Technology in Vehicles News - Page 1

A group of researchers from NCC Group in the UK has demonstrated a new way to break into Tesla vehicles.

The researchers explain that the security vulnerability can be pinpointed to the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology that is used to enter Tesla vehicles. The technology allows the driver to be authenticated when their key fob or app comes within a certain proximity of the car. The current system already comes with various safeguards, but NCC Group researchers have developed a new tool that is capable of bypassing these safeguards and remotely unlocking vehicles.

In a recent blog post by Sultan Qasim Khan, a senior security consultant at NCC Group, it's explained the researchers were able to successfully remotely unlock a 2020 Tesla Model 3 using an iPhone 13 mini that was running an outdated version of the Tesla app. The researchers explain that the iPhone was placed 27 yards away from the car, and two "relaying devices" were placed between the iPhone and the car. Combining the tool developed by the researchers and the relaying devices, they were able to successfully unlock the Tesla from a decent distance.

Tesla announced the Semi in 2017, and finally, five years down the line, the company is taking a step towards getting the electric truck out on the road.

A new report from CNET has revealed that Tesla has started accepting reservations for the Semi, which are reportedly priced at a $20,000 wire transfer deposit. Since its announcement in 2017, companies such as PepsiCo and Walmart have been able to place bulk orders for the Semi, but this is the first time smaller reservations have been seen.

Notably, Tesla has already delayed the Semi a few times, with the latest problem being the overall microchip and battery shortages caused by the pandemic. Furthermore, Tesla hasn't confirmed an official launch date for the Semi, and production is expected to begin in 2023. For those that don't know, the Tesla Semi is expected to have a 500-mile range, a fast "megacharger", and a 20-second 0-60 mph carrying 80,000 pounds. It features a price tag of $150,000.

German YouTubers The Real Life Guys have effectively turned a Tesla Model 3 into a tank over a four-week project.

The project began with cutting and welding together two giant steel constructions around which they wrapped chain tracks, each weighing 1.3 tons. The group also added twelve suspension springs to each side's structure to make them suitable for offroad use.

The group then raised the Model 3 off the ground to match the height of the rather tall finished chain tracks, and took off all of its wheels in preparation for mounting the tracks to the vehicle. The final result has the Tesla, dubbed the Model T (presumably for "tank"), sitting 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) off the ground, weighing in at 6 tons altogether.

The passenger Darren Harrison from Lakeland, Florida, was caught in a sticky situation when his pilot had a medical emergency while he was flying over the ocean.

Harrison can be heard over radio communicating to air traffic controllers and informing them that "I've got a serious situation here" and the "pilot is incoherent, he's out". Immediately air traffic controllers can be heard asking Harrison if he knows where he is, and he responds with, "I have no idea. I can see the coast of Florida in front of me, and I have no idea". The air traffic controller spoke very calmly to Harrison and instructed him to keep the wings of the plane level and to try to follow the coast while officials located the plane.

The passenger gave the air traffic controllers his cellphone number as communications via radio were fading out. Once located, Robert Morgan, a 20-year veteran air traffic controller, and flight instructor, guided Harrison back to Palm Beach International Airport, talking him through every step of the landing process using a photograph of the cockpit inside the model of the plane Harrison was flying. Harrison was able to make it back on the ground safely and actually impressed air traffic controllers with his near-perfect landing.

Hyundai is building a new Research, Development and Lab Center in Bozeman, Montana, to develop the vehicles.

The lab is being built by a unit of Hyundai called the New Horizons Studio (NHS), which focuses on developing Ultimate Mobility Vehicles (UMVs). The all-new Bozeman lab represents a $20 million investment in Hyundai's Progress for Humanity vision, will serve as the NHS headquarters, and where UMVs will be prototyped and field tested.

The NHS mission is to create vehicles that can traverse over any terrain, including those that are "challenging for conventional ground vehicles." These vehicles would be suited to applications such as natural resource management, disaster management, logistics, construction, mining, and space.

Stratolaunch's Roc aircraft is currently the world's largest flying aircraft in terms of wingspan.

The Roc's wingspan measures 385 feet (117 meters), dwarfing that of the world's heaviest plane, the Antonov An-225 cargo plane, which had 290 feet (88 meters) of wingspan before it was sadly destroyed during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The Roc has six Boeing 747 engines, and the newly installed pylon on the center wing will be used to carry and launch Talon-A hypersonic test vehicles.

The Roc recently completed its fifth test flight in the Mojave Desert, debuting the pylon and flying for 4 hours and 58 minutes and reaching an altitude of 22,500 feet (6,858 meters). The Talon-A vehicles carried by the pylon are rocket-powered, autonomous, reusable testbeds that can carry customizable payloads at speeds greater than Mach 5. The Talon-A vehicles provide streamlined access to a hypersonic flight environment for scientific research and technological development.

Tesla has rolled out a new Model S with an upgraded, factory-equipped, motorized, swiveling center screen... all inside of a Model S and posted on Twitter. Check it out:

The infotainment display at the center of the Model S has received a small, yet significant quality-of-life improvement from Tesla. The display is usually static and can't be moved, but now it can be tweaked so that the driver can more easily see, the passenger to their side, or people sitting in the back (especially if the car was parked).

It's not like you couldn't get this before, as you could get an aftermarket mod for your Model S and Model X -- but Tesla also had its website tease the center display with a "left-right" tilt option last year. Now it's finally here, but the web pages were updated -- with those details removed -- unfortunately.

The pop-up airport was built in the heart of the city of Coventry by U.K.-based startup Urban-Air Port Ltd (UAP).

The airport is the world's first urban airport, where electric drones and air taxis, categorized as electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles, can arrive at and depart. The project is a collaboration between the Coventry City Council and Urban-Air Port Ltd, intending to demonstrate "the potential of urban air mobility to cut congestion and air pollution."

"The opening of Air-One is a momentous moment - the starting gun for a new age of transport, an age of zero-emission, congestion-free travel between and within cities that will make people healthier, happier and more connected than ever before. Cars have roads. Trains have rails. Planes have airports. Now, eVTOLs have an Urban-Air Port," said Ricky Sandhu, the founder and Executive Chairman of Urban-Air Port.

The planned journey will take a Tesla Model 3 over about 15,100 kilometers (~9400 miles) around Australia.

The journey is a part of the Charge Around Australia (CAA) project, which is set to begin in September as the University of Newcastle team behind the project continues testing their printed plastic solar panels in the meantime. The 18-meter (59 feet) long panels are rolled out beside the Model 3 to capture sunlight when it needs to charge.

"This is actually an ideal test bed to give us information about how we would go about using and powering technology in other remote locations, for example, in space," Paul Dastoor, the inventor of the printed solar panels, told Reuters.

SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk has shared more details on Tesla's upcoming dedicated robotaxi electric car, something the Twitter enthusiast announced earlier this month at Cyber Rodeo.

Tesla will be aiming at the cost per mile, with the electric car maker wanting to hit volume production of the robotaxi in 2024. Musk said that Tesla will be able to provide "by far the lowest cost per that customers have ever experienced".

During Tesla's recent Q1 2022 financial results conference call, Musk talked up Tesla's upcoming robotaxI: "We are also working on a new vehicle that I alluded to at the Giga Texas opening, which is a dedicated robotaxi. It is going to be highly optimized for autonomy - meaning it will not have steering wheel or pedals. There are a number of other innovations around it that I think are quite exciting, but it is fundamentally optimized to achieve the lowest fully considered cost per mile or km when counting everything".