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Sep 9, 2016

VOLVO's China news * Volvo + Uber + Autoliv: Developing autonomous-driving technology

* China - Auto companies plan to have new technology on the market by 2019

--- Stockholm based Volvo Car Corp. and Autoliv Inc. are joining forces in the increasingly frenetic race to develop autonomous-driving technology, creating a new venture to develop software for sale to the industry at large... Volvo, the China-owned luxury car maker, and Autoliv, a supplier of air bags and safety belts, said on Tuesday that the new company would start operations early next year to develop automated-driving and advanced driver-assistance systems for use by Volvo and other car makers... Autoliv would have exclusive rights to sell the technology... Volvo Car Corp. is owned by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and isn't affiliated with truck maker Volvo AB... 
(Photo AFP/Getty Images: Car maker Volvo, already in partnership with Uber in testing driverless cars in cities such as Pittsburgh, has tied up with fellow Swedish auto firm Autoliv to develop autonomous-driving technology)  --  Stockholm, Sweden - The WSJ, by DOMINIC CHOPPING - Sept. 6, 2016

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Mar 16, 2016

* Europe - Renault Trucks Award

* France - Solvay and Renault Trucks win JEC Innovation Award

-- Solvay SA, Renault Trucks and its partners have won the 2016 JEC Innovation Award for Structural Parts in Automotive using a thermoplastic composite material. The new high performance composite material was based on Solvay’s nylon-based Evolite thermoplastic resin reinforced with continuous glass fiber. The module weighs 25 percent less than a similar metal model, while the number of parts used to assemble was cut in half, thanks to the pooling of the partners’ innovations in design, materials and manufacturing. Other companies working on the project were thermoformer HBW-Gubesch Kunststoff-Engineering GmbH of Nürmburg, Germany; Sika AG of Baar, Switzerland; and Böllhoff Group of La Ravoire, France. The award ceremony took place at JEC World, the largest international convention of composites professionals, on March 8 in Paris. In less than four years, Solvay and Renault Trucks designed, manufactured and validated the new composite module. Assembled on a Renault truck, it was tested on front crash, vibration and durability, showing it could meet the industry’s strictest safety requirements... 
 Paris, France - Plastic News, by PRW - March 10, 2016

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Jul 9, 2015

TROUBLES BACKING THAT BIG TRAILER ? * USA: No Problem: Now new technology help you !

* Michigan - Trailer got your back up? Help is coming
-- Brandon Herzog, a software engineer, turned on the Trailer Reverse Assist technology Continental has developed and I positioned that trailer between the cones as if I’d been doing it for years... I wasn’t even inside the truck when I backed that trailer in place. Instead, I was walking beside the truck and trailer, controlling their movements via a notebook computer tablet... Cameras on the front, sides and rear of the truck are “intelligent,” which Herzog said means they not only capture images but measure angles and movement and calculate variables based on various algorithms to assure not only proper but safe placement of vehicle and trailer. The Trailer Reverse Assist technology could be installed immediately in my 2013 Nissan Frontier... 
(Photo: Continental North America - A notebook computer tablet directs the Trailer Reverse Assist system) -- Detroit, MICH, USA - The Detroit News, by Larry Edsall - July 8, 2015

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May 9, 2015

BETTER ROUTES for INDEPENDENT TRUCKERS * USA: Mobile Apps get picked up

* New York - Trucking business has remained stubbornly low-tech—but this may be starting to change

-- One recent morning, Ivan Sandul, a 28-year-old truck driver from Sacramento, Calif., after driving a load of machine parts more than 3,000 miles from California and dropping it off in Canada, he was up at dawn, working the phone from a parking spot in upstate New York, trying to find a load to help begin paying the cost of his return trip home. On his fifth call, he found a freight broker looking for a driver to haul a load of metal from a nearby recycling plant to Ohio... Independent owner-operators of trucks make up about half of all truckers in the U.S.A.—by rough estimates about 250,000 drivers—and generally still rely on a system that evolved from one built on handwritten notes tacked to truck-stop bulletin boards. Typically, an independent driver searching for shipments will call intermediaries known as freight brokers and dispatchers. In return for matching them with loads, brokers take a cut—ranging from 10% to 30%—of what shippers pay drivers...  The central issue the new apps seek to address is what is known as backhaul, or the trips that truck drivers must take to return to their point of origin. Because truckers get paid by the mile and typically cover their own fuel costs, they try to avoid making backhaul journeys with an empty container, called a deadhead trip... For years, truckers found backhaul loads by scanning handwritten notes pinned to bulletin boards at truck stops, known as load boards, and calling the phone numbers listed to find freight orders through brokers and dispatchers. More recently, load boards have gone online, but most still rely on middlemen to arrange a pickup... 

* California - TECH-BROKERING LOADS: Mobile Apps: Info-Geolocation. Freight on mobile phones. Data collecting via internet.

-- Bryan Beshore, ex-alumnus of Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator tech incubation program, Keychain, found Keychain Logistics. The company makes an app which, it says, has been downloaded by more than 20,000 drivers. Keychain uses geolocation information, as well as data on truckers’ schedules and most commonly-traveled routes, to match carriers with loads, and the company takes between 6% and 10% of the cost of a typical shipment for its services—much less than the amount traditional brokers typically allot themselves... San Francisco-based Trucker Path Inc.’s eponymous app started this way. Over the last three years, the app has been downloaded 200,000 times by drivers, the company says. This month, the app’s maker plans to publicly launch a “marketplace” function, which will allow drivers to find freight loads on their mobile phones. Using the function, truckers will be able to enter their location into the app, specify where they want to travel next, and find nearby shippers who want to send freight along a similar route... Matt Chasen, founder and chief executive officer of uShip, a company founded in 2004 that became one of the first app developers for the trucking industry. Mr. Chasen says that uShip has between 50,000 and 70,000 drivers using its platform and charges between 10% and 20% of the cost of a load. It launched a new version of the app in February that focuses on collecting data on trucker behavior to help streamline the matching process...  
 (Photo courtesy of IVAN SANDUL - If you wake up too late, trucker Ivan Sandul says, you might end up wasting a working day trying to find the next shipment)  --  New York, NY, USA - The WSJ, by ROBBIE WHELAN - May 7, 2015

* Nevada - OMVS’s revolutionary trucking app to gain added power and versatility
-- On the Move Systems Corp. (OMVS) is considering expanding its upcoming, on-demand "Uber for trucking" platform to include a new shared economy app to enable truckers to purchase needed products and supplies during their local and cross-country hauls. The new app would give the innovative platform added functionality, power and versatility on top of its ability to wirelessly connect carriers with local, independent truckers, providing them a way to cost-effectively market their services... Shared-economy companies with robust, option-rich mobile apps have seen their user bases grow tremendously whenever they add new features. Uber is but one success story in building a successful, shared economy mobile app. A more surprising one is Kohl’s Department Stores, which saw its mobile app user base grow by nearly 800 percent after it expanded the features it offered... OMVS’s upcoming, on-demand platform aims to take advantage of America’s rapidly growing interest in shared economy services, sales of which are expected to grow to $335 billion by 2025. The company has enjoyed recent success as it continues to build its roster of trucking partners interested in joining the platform... 
Henderson, NEV, USA - Business Wire - May 11, 2015

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Apr 15, 2015

INFRASTRUCTURES * Australia. VicRoads gets electronic curfew signs underway

* Victoria - Static signs with long messages seen as ineffective and unsafe

-- VicRoads has developed what it describes as an Australian-first electronic ‘No Trucks’ signs to enforce complex truck curfews in Melbourne’s inner west... In January, Somerville Road, Yarraville truck curfews were extended to include school drop off and pick up in a move backed by the Victorian Transport Association... To clearly and safely communicate four different curfew periods to drivers along the 2.6km stretch of Somerville Road, it turned to electronic LED signs, designed and programmed to switch on and off during truck curfew periods and display a ‘No Trucks’ symbol... The solution looked to avoid large static signs with long messages when conveying multiple and variable time-based curfews... Eleven electronic ‘No Trucks’ signs were designed and installed, of which four are regulatory signs on Somerville Road and seven are advisory signs on the approach to Somerville Road... The total cost of the project including design, electrical and civil works was $590,000...
(Picture: The advisory sign)  --  Melbourne, VIC, Australia - Fully Loaded - 17 March 2015

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Apr 7, 2015

TRUCKS TECHNO-ACCESORIES * Canada: Drivewyze's

* Alberta - South Dakota offering trucker Drivewyze Bypass Service at 65 sites

-- Drivewyze says its PreClear bypass service has been added in South Dakota, and that the mobile-based weigh station and inspection site bypass service is now available at 545 locations in 34 states... With the addition of Drivewyze, the Mount Rushmore State for the first time has a bypass service at all of its mobile vehicle inspection sites. Drivewyze PreClear users can now receive bypasses at 65 sites in South Dakota, including 61 mobile sites and four fixed locations... Drivewyze uses cellular technology and the Internet to add transponder-like functionality to electronic logging devices, smartphones and tablets instead of dedicated short-range communication transponders and transponder readers... Drivewyze PreClear 3.0, the newest version of the weigh station application, comes with Weigh Station Heads-Up service for real-time notifications for more than 700 weigh stations and inspection sites nationwide. While the notification service is free, the bypass service is subscription-based and starts at $15.75 per vehicle per month with free trial offers and volume discounts available... Edmonton,ALB,CAN -Trucking News - April 6, 2015

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Mar 13, 2015

TRUCKING INDUSTRY NEWS * USA: On-demand services in

* Nevada - OMVS begins development on ‘Uber for Trucking’ program


-- The massive popularity of Uber and other “sharing economy” applications inspired On the Move Systems Corp. to bring novel, on-demand services to the U.S.A. trucking industry, the company announced today. Development has begun on a new program designed to save time and money on trucking by connecting users directly with individual service providers... According to data from the American Trucking Associations, nearly 70% of all the freight tonnage moved in the U.S.A.  goes on trucks. Without the trucking industry, the American economy would shut down...  With nearly 3 million trucks on the road, however, there is ample opportunity for increased efficiency and connectivity. An online community allowing businesses and consumers to hire trucks, combine cargo space and track shipments from loading dock to loading dock could be a game-changer for the multi-billion-dollar industry... Now, OMVS aims to join the next wave of transformative online businesses by using digital tools to connect transportation customers with smaller and independent trucking service providers. With development of OMVS’ new trucking program underway, the company’s first step will be building partnerships with smaller trucking firms, giving them an opportunity to compete in the same, wider marketplace as the biggest players... (Photo: A Truck on Snow Road)-  Henderson, NEV, USA - BUSINESS WIRE -March 10, 2015

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Mar 11, 2015

TRUCKING SOFTWARE * USA: Advanced tech tools... Need help with that move?

* Arkansas -  Optimize savings and efficiency in trucking
-- Last week, Matt Herndon, vice president of operations at PAM Transport, stood in a large room filled with several dozen managers keeping track of those 1,600 trucks. A map of the United States (of A.) appeared on a large screen showing colored dots that represented a PAM “asset,” as the vehicles are called by trucking executives... Each asset has an in-cab mobile device that allows Herndon or a driver manager to pinpoint the exact location of a specific truck. As winter weather threatened, Herndon said the asset map could be combined with a weather map so officials can quickly ascertain which assets are likely to be affected by storms... Matt said, the technology allows the company to send direct messages to every truck nationally or to every truck in a specific region or even an individual truck, and it also allows truckers to contact the company from the road. Not unlike the old CB days when an eastbound trucker would relay weather and road information to a westbound colleague, truck drivers act as a company’s eyes and ears... (Photo: PAM Transport's trucks fleet)  - Tontitown, ARK, USA - Arkansas Business, by Marty Cook - Mar. 9, 2015


* Kentucky - Startup Weekend winners develop Uber-like truck service
-- The most recent one was held over the weekend at FirstBuild, the GE micro-factory on the University of Louisville campus. The winner was MOOV, a matchmaker of sorts for people who own trucks and people who need help moving big or heavy items. Think ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft — but for truck owners looking to pick up extra cash by loaning out their vehicle, or perhaps a little manpower to help a nice stranger out... The winning team of seven consisted of the aforementioned firefighter, banker and architect as well as students and a business owner. They created a working website and were even open for business on Sunday, although they were doing the matchmaking by hand, team member Kat Williams said... The judges gave the nod to MOOV thanks to its growth over the three-day period as well as its strengths in customer acquisition, market size and its business model, according to judge Trisha Finnegan...
(Photo: MOOV, a service that connects truck owners with people needing a truck to move, won this spring's Startup Weekend. From left to right, standing: Ashlyn Ackerman, Kat Williams, Michael Sugar, Matt O'Brien and Chen Lu. Kneeling: Michael O'Brien and Teng Shao) - Louisville, KY, USA - Lou

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Feb 5, 2015

TECHNO-NEWS * China & USA

* Chinese city really does have a two-headed, German-made fire truck

(Images: QQ, Wikipedia/Christophe Jacquet: We’re sure the drivers of these dual-headed fire trucks are thankful for the option to reverse course without having to spend the time to turn around, just like fire victims are no doubt grateful for anything that gets the firefighters to the scene even a second more quickly)
-- Speed is of the utmost importance for emergency responders. When a fire breaks out, for instance, a delay in rescue workers arriving on-site can directly lead to lives being lost... But while fire trucks have powerful, torquey engines that enable them to haul a full team and all of their firefighting equipment, they aren’t the most nimble vehicles when you need to bust a U-turn on a narrow road... Thankfully, some firefighters in China’s Nanjing City don’t have to worry about pulling off such complex maneuvers on their way to a blaze, thanks to their crazy-looking double-headed fire engines that can be driven in either direction...The vehicular Frankenstein’s monster isn’t the creation of a Chinese company, either... Nanjing,China -Rockeet News 24, by Casey Baseel -3 Jan 2015


* New Jersey: : Noise makers for electric cars / trucks,  won’t be law in the U.S.A. until 2018


(Photo: The 2015 VW e-Golf includes noise fakery. Come 2018, all U.S.-market electric and hybrid cars will need it)
 -- Regardless of your opinion on them, rules mandating that all plug-in and hybrid cars make some form of artificial noise to alert pedestrians of their presence have long been promised by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) following a large amount of lobbying by the National Federation for the Blind... In fact, it was as far back as 2011 that a law — the Pedestrian Safety Act — was put onto the books to ensure that automakers include noise makers on all hybrid and plug-in vehicles. But despite being on the books for four years, there still isn’t an agreed implementation detailing how automakers must comply with the law... Hammering out that implementation has been the job of NHTSA since the law was passed, but as Wards Auto detailed last week, despite originally planning to bring guidelines into force far sooner. NHTSA has now set a deadline of September 2018 for all automakers to comply... Bloomfield, New Jersey, USA -Transport Evolved, by NIKKI GORDON -February 2, 2015

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Nov 25, 2014

TIRE'S SELF INFLATOR * USA: Halo Tire

* California - Two firms partner to promote tire self inflation product

(Courtesy: APERIA TECHNOLOGIES - Halo Tire Inflator is a self-powered, bolt-on inflation technology that uses a wheel’s rotation to maintain optimal tire pressure in dual and wide-based tires on drive and trailer axles used on trucks, tractors, trailers and buses) 
Riverside,MO., and Burlingame,CAL,USA -The Trucker News Services -21 Nov 2014: -- Velociti Inc., a global provider of technology deployment services, and Aperia Technologies, makers of the Halo Tire Inflator, a versatile, self-powered, bolt-on tire inflation technology, have entered into a partnership... Under the agreement, Aperia will make Velociti’s project management and deployment services available to its customers for the installation of its Halo... The Halo Tire Inflator can be used on drive axles of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and on trailer axles...

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Nov 24, 2014

TRUCKS' TECHNONEWS * USA: O.C.'s Quantum Technologies

* California - QT rides clean tech rollercoaster 
(PHOTOS: NICK AGRO - Brian Olson, CEO of Quantum Technologies in Lake Forest, poses between rows of back-of-cab truck storage systems for compressed natural gas) 
Lake Forest,CAL,USA -Orange County Register -Nov. 21, 2014: -- In a placid industrial park framed by rolling hills of chaparral, Brian Olson, CEO of Quantum Technologies, strides through his factory with a certain swagger. They makes natural gas fuel systems for big trucks... The factory has high-precision machines which spin carbon fiber around giant tanks which will hold compressed natural gas... “What we make is unique,” Olson boasts, gesturing toward high-precision machines spinning carbon filaments in intricate patterns around polymer cylinders... The tanks, to be filled with compressed natural gas for 18-wheelers, are the “lightest, most efficient CNG storage vessels in the world,” Olson said. They enable trucks to travel up to 1,000 miles without refueling... Quantum says its strategy is paying off: The firm has begun to sell not just tanks, but whole CNG systems with multiple components. Contracts are signed with major trucking firms such as Ryder... The Lake Forest company is an innovative player in what looks to be a revolution in the way goods move across the United States (of A.)...

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Oct 31, 2014

TECHNO-LOGISTICS & TRUCKS * USA / Germany : Trucks & Drones

* Ohio - Electric trucks plus drones could make deliveries 'green'
(Photo Credit: AMP EV: AMP's drone, dubbed Horsefly, could be used together with electric trucks to deliver goods to future online shoppers)
Cincinnati,OH,USA -Live Science, by Jesse Emspak -October 29, 2014: -- AMP Electric Vehicles, based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is proposing a new way to deliver goods that combines drones with fuel-efficient electric trucks... AMP wants to add drones to the delivery service to boost efficiency even further. The drone would be attached to the vehicle, and would be capable of carrying packages weighing up to 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) for two or three miles (3 to 4 km) before returning to the truck... For businesses like FedEx, DHL or UPS, AMP's CEO, Steve Burns said, the drone-truck system can lower the cost of deliveries to 2 cents per mile. Typical costs for UPS, for instance, average about 50 cents per mile... Development of this same-day delivery service depends on forthcoming regulations from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)...


* Germany - DHL's 'Parcelcopter' delivery drone

(Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters: DHL deploys 'parcelcopter' drone for drug deliveries... A flock of pigeons flies with a prototype "parcelcopter" of German postal and logistics) 
Norddeich,Norden,Germany -Live Science, by Elizabeth Palermo -September 26, 2014: -- Though the drones will be running on autopilot, DHL has set up a mobile ground station in Norddeich so that manual action can be taken if an aircraft malfunctions, or if an emergency occurs...

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Oct 9, 2014

SAFETY TRUCKS * Sweden: Volvo's

* Sweden - Volvo Trucks: New technology prevents accidents by making trucks “more human”

(Video from Volvo Trucks -6 Oct 2014: Volvo Trucks has developed new technology that can do a 360 degree scan of its surroundings and suggest actions to avoid incidents. The technology is developed specifically to protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists)
Stockholm,Sweden -Autoevolution, by Mircea Panait -7 Oct 2014: -- Volvo's latest project truck is a work-in-progress expected to see commercial introduction within 5 to 10 years' time... Dubbed Non-Hit Car and Truck, this research project employs a suite of advanced active safety features... As simply put as possible, the new technology can eliminate the risk of accidents caused by a limited field of vision thanks to a thorough 360 degree scan of everything that's near the Volvo truck, pedestrians, cyclists, vehicles and all... Developed jointly with Volvo's passenger car division, the Non-Hit Car and Truck can evaluate any obstacle in the truck's surroundings, then suggests actions to avoid accidents. If the driver does not respond to the suggested actions, the steering or braking system can then be activated autonomously... To boot, this bit of tech can perform a 360 degree scan of anything near the truck every 25 milliseconds, predicting traffic scenarios up to 5 seconds ahead depending on the speed of the objects. Although the Volvo Trucks team of talented engineers have done most of the work, a lot more testing needs to be done before the system is ready for mass production...

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Sep 23, 2014

PORTS AUTOMATION * USA: Labor agreement discussions

* California - US Port labor talks turn on automation cutting workers

(Featured Video : Port of LA Automated Container Terminal, from CH2MHILL 3D Visualization Studio -3 June 2014: 3D computer animated video production explaining the new automated container terminal for Trapac at the Port of Los Angeles)
Los Angeles Port,CAL,USA -Bloomberg News/Transport Topícs, by Patrick T. Fallon -19 Sept 2014: -- West Coast shippers and dockworkers are struggling to reach a labor agreement as terminal operators replace as many as half of laborers at some ports with robots in the largest technological change in half a century... The two sides are discussing how to retrain and preserve jobs for dockworkers as automation reduces the number of positions at one Los Angeles terminal by 40% to 50% after changes are completed in 2016... The International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association are negotiating a new contract for 20,000 West Coast dockworkers, more than two months after a six-year agreement expired. A strike or lockout could cost the U.S. economy $2 billion a day, according to the National Retail Federation and National Association of Manufacturers... Terminal operators at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the largest U.S. port complex, are installing equipment that moves containers from ships to shore cranes and trucks with minimal human labor. The first large-scale automation project is scheduled to be complete at a TraPac Inc. terminal at the Port of Los Angeles in 2016. In neighboring Long Beach, Orient Overseas Container Line Asia Pacific Ltd. is adding robots as part of a $1.3 billion project to upgrade two container terminals by 2019...

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Aug 12, 2014

TECHNO NEWS * Germany: A fuel cell triple hybrid

* England - Revolutionary new product developed by Proton Power Systems

(Photo: Fuel Cell Triple Hybrid Bus by Proton Motor) 
Newcastle,EN,UK -The Journal, by Coreena Ford -Aug 11, 2014: -- Fuel cell maker Proton Power Sytems has finished work on a revolutionary system for electric vehicles... A fuel cell triple hybrid bus by Proton Motor, based in Germany... The Newcastle-registered company has developed the HyRange 25 system, a product that produces 25kW of net power to support bus, light and heavy duty vehicle applications... The system, the firm said, can allow bus manufacturers to downsize on board batteries, increase passenger load and reduce operating costs... Fuel cells made by Proton Power have been used in the Czech Republic for the last four years and in Germany for the last two years... In Germany the HyRange 8 System with 8kW of net power has been used on a 7.5 tonne logistics vehicle, which has been running in a full time service without interruption “with extremely pleasing results”... The firm said it has been continuously testing and running the HyRange 25 system over the last nine months and that it can be used as a range extender for electric vehicles, generating 50kW or 75kW in multi system applications...

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Oct 18, 2013

* UK - LGVs with automatic gearboxes tests

* UK - DSA to allow LGVs with automatic gearboxes at test from January

London,EN,UK -Commercial Motor, by Ashleigh Wight -16 October 2013: -- The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) has confirmed that changes to allow practical LGV driving tests to be taken in vehicles with an automatic gearbox will come into effect in January 2014... The DSA is removing the current requirement for vehicles presented at a practical test to have a minimum of eight forward gears... Those that take the test in an automatic truck will also receive a manual licence if they already hold a manual entitlement for cars, buses or lorries, with or without a trailer... Existing drivers will also be given the opportunity to exchange/upgrade their licence for a manual one if they already hold a manual entitlement for cars, buses or lorries, with or without a trailer...

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Feb 12, 2013

TECHNOLOGIES * USA

* North Carolina - AC Kinectics can eliminate 26 million Tons of CO2,  reducing 104B KWH of electricity usage

Raleigh,NC,USA -Busworld (Belgium) -6 Feb 2013: -- A new green technology developed by startup company AC Kinetics, Inc. will help eliminate as much as 26 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually from the air, while also reducing electricity usage by about 104 billion KwH. This next generation motor control is compatible with existing AC induction motor drive hardware and is now available for licensing... The advanced AC Kinetics software, supported by real-time adaptive algorithms, runs on standard drive hardware for motorized equipment in the consumer, industrial, and transportation markets. The drive softw

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Nov 15, 2012

TECHNOLOGIES * WORLDWIDE

* Victoria / Australia - Carbon fiber wheels lighter. New product boosts vehicle performance, but pricey for now


(Photo: Carbon Revolution CR-9 Full Carbon Fiber Automobile Wheels) 
Waurn Ponds,VIC,Australia -The Detroit News, by Larry Edsall -November 15, 2012: -- What began as a collegiate engineering exercise has produced the first commercially available one-piece automobile wheel made from carbon fiber... Why would someone want such a wheel on a car? Basically, because carbon fiber is as strong as — or even stronger — than steel and weighs much, much less. Reduce weight, in this case, unsprung weight at each of a car's four corners, and the car's dynamic performance parameters — acceleration, turning, stopping — are enhanced... At the moment, the Carbon Revolution wheels are available only for the Porsche 911, Audi R8 and Lamborghini Gallardo. Oh, and they cost $15,000 for four... But the wheels' developers say that they expect the cost to drop sharply as production ramps up and sizes are created for a much wider variety of vehicles, including wheels for trucks and airplanes... Ashley Denmead was an engineering student at Australia's Deakin University and wondered if the car's wheels might be made from the space-age composite material used in the bodies and other components of jet fighters and Indy racers... Because of its potential for making vehicles lighter and therefore more fuel and emissions efficient, the carbon fiber wheel development program received a grant from the Australian government...


* Sweden - Volvo fast charger fills an EV battery in an hour and a half

(Image; Volvo is testing the charger on its C30 EVs) 
Stockholm,Sweden -Gizmag, by C.C. Weiss -November 8, 2012: -- Volvo is working on what it calls the world's first three-phase on-board charger. The charger promises to make electric-vehicle charging much faster than it is now. Instead of charging a vehicle overnight or for hours at a time, Volvo claims its on-board unit will allow users to completely refresh their batteries in just 1.5 hours...

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Oct 20, 2012

VEHICLES TECHNOLOGIES * Australia

* Leighton charges into electric vehicle market

(Photo: Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore at the unveiling of a ChargePoint EV charging station in 2010)
Sydney,NSW, Australia -The SMH, by Peter Hannam -October 16, 2012: -- Leighton Contractors has taken over the licence of one of the country's fledgling electric vehicle (EV) support companies as the construction giant expands its network business... Leighton's Visionstream unit, bought the key assets of ChargePoint, an operator of EV charging stations across Australia and New Zealand... Visionstream already had a close working relationship with ChargePoint, having built their network, the company said... The EV industry is very much in its infancy with the number of vehicles in Australia barely numbering in the hundreds. Several major car companies are preparing to introduce new models into the Australian market, a move that will offer more choice to consumers and lower the current steep entry price... 

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Sep 28, 2012

TECHNO NEWS * USA

* California - Self-driving cars straight ahead; congestion relief effort detoured

(Photo)
Sacramento,CAL,USA -Land Line, by Keith Goble -26 Sept 2012: -- A new law in California is supposed to help pave the way for driverless cars in the state... Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law Sept. 25, to allow autonomous, or self-driving, vehicles onto California roadways. Specifically, it sets up safety and performance standards to test and operate the vehicles throughout the state... Nevada adopted a similar rule a year ago. Other states also are looking into approving standards... During the bill signing ceremony this week at Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA, supporters noted that licensed drivers are required to be behind the wheel of the vehicles, which are designed to improve safety by eliminating human error. Drivers have the ability to override the vehicle if something goes wrong...

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