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The first fully hydrogen-powered passenger train service is now running in Germany
Alstom's Coradia iLint trains only emit steam and condensed water.
London’s railway of the future is finally here
Crossrail cost more than $20 billion and took over a decade to build. It is London's railway of the future.
Iran's railway system fell prey to a cyberattack this weekend
Cyberattacks disrupted Iran's train system and website on the weekend, causing some chaos for travellers.
LG Display's transparent OLED puts a screen between you and the sushi chef
As per its annual tradition, LG Display is preparing to show off some new display tech demos for CES 2021, with the focus set on showing where transparent OLED may fit in the pandemic age.
LG's transparent OLED displays are on subway windows in China
LG is bringing transparent OLED displays to subway trains in Beijing and Shenzhen.
Google's Waze-like app for public transit hits five more cities
Last year, Google incubator Area 120 announced a public transit app that works in a similar way to Waze. Users of Pigeon report transit information to help others know if they're likely to face delays or other issues. Until now, it's only been available in New York City, but as of today, it's going live in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Toyota is using VR to train robots as in-home helpers
Home robots could make all of our lives easier, and perhaps most importantly, they could allow seniors to live more independently. But training robots to operate in homes is difficult because each home is unique and filled with so many objects in different combinations and layouts. Toyota Research Institute (TRI) may have a solution: using virtual reality to change the way we train robots.
'World's first' solar-powered rail line opens in the UK
Some trains in the UK are now running on a rail line powered entirely by a solar farm in what's said to be a world first. Around 100 panels are keeping the signaling and lights up and running on the track near Aldershot in Hampshire, and the project could be a precursor to solar-powered trains on the nation's network.
Navigation apps still lack railroad safety info the NTSB requested
Your phone's GPS app can alert you when you approach a speed trap or accident -- but will remain silent if you come upon a dangerous railroad crossing. Politico reported that Google, Apple and Microsoft have yet to add information on US railroad crossings to their navigation apps, almost three years after a request from The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The agency asked several tech companies to update their map apps after a 2015 incident in which a truck driver following Google Maps turned onto the railroad tracks and caused a fatal collision. So far, only Garmin and TomTom -- which both make GPS devices -- have complied with the NTSB's demands.
Google researchers trained AI with your Mannequin Challenge videos
Way back in 2016, thousands of people participated in the Mannequin Challenge. As you might remember, it was an internet phenomenon in which people held random poses while someone with a camera walked around them. Those videos were shared on YouTube and many earned millions of views. Now, a team from Google AI is using the videos to train neural networks. The goal is to help AI better predict depth in videos where the camera is moving.
Google Maps can predict how crowded your train or bus will be
Public transit is vital for countless people, but no one wants to be stuck on a subway train or bus that's jam-packed. To help you figure out how busy your ride is going to be, you'll soon see predictions to that end in Google Maps. Google is tapping into data from previous rides to predict how packed a bus, train or subway will be.
MIT finds smaller neural networks that are easier to train
Despite all the advancements in artificial intelligence, most AI-based products still rely on "deep neural networks," which are often extremely large and prohibitively expensive to train. Researchers at MIT are hoping to change that. In a paper presented today, the researchers reveal that neural networks contain "subnetworks" that are up to 10 times smaller and could be cheaper and faster to teach.
Facebook contractors categorize your private posts to train AI
At any given time, Facebook has thousands of third-party staffers around the world looking at and labeling Facebook and Instagram posts. The work is meant to help train AI and to inform new products. But because the contractors see users' public and private posts, some view it as a violation of privacy.
Uber adds London's public transportation info to its app
Londoners can now compare their public transport and ridesharing options in the Uber app. Tuesday, the company added real-time Underground, bus, train and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) info to a new "Public Transport" feature, which appears next to the UberX and UberPool options. When users search a destination, the app now generates a list of the fastest public transit routes, real-time schedules and walking directions to and from stations or bus stops.
Tesla's Osaka station Powerpack is its largest storage system in Asia
Tesla has built another Powerpack system in record time, this time at Osaka train station in Japan, where it will be used as emergency backup and to reduce peak energy demand. According to the company on Twitter, the 42 Powerpack units will provide enough energy to safely move a train and its passengers for up to 30 minutes to the nearest station in the event of a power failure.
California backs down on high-speed LA-to-SF rail plan
There were concerns about the logistics of California's planned high-speed rail system even as construction began, and those practical realities are finally hitting home. Governor Gavin Newsom said he plans to scale back the rail system, building just the Central Valley segment rather than the full San-Francisco-to-LA route. It would "cost too much" and "take too long" to complete the original railway, he said.
Iridium's 'truly global' satellite internet connects aircraft and ships
Wondering what Iridium would be doing with those Next satellites that SpaceX just finished launching? You now have an idea. Iridium has formally debuted Certus, a "truly global" satellite broadband service that promises to keep aircraft, ships and other vehicles (including self-driving vehicles) connected even in the remotest places. It's far from fast at 352Kbps for both downloads and uploads, but that's enough to keep crews online and provide reasonably high-quality voice services.
A brief history of when trains ran on air
Isambard Kingdom Brunel was and is one of the most celebrated engineers ever to have lived. There's a London university named after him, statues commemorating him across the UK, and many of the tunnels and bridges he built are still in use today. He designed London's Paddington station, built the first transatlantic steamship powered by propellers, and was chief engineer of the Great Western Railway, which connected the capital to distant parts of England and Wales. His legacy isn't just one of achievements, though. He is also renowned for his involvement in one failed project in particular: Brunel's atmospheric railway (or "caper," as it's sometimes called). Cars on the line -- officially, the South Devon Railway -- had no on-board engines, as they were driven by air pressure alone. But the design of the system was ultimately flawed. Within a year of service starting, atmospheric propulsion on the South Devon Railway was quickly abandoned.
Bombardier revives the battery-powered train
Diesel trains are noisy and polluting, but on stretches of non-electrified rail, what else are you going to do? Hydrogen trains are one option, but now there's another: Canadian transportation firm Bombardier has (re-)introduced the battery powered train. In Berlin, it launched the Bombardier Talent 3 electro-hybrid train, the first of its kind in Europe in over 60 years, the company said. The train took its maiden voyage with local luminaries including the federal commissioner for rail transport and the Brandenburg transport minister.
Lego's new toy train is a STEM tool for preschoolers
Twenty years ago Lego introduced Mindstorms as a way to engage kids who were becoming more interested in video games and the internet than plastic building blocks. It was successful enough that the kits became a regular sight in robotics classes and competitions. Now the line is on its fourth generation, and it's been joined by other STEM-friendly Lego kits like Boost and Powered Up to bring tech skills to many different types of kids. Now Lego's educational division goes even younger with Coding Express, a set that will teach 3- and 4-year-olds the basics of programming while they construct a world of trains, picnics and wandering deer.