material destined to become jewellery Dr Xing China University of Beijing scientific significance colleague Dr Ryan McKellar co-author research paper private collection gone entirely unnoticed Dr McKellar Royal Saskatchewan Museum Canada close inspection fossil microscope CT scanning revealed stunning 3D detail feathers sprouting from either side central rod preserved traces pigmentation reveal top feathers light chestnut brown underside pale white colour feathers tail 3.5 centimetres long eight to nine tiny vertebrae fossil contains remnants soft tissue muscles analysis tissue revealed molecules iron may indicate traces haemoglobin protein trapped fossil once-in-a-lifetime project dinosaur visually stunning level of detail specimen amber dinosaur bone digs Alberta Saskatchewan fragment of a feather part of the animal skeletal remains too fossil dinosaur not bird wispy-tailed juvenile dinosaur theropod group of largely carnivorous animals included creatures Tyrannosaurus rex ancestors modern birds dinosaur bird bones within tail aren't fused together into rod modern birds shows more similarity dinosaurs velociraptor tyrannosaurus modern birds specimen help scientists better understand how feathers developed dinosaurs evolved into birds feather and amber feathers intermediate form modern bird feathers have barbs central shaft well developed central shaft particular pathway development of feathers dinosaurs leading to birds feathers developed barbules and barbs before developing entral shaft /