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A 3D-printed autonomous car, and more in the week that was
3D printing and autonomous cars are two of today's hottest emerging technologies -- so why not combine the two? That's the idea behind Local Motors' latest vehicle, which features a 3D-printed body, a windshield video screen and no steering wheel. Meanwhile, OX launched the world's first all-terrain flat-pack truck, which can be quickly shipped anywhere in the world. Cannae Corporation announced plans to test an "impossible" zero-exhaust microwave thruster that could revolutionize space travel. And Electra Meccanica launched SOLO, an affordable three-wheeled electric vehicle for one.
ICYMI: 3D-printed, autonomous bus starts shuttling people
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: Local Motors is testing a self-driving, electric mini-bus that lets passengers communicate with the bus about the weather and where they're located as they are shuttled from one part of town to another. The bus was conceived just a few months ago but is already running in Maryland. The company plans to bring more buses to other cities, like Copenhagen and Las Vegas, soon. Meanwhile bone conduction headphones are being reimagined to be more wearable, with both a sunglasses option and helmet version up for grabs online. We also wanted to show you video of the robot badminton player because it's pretty amazing. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: The world's skinniest tower, and more!
Local Motors just unveiled the bus of the future, and it's fully autonomous, made by a 3D printer and controlled by IBM's flagship artificial intelligence system. In other transportation news, a German official declared that all new cars registered in the nation will need to be zero-emission by the year 2030. Tesla announced plans to sell its electric vehicles in a Nordstrom store in Los Angeles. And a solar-powered boat embarked on a historic journey across the Atlantic Ocean.
Olli is an IBM Watson-powered driverless electric bus
You might see a cute, driverless bus roaming the streets of Washington DC starting today. It's called Olli, and it's an autonomous electric minibus designed by Local Motors, which you might remember as the company that's planning to sell 3D-printed cars this year. While the automaker itself designed the 12-seater's self-driving system, it teamed up with IBM to use Watson's capabilities to power the EV's other features. Thanks to Watson, you can tell Olli where you're heading in natural language ("I'd like to go to [workplace.]") and ask it questions about how the technology works. Best of all, it won't kick you out even if you keep asking "Are we there yet?"
You can buy this 3D printed car next year for $53,000
Local Motors recently held a contest to build a roadworthy car using (mostly) 3D-printing techniques, and the winner, crowned in July, is the vehicle you see above. We now know that it'll be called the LM3D Swim and cost $53,000, with pre-sales launching in spring of 2016 and retail sales later in the year. If an unknown company building an all-new vehicle using an untested manufacturing technique doesn't sound risky enough, there's another catch, too. Sales will launch on Indiegogo, so early adopters will also need to gamble on crowdfunding.
3D-printed car contest winner is road ready by design
Earlier this year Local Motors set forth a challenge for the 3D printing community to design a road-ready vehicle, and now there's a winner. What you're looking at above is the Reload Redacted - Swim and Sport from Kevin Lo. It beat out over 60 other designs and Local Motors says that the Swim and Sport was chosen in part because it reflects the benefits of the company's Direct Digital Manufacturing, like the chance at a totally customizable vehicle with removable body panels. The outfit says a Low Speed Electric Vehicle (LSEV) version should ship to consumers early next year, and a prototype is on deck for a September release.
Local Motors' 3D-printed car meets the Detroit Auto Show
Local Motors already pulled off its "3D print a car on the tradeshow floor" stunt once, so of course it's doing it again at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, MI. This time however, the Strati that it's building is production-ready (a mid-model refresh, it says), as Local Motors plans to launch two new micro-factories. One is set for Tennessee and the other will be in Washington DC, apparently ready to deliver vehicles later this year. If you're not familiar with the process, Local Motors prints just about everything it can, including the frame, exterior and some interior features, before plugging in the wiring, suspension, motor etc. that are sourced from the Renault Twizy. The company still isn't ready to talk price, but it wants to shorten the production process from its current 44-hour length to just about 24 hours.
Someone's trying to 3D print (most of) a car in six days
You can probably get quite a bit done by yourself in six days time, but could you build an entire car from scratch and take it for a test drive? Probably not. The folks at Local Motors are pretty confident that their 3D-printed car can roll out of Chicago's McCormick Place and go for a spin this Sunday, though. Printing started a few days ago at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in The Windy City, using carbon-reinforced plastic and a Big Area Additive Manufacturing printer, according to 3DPrint. Not everything on the car can be 3D printed mind you, that'd just be crazy. The Strati still needs a battery, engine, wiring and suspension, which, as IGN notes, will be sourced from a handful of suppliers rather than being manufactured onsite. If all goes according to plan, Local Motors hopes to offer "production-level" 3D printed vehicles in the coming months. It isn't an Aston Martin, to be sure, but aside from a DB4, what is?
DARPA's XC2V FLYPMode crowd-sourced combat vehicle revealed, now in desert khaki (video)
Okay, so perhaps the specific color here is up for debate, but one thing is clear: the XC2V FLYPMode is one imposing looking vehicle. Also known as the Experimental Crowd-derived Combat Support Vehicle, DARPA has billed this mean machine as the "first crowd-sourced, militarily relevant vehicle design." After being selected as the winning entry to DARPA's design-the-next-Humvee competition, Local Motors tricked out the XC2V FLYPMode in just 14 weeks. For now, it is but a "proof of principle project," meaning we probably won't see this thing riding dirty in the desert anytime soon, if ever. You can, however, see at least a portion of the beast's birth in a time-lapse video after the break.
DARPA working with Local Motors to crowdsource next-generation combat vehicles
A next-gen Hummer isn't going to build itself, and these days we can't trust our government bodies to come up with all the cool ideas. DARPA is looking for some help, and if you're feeling up to it that can be you. Our favorite Advanced Research Progects Agency has selected a chassis from crowdsource car designers Local Motors (the same one found inside the company's Rally Fighter) and is asking civilians of all shapes and sizes to figure out what shape and size the Experimental Crowd-Derived Combat-Support Vehicle will be. Sure, XC2V doesn't quite roll off the tongue like "Flying Humvee," but it sure does sound a lot more practical. If you want to have your say (and a chance at the $7,500 prize) you'd better hurry up, because submissions are due by March 3rd. Sadly, designs drawn in Crayon on the back of homework are not eligible, otherwise you'd all be fighting for second place.
