Transportation

200-mph red bullet trains thrill rail-mad Japan

TOKYO--The crowd lining the end of Tokyo Station's platform 22 is four people deep.

They're jostling for position with their cameras -- trainspotters, parents, and children alike -- to get a shot of Japan's latest bullet train: the Series E6 Shinkansen, known as the Super Komachi.

They all bought tickets for the privilege of entering this part of the sprawling terminal that serves 380,000 passengers daily, and operator JR East has to deploy extra security guards to keep them a safe distance from the glistening new locomotive.

With services to northern Japan on the Akita Shinkansen Line, the Super Komachi debuted earlier this month as one of Japan's fastest commercial trains.

It has been traveling at 300 kph (186 mph) and will eventually run at 320 kph (198.8 mph), also the new operational speed of the Series E5 Hayabusa, among the world's fastest along with France's TGV. … Read more

Airware's OS for commercial drones takes flight

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- While hobbyist use of drones is all the rage these days, there are few ways for commercial or enterprise customers to get unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the air.

But that's what Airware, one of the startups in the winter 2013 Y Combinator class, showed off at Demo Day today.

The Newport Beach, Calif., company aims to give commercial companies an easy-to-use development platform that will get their purpose-built drones up and flying in no time. Airware's platform comprises both on-board hardware and software, founder Jonathan Downey said. It also features elements that all … Read more

New York subway to get massive navigation touch screens

Some people are pros at navigating the New York City subway system. Blindfold them, spin them around, set them loose, and they'll still get to their destination on time.

Others need a little assistance, and those people are about to get a high-tech helping hand thanks to a collaboration between the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority and the Control Group, a technology and design agency.

The Control Group is going big by unleashing a herd of 47-inch touch-screen kiosks across some of the busiest subway stations in the city. Millions of riders each day will have the chance to see and interact with the screens. The interactive machines will replace the old-school maps currently in use.… Read more

FAA approves Boeing's plan to fix Dreamliner batteries

The Federal Aviation Administration has approved Boeing's plan to redesign the batteries of the 787 Dreamliner airplanes but testing is needed before the planes can serve passengers again, the Associated Press reported today.

The planes were grounded in January when the batteries of one, a Japan Airlines 787, caught fire.

The Federal Aviation Administration told the AP that Boeing's plan includes "a redesign of the internal battery components to minimize the possibility of short-circuiting, better insulation of the battery's eight cells and the addition of a new containment and venting system."

Boeing said it submitted … Read more

Tesla delays Model X one year

Last year, Tesla introduced the Model X crossover electric vehicle at its Los Angeles design center, and said it would begin production of the vehicle in late 2013. That production date has been revised, according to Tesla's shareholder annual report, to late 2014.

The report says that Tesla reached its steady state rate of production for 20,000 Model S sedans per year last December. The Model S is built at Tesla's Fremont manufacturing plant.

A Tesla spokesperson told CNET last December that there is a nine-month waiting period for current Model S orders. Tesla's goal is … Read more

NTSB: Boeing Dreamliner blaze probe needs more time

The National Transportation Safety Board today released an interim report detailing the events that led to a lithium-ion battery fire on a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner, but it didn't make any conclusions into what caused the blaze.

The organization noted that the report was strictly factual in nature and based on initial findings. That meant it didn't detail a clear-cut reason for the fire, provide analysis, or make any conclusions or recommendations.

The NTSB said its investigation into the probable cause of the 787 battery fire is continuing. It's also continuing to review the design, certification, … Read more

Boeing Dreamliner battery-fire report out tomorrow

The National Transportation Safety Board, the organization looking into the battery fire that grounded Boeing's 787 Dreamliners, is releasing an interim report about the fire tomorrow.

The safety board will publish the report here at 8 a.m. PT in a public docket.

"The information being released is factual in nature and does not provide any analysis," according to a press release from the board. "The docket contains the interim factual report and related documents.... Additional material will be added to the docket as it becomes available."

The lithium-ion battery fire aboard the Japan Airlines … Read more

Eco-commuters, behold the solar-savvy $4,000 Elf tricycle

HANNOVER, Germany--Some vehicles don't fit easily into one category or another.

Organic Transit's Elf -- a battery-boosted, solar-powered, covered tricycle -- is definitely one such device.

The North Carolina startup has begun selling the vehicles through Kickstarter and now directly on its Web site. It's now built 12, and it's showing off the $4,000 machines at the CeBit trade show here.

"This is targeting commuters," said Alix Bowman, director of strategy for the 15-person company. One possibility: People can go to work on battery power so they don't arrive sweaty, then can … Read more

18 rotors and up: E-volo shows personal helicopter prototype

HANOVER, Germany--Enough with the cutesy little quadcopter drones.

Instead of pint-sized four-rotor aircraft good enough to experiment with swarm dynamics or to carry small cameras, German startup E-volo is building an 18-rotor model that can carry a human passenger. It's the latest attempt to realize the dream of the flying car.

The Karlsruhe-based company plans to begin selling its VC200 in 2015, said Jeromin Schwenk, a student with the Karlsruhe University of Applied Science who's one of about 60 people working on the project.

"It's going to be the personal aircraft for everyone," Schwenk said, … Read more