Alphabet’s Wing Launches Drone Delivery Service in Australia

PHOTO: ENDGADGET

After months of testing, Alphabet's Wing division is launching a drone delivery service in Australia. 

It will cover roughly 100 homes in the suburbs of Crace, Palmerston and Franklin, just outside the capital city of Canberra. 

Customers will be able to request small goods, such as medicine, coffee and groceries, from a range of local businesses including Kickstart Expresso, Capital Chemist, Pure Gelato, Jasper + Myrtle, Bakers Delight, Guzman Y Gomez, and Drummond Golf. 

Wing says it will slowly expand to more neighborhoods "in the coming weeks and months" and "connect with more local businesses" to expand the products that are available to order.

It's a huge moment for Wing. The team, which started as a massively-ambitious "moonshot" project inside X (then called Google X) has been testing drones in Australia since 2014. 

The company had planned to launch a commercial service in 2017, but clearly fell short. Instead, Wing teamed up with Mexican food chain Guzman Y Gomez and pharmaceutical retailer Chemist Warehouse for some advanced trials in October 2017. 

Since then, Wing has delivered 3,000 packages to homes in Fernleigh Park, Royalla and Bonython -- three communities just south of Canberra, close to the border between Australia Capital Territory and New South Wales.

The service was approved by the Australian government's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). Under the permit, Wing is barred from flying its drones before 7AM between Monday and Saturday and 8AM on Sundays and public holidays. 

The company can fly over houses but must avoid major roads such as the Barton Highway, Federal Highway and Horse Park Drive. Crucially, though, Wing is allowed to pilot its drones five meters above and two meters to the side of people while making deliveries -- a dramatically shorter distance than the typical 30-meter rule in Australia.

Peter Gibson, a spokesperson for CASA, said the regulator had "carefully assessed" Wing's previous trials before approving its service in Canberra. "All those safety issues have been assessed so there are no risks to people on the ground, property or aircraft in the sky," he told the Guardian.

Wing is now preparing to launch a trial service in Helsinki, Finland. The company, like Waymo -- an Alphabet company dedicated to self-driving cars -- is keen to prove that its "moonshot" ambitions can be turned into a sustainable business. Both teams have small, commercially-available services -- now they have to prove that people actually want to use them.

Source: Medium (Wing), The Guardian

Self-Driving Car Navigate With Just Cameras And Basic GPS

PHOTO: WAYMO

Self-driving cars currently need a lot of hand-holding to get around, with even Waymo's machines relying on lidar, custom rules and highly detailed maps to know exactly where to go. 

Wayve, however, wants driverless vehicles with more independence. It just showed a prototype autonomous vehicle (a modified Renault Twizy) driving around Cambridge, UK using only cameras and basic GPS directions from a phone. 

It had never seen the roads before, and was only running on 20 hours of training data -- it didn't even know to drive on the left side of the road or to slow down at intersections where it didn't have the right of way.

The trick, according to Wayve, is the approach to the driving AI. It learns to drive like a human through imitation and reinforcement, using computer vision to follow the intended route.

 It also uses the input data to learn only those features that are most relevant to control. This not only helps it get up to snuff quickly, but dramatically lightens the computing workload. 

The self-driving AI can run on the "equivalent" of a modern laptop, Wayve said. Existing self-driving cars frequently need extensive computing power that can be expensive and heavy.

The technology isn't about to see everyday use. Wayve's demo saw the Twizy putting around at low speeds in relatively light traffic.

While it did handle some complicated scenarios, there's a certain tentativeness to the vehicle's behavior. The human occupant had to take over to park, too.

 Nonetheless, it's one step closer to autonomous rides that can navigate unfamiliar roads and unexpected situations with relative ease.

Via: TechCrunch
Source: Wayve

2020 Ford Escape Debuts With A Complete Redesign And A PHEV Variant

PHOTO: FORD

The 2020 Ford Escape is arguably Ford's most important product that isn't a truck. Compact crossovers continue to destroy in sales, and Ford needs a good one now that it's dropping sedans and small cars from its U.S. lineup. 

We got to see the new Escape last week, and now we're able to tell you what we learned, as Ford shows the vehicle to a worldwide audience today.

Ford left no stone unturned in redesigning the new Escape. It rides on the company's new global platform that debuted on the redesigned Euro 2019 Ford Focus (one of those cars we'll no longer get). 

This will be the first vehicle sold stateside using the new underpinnings. It sheds more than 200 pounds of weight, and Ford is coming out swinging, with four flavors of Escape. 

Those include a base 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, a hybrid model, and most intriguing, an Escape plug-in hybrid. 

We asked about the possibility of an ST variant down the line, but mum is the word for now. We'd still bet an irresponsible amount of money that an ST will eventually join the Edge ST and Explorer ST models.

The big news for today though, is that Ford is bringing back electrification to the Escape after having it in the nameplate's first generation but dropping it on the previous generation. 

Both the Escape Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid are paired with a refreshed 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that runs on the Atkinson cycle. Ford doesn't have any official EPA numbers on the electric range of the Escape Plug-In, but the "target" is officially 30-plus miles.

The PHEV uses a 14.4 kWh battery pack that tucks under the rear seats. The floor is a tad higher on Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid models, but Ford was able to package it neatly so that you don't end up losing much usable space. The Hybrid powertrain produces 198 horsepower and 153 pound-feet of torque, while the Plug-In Hybrid ramps that up to a system-combined 209 horsepower with the same 153 pound-feet. Ford says the battery will reach a full charge on a Level 2 charger in about 3.5 hours. One feature you won't be able to opt for on the Plug-In is all-wheel drive, which is available on the regular Hybrid and every other version of Escape.

Unlike some plug-ins that force you to use the EV power immediately, Ford has four modes you can select from. "Auto EV" lets the car decide. "EV Now" forces the powertrain to exclusively use electric power. 

"EV Later" switches it to full gas power motoring, and then "EV Charge" allows you to charge the battery while driving. Ford wouldn't give us any answers for how this affects efficiency or how many electric miles you can actually build up, as the results vary too widely depending on the type of driving.

2020 Ford Escape

Ford updated both of its gas-only EcoBoost engine options for the Escape, too. The three-cylinder features cylinder deactivation, funnily enough, which allows the engine to shut down one of the cylinders when it isn't necessary. 

PHOTO: FORD

Ford claims a 6 percent boost in efficiency from this technology. If you want a quicker Escape, then the 2.0-liter turbo is the answer. This engine makes more power than the 2019 model does, rated at 250 horsepower and 275 pound-feet of torque when run on premium fuel for 2020. 

Both engines are mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission, which Ford says is similar to the one found in the Edge. EPA fuel economy figures aren't yet available. Towing is rated for a maximum of 3,500 pounds for the 2.0-liter EcoBoost, 2,000 pounds with the 1.5-liter and 1,500 pounds for both hybridized versions.

The new Escape is taking on entirely new styling for 2020. It's lower, wider and longer — these elements contribute to what Ford says is a much more dynamic driving experience. 

We imagine the funky grille will be a point of contention, but the rest of the crossover is pretty slick and curvy. When the active shutters are in their closed position it looks a lot like an EV from the front, since it's so smooth and simple. 

Ford was grasping for straws with this next comparison: "The lower front end borrows from Ford GT." We asked where? And apparently, the silver bar running along the lowest point is meant to look like the same piece on the GT. Not really, but nice try.

Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid models don't do a whole lot to differentiate themselves except for badging and wheels. They don't scream "Green!" in any discernible way, and that's probably for the best.

2020 Ford Escape

If you've seen the interior of a Euro-spec 2019 Focus, then you've seen the interior design on the 2020 Escape. It looks about a million times better than the current Escape, but we still wouldn't call it luxurious. 

Visibility is enhanced with a lower beltline, and Ford did a lot to increase space. The marquee feature is a sliding and reclining second row that lets you choose between max legroom or max cargo room. 

This sliding second row is fully functional (moves fore and aft 6 inches total) in every engine configuration, even with the batteries sitting underneath. We sat in the backseat, and there truly is an impressive amount of space back there for folks when the bench is pushed all the way back.

A bunch of interior storage compartments were freed up by moving to the rotary gear shifter. Near it is a new mode selector button that allows you to toggle between normal, eco, sport, slippery, and snow/sand configurations, just like the new Explorer.

 It also borrows the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster from the Explorer that will be available optionally. 

A re-skinned Sync 3 infotainment system will play on the 8-inch infotainment screen for SE models and up, so it will have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Ford also plans to offer its first HUD in the Escape on the Titanium trim.

The Ford Co-Pilot 360 suite of safety features is made standard for every trim level. This includes some features like automatic emergency braking and lane-keeping assist, but leaves out adaptive cruise control and actual lane-centering. Those are available as extra-cost options.

Ford says the new Escape will be available in S, SE, SE Sport, SEL and Titanium trim levels this fall. Every configuration except for the Plug-In Hybrid will be available initially, with that one following in spring 2020.

This article originally appeared on Autoblog, the complete authority for news, reviews and car-buying research.

SOURCE: ENDGADGET

An 88-Foot-Long Electric Bus Is Headed To Colombia

Photo: BYD

BYD says it's the longest electric bus in the world.

Today, BYD launched what it says is the world's longest electric bus, the K12A. 

At 88 feet long, the red bi-articulate bus looks like a giant caterpillar. It can carry up to 250 people, reach a max speed of about 40 MPH and travel 186 miles on a single charge. 

The bus is headed for the country of Colombia, where it will be part of the TransMilenio bus rapid transit system (BRT), but it could join other BRTs.

In a tweet, BYD promised this is not an April Fool's joke. We're apt to believe them, as in January, the company launched the world's largest electric double decker bus. 

We haven't covered BYD much since it was helping Uber test electric vehicles, but the company has been busy producing electric buses. It has manufactured more than 50,000 in the past nine years. 

If you can't make it to Colombia to see this latest creation, you can catch the K12A in action in the tweet below.

Source: BYD Company