Innovation Roundup — Exciting New Tech & Noteworthy Innovations

Written by Adithya Menon, Head of Prototyping

Let’s take a break from the impeachment trials, fears of a global pandemic, and bushfires, and delve into the ever changing landscape of technology, science and innovation. Here is our roundup of news and noteworthy innovation content from this week.

Cruising Into the Future of Ride-Sharing

Cruise

Last year was the year of electric vehicles (EVs) and advancements in self-driving technologies, and the trend continues into 2020 with some interesting new players in the game. Almost every major automaker around the world has committed to launching EVs, most with autonomous capabilities. Companies like Uber, Google’s Waymo and Tesla, just to name a few, already have vehicles on the street that are capable of driving themselves.

CES 2020 showcased out-of-this-world concepts for self-driving cars that may never make it to the streets. One thing that these companies have in common: they don’t stray from what we all know a car to be — having a steering wheel, driver seat, and passenger seat configuration with side view mirrors etc. So what do you get when you strip all the non-essential elements from a self driving car?

Introducing Cruise, a self-driving car company partially owned by GM and with significant planned investments from automaker Honda. They recently announced their first self-driving vehicle, the Origin, targeting the rideshare industry. A purpose-built vehicle that aims to make ridesharing a more pleasant experience, the Origin is built on a GM electric power train platform with interior design elements from Honda and software and sensors from Cruise.

Co-Founder and CTO, Kyle Vogt, says that this new species of self-driving EV is designed to last for a million miles, with key components being modular and replaceable. Like a box on wheels, the Origin has ample interior space with seat configurations on each end of the vehicle. From the side, the vehicle looks almost symmetrical. At first glance, this vehicle may look like a concept car, but Vogt says the design is close to being production ready. But don’t expect to see this sleek box driving itself around just yet, as there are plenty of hurdles to overcome from the federal government, which currently requires cars to have more traditional automobile elements.

Expect to see more exciting designs from startups and automakers that are similar, if not more radical than this. The future is self-driving, and soon, self-flying.

Sustainable Transportation Solutions for Last-Mile Delivery

Arrival

This little-known EV startup has been operating in stealth mode since forming in 2015, but a huge investment from automaker giants, Hyundai and Kia, recently placed a spotlight on the British company, Arrival.

Arrival plans to launch electric vans for the purposes of last-mile delivery, and their current model is capable of transporting 500 cubic feet of goods with ranges of up to 200 miles. Arrival representatives say their goal is for these vehicles to be lower in cost compared to delivery vehicles that rely on fossil fuels, with a focus on reliability and durability versus luxury.

The vehicles are made of composites and therefore do not require huge production plants. Arrival, instead, plans to open many microfactories at strategic locations close to their customers with an average output of around 10,000 vehicles annually.

Amazon India

Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, recently announced that Amazon India will be rolling out a fleet of new electric rickshaws as a part of their commitment to lower carbon emissions. A video posted on his Instagram channel shows a very happy Bezos taking one for a spin.

Their plan is to eventually deploy 10,000 of these zero-carbon, last-mile delivery vehicles by 2025, though there was no mention of how many are in service at this time.

Major cities in India are known for its unhealthy air quality caused by man-made pollution, and the launch of these vehicles alone will most likely have negligible impact on improving the air quality, but it is a step in the right direction.

Launching Americans to Space from American Soil

A major milestone for SpaceX and NASA, as part of the Commercial Crew program to launch American astronauts from American soil, was achieved on January 19th when SpaceX successfully demonstrated a “picture-perfect” in-flight abort test. The test was critical in proving that the SpaceX Dragon V2 crew capsule can escape mid-flight, in the event that something goes awry with Falcon 9, the first stage booster.

The test was planned to mimic a typical launch to the International Space Station, and after passing a period of maximum aerodynamic pressure (where the rocket and un-crewed capsule experiences its highest structural stress), the SuperDraco thrusters on the capsule ignited and propelled the vehicle a safe distance away from the first stage booster before returning safely with a splashdown in the Atlantic ocean, assisted by parachutes.

The capsule’s only passengers were 2 lifeless dummies outfitted with a suite of sensors to gather data on the forces eventual astronauts would experience in this unlikely scenario. One of the reasons why this particular capsule design is used, apart from its simplicity in manufacturing, is the ability to escape the launch platform in the event of a failure — something the Space Shuttle was unable to do.

The Falcon 9 booster, which had already flown 3 previous missions, did not survive as anticipated. Around 10 seconds after the capsule jettisoned, the extreme force and heat of reentry caused an explosion, as it was fully fueled, and the booster fell back to Earth. Elon Musk, CEO and Chief Designer, mentioned on Twitter that the team tried to find a way to save the booster, but no solution was found.

This test puts us closer to launching the first crewed mission to the ISS on a commercially-built launch system, which NASA and SpaceX anticipate could happen as soon as Q2 2020.

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About the Author:
Adithya Menon is Head of Prototyping at Salt Flats Innovation House in Chicago. He has a mechanical and aerospace engineering background and is highly experienced in both prototyping and product development.

Sources:

• Exclusive Look at Cruise’s First Driverless Car Without a Steering Wheel or Pedals. The Verge.
• A $100 Million Investment Pulls an EV Startup Out of Stealth Mode. Wired.
• Arrival Technology Company
• Jeff Bezos rode around in an electric Amazon rickshaw to show off the company’s new fleet in India. Business Insider.
• Fiery SpaceX test of Crew Dragon capsule was ‘picture perfect,’ Elon Musk says. CNBC.