Inside the race to bring fleets of robotaxis to the world
With self-driving vehicles on his turf, the former baker is getting ready to pivot. Because his car's driver-assist system can navigate the wide suburban streets almost entirely on its own, he intends to take out a loan to finance a small fleet of Teslas after Elon Musk promised that his customers will soon be able to send their cars out to work for them.
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The Age
7 hours ago
- The Age
Jumbo jets have almost disappeared, but one airline is sticking with them
It was easy to spot the aviation geeks walking past gate B32 at Frankfurt Airport. Each slowed from their purposeful stride, or stopped entirely, transfixed. For parked on the apron in the near darkness, with twinkling navigation lights suggesting imminent distant adventures, was a Boeing 747-8. Huge, majestic – and very rare. There are 25,000 blue whales, an animal to which the jumbo jet is frequently compared, navigating the planet, but now only about 50 747s in active passenger service, the vast majority of top-tier carriers (including Qantas in 2020), having retired them in favour of newer models. Their decline has been long and drawn out, but was hastened by the COVID pandemic, which saw hundreds sold to cargo airlines or simply scrapped. It seems this four-engine behemoth, first flown commercially in 1970, is no longer financially viable in an era of increasingly-efficient twin-engined jets. The final passenger-configured jumbo was delivered eight years ago, and Boeing has no plans to restart the production line. But one European airline hasn't turned its back on the 747 just yet. Germany's Lufthansa, perceived by many to be aviation's kings of efficiency, still operates 27 jumbo jets – 19 of the newer 747-8s, and eight older, slightly smaller 747-400s – and is even upgrading some jumbo jet interiors with swanky new Allegris seats as part of a €2.5 billion ($A4.4 billion) Lufthansa fleet-wide refit. Why the lingering attachment? Part of the reason is simple and unromantic economics. According to aviation analysts, operations out of its Frankfurt and Munich hubs are each at take-off slot capacity. So, with flight numbers capped, Lufthansa really needs its biggest aircraft, and the 364-seat 747s-8s drop neatly between the Airbus A350 (293 seats) and A380 (455 seats). Furthermore, jumbos, despite their age, have a cracking range of nearly 13,000 kilometres and remain among the fastest passenger jets in the sky (reaching speeds of more than 1100 km/h).
Sydney Morning Herald
7 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Jumbo jets have almost disappeared, but one airline is sticking with them
It was easy to spot the aviation geeks walking past gate B32 at Frankfurt Airport. Each slowed from their purposeful stride, or stopped entirely, transfixed. For parked on the apron in the near darkness, with twinkling navigation lights suggesting imminent distant adventures, was a Boeing 747-8. Huge, majestic – and very rare. There are 25,000 blue whales, an animal to which the jumbo jet is frequently compared, navigating the planet, but now only about 50 747s in active passenger service, the vast majority of top-tier carriers (including Qantas in 2020), having retired them in favour of newer models. Their decline has been long and drawn out, but was hastened by the COVID pandemic, which saw hundreds sold to cargo airlines or simply scrapped. It seems this four-engine behemoth, first flown commercially in 1970, is no longer financially viable in an era of increasingly-efficient twin-engined jets. The final passenger-configured jumbo was delivered eight years ago, and Boeing has no plans to restart the production line. But one European airline hasn't turned its back on the 747 just yet. Germany's Lufthansa, perceived by many to be aviation's kings of efficiency, still operates 27 jumbo jets – 19 of the newer 747-8s, and eight older, slightly smaller 747-400s – and is even upgrading some jumbo jet interiors with swanky new Allegris seats as part of a €2.5 billion ($A4.4 billion) Lufthansa fleet-wide refit. Why the lingering attachment? Part of the reason is simple and unromantic economics. According to aviation analysts, operations out of its Frankfurt and Munich hubs are each at take-off slot capacity. So, with flight numbers capped, Lufthansa really needs its biggest aircraft, and the 364-seat 747s-8s drop neatly between the Airbus A350 (293 seats) and A380 (455 seats). Furthermore, jumbos, despite their age, have a cracking range of nearly 13,000 kilometres and remain among the fastest passenger jets in the sky (reaching speeds of more than 1100 km/h).
News.com.au
16 hours ago
- News.com.au
Paralysed woman writes her name for the first time in 20 years after having Elon Musk Neuralink chip implant surgery
A woman paralysed since 2005 has written her name for the first time in two decades thanks to Elon Musk. Audrey Crews became the first woman in the world to undergo surgery earlier this month receiving Mr Musk's Neuralink chip implant, allowing her to control a computer with her mind. Ms Crews recently took to X to show the world how she was able to select a coloured cursor on screen and sign her name through telepathy. She showed off how she could also draw pictures, scroll with a mouse and use a keyboard just by thinking. 'I tried writing my name for the first time in 20 years. I'm working on it. Lol,' she said. 'I am the first woman in the world to do this.' Ms Crews was left a quadriplegic at age 16 following a car accident that left the vertebrae in her neck permanently damaged. By 2016, tech billionaire Musk co-founded Neuralink with expert in neuroscience in hopes of using AI tech to treat brain disorders. Three years later he revealed the N1 chip, which is placed on the brain to translate electrical signals into tasks. Ms Crews is just the ninth recipient. She underwent surgery at the University of Miami Health Centre where surgeons place over 100 threads, thinner than human hair into her motor cortex after drilling through her skull. The implant, roughly the size of a 10 cent coin, sends those signals to a linked computer or smartphone with Neuralink's software via Bluetooth, allowing patients with paralysis or neurological conditions to communicate digitally. 'Imagine your pointer finger is left click and the cursor is with your wrist, without physically doing it. Just a normal day using telepathy,' she said. Ms Crews has also started taking requests of what to draw next, recently sketching a cat, a sun and a tree after being asked by X users. She's also able to play simulation games testing her accuracy and speed by having her cursor track points on the screen as they change. Mr Musk even replied to a post about Ms Crews' story. 'She is controlling her computer just by thinking. Most people don't realise this is possible,' he said. While the technology won't allow her to regain movement of her limbs, the advancement has so far impressed Ms Crews who hopes to make the most of it by writing a book about her experiences. The chip is powered by a small battery that charges wirelessly. Asked if she ever imagined being able to communicate in such a way again, Ms Crews had one response: 'Not in all my wildest dreams, but the future is here.'
