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Imagining how the dimension of mobility will evolve in the next few years, Haochen gives his imagination wings in the shape of this firefly-inspired Husqvarna Devil S Concept bike.

More often than not, motorbikes are tagged as unsafe since they expose the rider’s body to high-speed dangers in case of an accident. Two-wheelers typically have a very open stance that attracts the young generation and adds to the adrenaline rush. More than anything, the ride should be stylish and match the fashion statement of the young crowd. This inspired Haochen (Wenson) Wei to design a motorbike with a very stylish character and a safe design that’s radically different from what bikes are perceived to be.

Over the years, deep learning has required an ever-growing number of these multiply-and-accumulate operations. Consider LeNet, a pioneering deep neural network, designed to do image classification. In 1998 it was shown to outperform other machine techniques for recognizing handwritten letters and numerals. But by 2012 AlexNet, a neural network that crunched through about 1600 times as many multiply-and-accumulate operations as LeNet, was able to recognize thousands of different types of objects in images.

Advancing from LeNet’s initial success to AlexNet required almost 11 doublings of computing performance. During the 14 years that took, Moore’s law provided much of that increase. The challenge has been to keep this trend going now that Moore’s law is running out of steam. The usual solution is simply to throw more computing resources—along with time, money, and energy—at the problem.

As a result, training today’s large neural networks often has a significant environmental footprint. One 2019 study found, for example, that training a certain deep neural network for natural-language processing produced five times the CO2 emissions typically associated with driving an automobile over its lifetime.

Only a few years ago, this might have sounded crazy, but it’s here now – the first head-to-head, high-speed race without the actual racing drivers. Autonomous vehicles will soon be competing against each other at the Indy Autonomous Challenge, an event that will probably be remembered for years to come.

Elon Musk recently hinted at a very welcome and simple update for Tesla’s vehicles, especially those which have already replaced their 12-volt batteries in the past. According to the CEO, Tesla would be looking into the idea of equipping older vehicles with a 12-volt lithium-ion battery, similar to the Model S Plaid.

Musk’s update came as a response to Tesla owner Rich Teer, who inquired if it was possible to have the company’s older vehicles be equipped with the company’s newer 12-volt lithium-ion battery. This was a good point considering that the conventional 12-volt lead-acid battery used in vehicles like the Model 3 and Model Y tend to get discharged, in some cases, multiple times per year.

In his response, Musk stated that Tesla would try to roll out such an initiative, especially as it would be beneficial for the company’s cars. A 12-volt lithium-ion battery would last far longer than a conventional lead-acid battery, after all, and according to Musk, Tesla’s goal is to reduce service in its vehicles anyway. “Unlike other makers of cars, our goal is *not* to profit from service. Best service is not needing service in the first place,” Musk noted.

It is among the longest flights by an electric aircraft.


The company, which is backed by Toyota and recently acquired Uber’s flying taxi division, has said that it plans to have a full-scale air taxi service in operation by 2024, including regional trips. The point of the 150-mile flight was to demonstrate how far its aircraft could fly on a single charge, to allay concerns about the vehicle’s range and battery. If you want to fly from New York City to Montauk, Joby wanted to show that it can get you there without running out of juice.

“We’ve achieved something that many thought impossible with today’s battery technology,” JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, said in a statement. “By doing so we’ve taken the first step towards making convenient, emissions-free air travel between places like San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, Houston and Austin, or Los Angeles and San Diego an everyday reality.”

Ever since Star Wars brought podracing and flying motorcycles to the forefront of TV, it’s fair to say most people have wanted to fly one. Luckily, we truly are entering an era of flying vehicles – after all, flying cars will be raced around a track by the end of the year – and flying motorcycles are next on that list.

Jetpack Aviation’s “The Speeder” is the answer to all our sci-fi prayers. A jet turbine-powered motorcycle that looks more like a flying jet ski, this new vehicle prototype has just completed the first test flight that will enable it to go into the next stage of production.

While it isn’t necessarily the completed vehicle that took flight, the company was testing its VTOL self-stabilizing jet platform that will make the basis for their Speeder vehicle. The tests showed it could hover, turn, move in various directions, and right itself after being knocked – all incredibly difficult feats when working with four jet engines.