article thumbnail

MIT proof-of-concept demo of ionic wind propulsion for aircraft

Green Car Congress

MIT researchers have demonstrated that an aircraft with a 5-meter wingspan can sustain steady-level flight using ionic-wind propulsion. The MIT team’s final design resembles a large, lightweight glider. This research was supported, in part, by MIT Lincoln Laboratory Autonomous Systems Line, the Professor Amar G. —Xu et al.

MIT 303
article thumbnail

Amogy begins testing operations for maritime applications of ammonia-to-power platform in Norway

Green Car Congress

Following the tugboat demo, Amogy plans to continue using the Stord facility for continuous testing for up to several months at a time. The Amogy team will focus on test programs for a 200kW powerpack prior to its installation on a tugboat later this year.

Norway 243
article thumbnail

Autonomous Boats Seem More Solvable Than Autonomous Cars

Cars That Think

MIT has been working on these for years , and they're about to introduce them to the canals of Amsterdam as cargo shuttles and taxis. Eventually, Roboats were scaled up, and by 2020 MIT had a version large enough to support a human.

MIT 144
article thumbnail

Video Friday: Swarm Control

Cars That Think

MIT CSAIL ] Thanks, Rachel! Deep Robotics ] During Summer 2022 our group demoed ANYmal and Spot carrying out in the context of construction progress monitoring at Costain’s Gatwick Airport Train Station site. This was the final demo of the MEMMO Horizon Europe Project. Paper at IROS next week! [

Boston 96
article thumbnail

Video Friday: Tap Finger, Move Mountain

Cars That Think

Universal Robots ] IREX is taking place in Japan right now, and here’s a demo of Kaleido, a humanoid robot from Kawasaki. MIT CSAIL ] If you look in the background of this video, there’s a person wearing an exoskeleton controlling the robot in the foreground. Available for preorder now.

France 81
article thumbnail

What Robotics Experts Think of Tesla’s Optimus Robot

Cars That Think

Research Specialist, MIT Media Lab. In the brief demo, they showed it had a reasonably high loading capacity (holding plant-watering water cans, and lifting bars of aluminum in the factory). Also, doing a live demo without a tether (safety catch rope) is braver than people know. The Optimus demo turned out to be a bit of a dud.

Boston 145
article thumbnail

General Fusion Takes Aim at Practical Fusion Power

Cars That Think

Bill Gates, for instance is backing MIT spin-off Commonwealth Fusion Systems , while General Fusion has Jeff Bezos' support. In addition to showcasing plasma confinement, the demo should help the company understand the economic feasibility of a full-scale plant. They are one of 30 or so private fusion ventures with hats in the ring.

Fusion 145