PILOT

VW’s next electric SUV, the ID 5 coupe, will go into production in 2021

Volkswagen confirmed that its next electric vehicle, the ID 5, will start production in Germany in the second half of 2021. The first pilot series of the ID 5 has already started production, the automaker confirmed in a recent tweet. The ID 5 will be a coupe version of the ID 4 compact SUV, which… Read more

How to score a COVID-19 vaccine appointment

One of the most frustrating tasks for many of us these days is finding how and where to get an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccination. It can be a real exercise in exasperation: the websites are often difficult to navigate and prone to frequent crashes; in addition, after finding an open appointment slot and filling… Read more

The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal will play Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us TV show

Pedro Pascal, who you might recognize as The Mandalorian himself, has been cast as Joel in HBO’s TV adaptation of The Last of Us, as first reported by Deadline. The casting was confirmed shortly after by The Last of Us creative director (and an executive producer and writer for the show) Neil Druckmann. Pascal’s confirmed… Read more

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is accepting $99 Starlink deposits amid ‘deep chasm’ of red ink

SpaceX started accepting preorders for its Starlink satellite internet service late on Monday, as the company broadens its beta program to “a limited number of users per coverage area.” Members of the public can now enter their home address and put down $99 for an antenna-router bundle that Starlink’s website says will ship “on a… Read more

Toyota teams up with Aurora and Denso on robotaxi development

It’s 2021 and we’re still finding unique ways to pair up to develop self-driving cars. The latest is between Toyota, AV startup Aurora, and auto part supplier Denso. The three companies will join forces to develop a fleet of robotaxis, with the first hitting the road by the end of this year. It’s a big… Read more

Baltimore’s spy planes will fly no more

Baltimore, Maryland city officials have unanimously voted to end the city police department’s spy plane surveillance program, according to The Baltimore Sun (via Vice). Sorry, wait, the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) had a spy plane program? Yes, and it was called AIR, which stands for Aerial Investigation Research. The program was run by a company… Read more

Spin is testing remote-controlled electric scooters to prevent blocked sidewalks

Spin, the scooter company owned by Ford, is testing a new scooter that can be controlled by a remote operator. The scooters, Segway’s T60 model, look different than Spin’s regular fleet with the addition of a third wheel in the front. They’re also outfitted with sensors and other technology provided by a startup called Tortoise,… Read more

Lime adds electric mopeds to its lineup of scooters and bikes

Lime is adding a new member to its family of shared electric vehicles: mopeds. The mopeds are being offered as part of a pilot program to test whether Lime’s customers prefer vehicles that are faster, heavier, and arguably riskier to ride than your average kick scooter. The mopeds can be rented via Lime’s smartphone app,… Read more

Axiom names first private crew paying $55 million for a trip to the ISS

An American real estate investor, a Canadian investor and a former Israeli Air Force pilot are paying $55 million each to be part of the first fully private astronaut crew to journey to the International Space Station. The trio will hitch a ride on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule early next year, with a veteran NASA… Read more

Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its internet balloon company

Alphabet is shutting down Loon, its division that provides internet from floating balloons, according to a post on the blog of Alphabet’s X moonshot division. “The road to commercial viability has proven much longer and riskier than hoped,” Astro Teller, who leads X, wrote in the blog. “In the coming months, we’ll begin winding down… Read more

Go read this report about the US military endangering passenger jets by blocking GPS

Mark Harris, writing for IEEE Spectrum, has come out with a chilling report about how military testing is leading to confusion among pilots — and sometimes putting them in danger. The piece goes into why the US military is jamming GPS in American airspace and recounts some of the times it’s almost gotten civilians killed…. Read more

AI Hub, the new piece of Microsoft's Ambition Italy plan

The Italian Ambition Plan from 1, 5 billion is enriched with a new initiative, Microsoft AI Hub, which aims to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence and train professionals capable of spreading this type of skills by Alberto Falchi , Vittorio Manti published on 21 January 2021 , at 17: 17 in the Cloud channel… Read more

heise offer: c't and Westermann offer free teacher training

Why are social networks so popular even though they are also heavily criticized? What does Facebook actually do with user data and is the company allowed to do anything? Does Twitter work differently? And what is this clubhouse that everyone is talking about now? This is just one of the topics that the c’t in… Read more

SkyDrive: The Japanese flying car is scheduled for 2023

To CES 2021 in Las Vegas the Japanese company has released new details and an updated roadmap, according to which it plans to arrive on the market with a definitive product for the 2023 by Roberto Colombo published 21 January 2021 , at 13: 01 in the Technology channel SkyDrive We talked about SkyDrive on… Read more

FAA USA: off to autonomous flights without observer on the ground for American Robotics drones

The company will be able to fly its Scout drones for the first time without having to deploy observers on the path to carry out the visual flight, but only with the remote control of a pilot to do as supervisor in beyond the line-of-sight mode. by Roberto Colombo published 20 January 2021 , at… Read more