TuSimple, which specializes in autonomous trucks, will perform five round trips between USPS distribution centers in Phoenix and Dallas over the course of a two-week pilot program. USPS will use the program to assess factors like fuel cost reduction, operational safety, and fleet utilization rates.
United Airlines officials in Chicago have strengthened their commitment to ensuring United is an environmentally conscious carrier by expanding its contract with Boston-based World Energy and agreeing to purchase up to 10 million gallons of commercial-scale, sustainable aviation biofuel over the next two years. United currently uses the biofuel to help sustainably power every flight departing out of its Los Angeles Airport (LAX) hub and achieve more than a 60 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a lifecycle basis, officials say.
The researchers at the COE for Assured Autonomy in Contested Environments – all of which histories of innovation for Department of Defense problems of interest – will focus on the availability, integrity, and effective use of information by leveraging its diverse expertise in dynamics, mathematics, control theory, information theory, communications, and computer science.
The partnership marks a major milestone for both companies – the purchase will dramatically increase BlackBird’s air transportation network while solidifying Bye Aerospace as a manufacturer of the world’s first all-electric aircraft that meets United States FAA FAR Part 23 airworthiness standards for normal, utility, acrobatic, and commuter aircraft.
SAE International® and General Motors are prepping for the AutoDrive Challenge™ Year 2 Competition May 29 through June 4, 2019, at the Mcity Test Facility, a purpose-built proving ground for connected and automated vehicles and technologies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
NASA officials are announcing the availability of eight disruptive NASA materials and coatings technologies ready for commercialization. NASA officials are looking for companies interested in using the organization’s high-temperature materials and coatings, including those designed to withstand high temperatures, to improve existing products or introduce new ones.
On the cybersecurity front, EASA has issued a new notice of proposed amendment (NPA) related to an earlier RTCA document, DO-326A, which came out in 2014. Because DO-326A wasn’t tied to any regulation, it hasn’t been widely implemented since its introduction. Recent incidents have increased a focus on DO-326A, including an incident last year, during which an airline passenger on board a major international carrier, unwisely thought it would be funny to rename his iPhone’s personal wi-fi hot-spot account, “Bomb Onboard.”
An amended NASA budget for fiscal year 2020 would add $1.6 billion to a $21 billion initial budget request and fund deep space exploration, science, and technology initiatives. An acquisition approach to various projects would present significant opportunities for commercial partners and, likely, the entire aerospace supply chain.
Automated vehicles are coming, but is the industry and the public ready? The automotive industry once questioned whether electric motors would replace the internal combustion engine (ICE) as the primary powertrain option for consumers. Today, the industry is facing a similar challenge regarding the adoption of automated vehicles.