Colorado officials approve company’s plan for electric cars
DENVER (AP) — Colorado utility regulators have voted to support Xcel Energy’s plan to invest more in electric-powered transportation. The Colorado Public Utilities Commission’s decision last Wednesday voted to support the company’s proposal to spend $102 million over three years to build charging stations, help convert state-owned vehicles into electric cars and incentivise homeowners to install car-charging equipment.
‘LOST CONNECTION’ HAMPERS VIRGIN GALACTIC’S TEST FLIGHT
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A Virgin Galactic test flight Saturday ended prematurely as the spacecraft’s rocket motor failed to ignite and it then glided down safely to its landing site in southern New Mexico.
AMAZON’S ZOOX UNVEILS AUTONOMOUS ELECTRIC VEHICLE
AN AUTONOMOUS vehicle company acquired this year by Amazon has unveiled a four-person “robo-taxi,” a compact, multidirectional vehicle designed for dense, urban environments.
JAPAN’S SPACE AGENCY FINDS AMPLE SOIL, GAS FROM ASTEROID
TOKYO (AP) — Officials from Japan’s space agency said Tuesday they have found more than the anticipated amount of soil and gases inside a small capsule the country’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft brought back from a distant asteroid this month, a mission they praised as a milestone in planetary research.
Apple unveils first Macs built to run more like iPhones
SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) — Apple is rolling out new Mac computers powered by the same kind of chips that run iPhones and iPads, a move aimed at making it easier for its most popular products to work together.
Walmart teams with GM to test autonomous deliveries
DETROIT (AP) — Walmart is teaming up with the General Motors’ autonomous vehicle unit to test driverless delivery in Arizona.
Virgin Galactic plans first New Mexico space launch this month
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Virgin Galactic said last week that it expects to launch its first manned test flight into space from New Mexico this month.
GM to run robot cars in San Francisco without human backups
DETROIT (AP) — General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle unit says it will pull the human backup drivers from its vehicles in San Francisco by the end of the year.
Nokia to build moon’s first 4G cell network for NASA
LONDON (AP) — Nokia says it has been tapped by NASA to build the first cellular communications network on the moon.
Tech Talk
• As automation and online work gain ground, organisers of the annual Davos forum are projecting employers will split work equally between machines and people by 2025, with the coronavirus pandemic accelerating changes in the labour market.
Fitbit buy is Google’s latest step into gadgetry
Google’s acquisition of wearable pioneer Fitbit may be a bold plunge into health and fitness technology. But it’s also just the latest step in the internet giant’s often-halting effort to become a force in consumer hardware.
Tech Talk
• The University of Wisconsin-Madison is using rolling robots to deliver food.
Merkel: One million car charging points in Germany by 2030
BERLIN (AP) — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she wants to drastically increase the number of charging stations for electric cars in Germany to give consumers more confidence to switch over to electric from internal combustion engines.
Easy Car Sales appointed BYD electric vehicle distributor for The Bahamas
A revolution in transportation is taking place around the world – and now The Bahamas can join in by switching to more cost-effective, efficient and sustainable 100% electric vehicles (EVs) thanks to a partnership between an established local car dealership and a global distributor.
A HOME BASE FOR ESPORTS: Heavyweights raise $17M for new gaming network
NEW YORK (AP) — A new venture backed by many of video gaming’s biggest publishers is unveiling a network that hopes to be to esports what ESPN has been to traditional sports.
