Autonomous cars need to expect and adapt to spontaneous human behavior. Torc’s Asimov is attempting to do just that.

Advanced Transport

Torc Robotics' Project Asimov is making autonomous cars safer for everyone by helping them anticipate human's erratic behavior.

Autonomous Cars Must Anticipate and Adapt to Spontaneous Human Behavior

Check out Airbus’s new drone-car hybrid.

Cruise the Streets (and the Air) of the Future With Airbus

Peek inside a new Ford with augmented reality.

Virtuality

Augmented Reality Lets You See Inside Cars Like Never Before

WATCH: Toyota’s Concept I Is a Beautiful Mix of Futuristic Design and Artificial Intelligence

Take an auto showroom tour from the comfort of your home.

Tour the Car of Your Dreams in Virtual Reality

Honda also revealed a new beautiful concept car named the Neuv.

Sci-Fi Visions

Meet Honda’s New Self-Balancing Motorcycle That Can Also Follow You Around

Artificial Intelligence

Faraday Future Has Unveiled Their New Electric Car, And It’s Beautiful

<h2>Get Moving, People!</h2>
Elon Musk is not happy. Or at the very least, Elon Musk is concerned. There is an issue with drivers leaving their electric cars at charging stations well after the car is charged and ready to go. This is a bit of a problem because our infrastructure, our ability to support electric vehicles, is still somewhat lackluster.
To be blunt, the number of charging stations isn&#8217;t really enough to support the number of electric cars that need charging, and the problem is only heightened by individuals who (seemingly) abandon their cars at charging ports for ages. As Musk asserts, “Supercharger spots are meant for charging, not parking.&#8221; So he&#8217;s doing something about it.
Just yesterday, the company introduced a new $0.40 per minute idle fee for the entire Supercharger network.
This charge is set to start as soon as charging is complete. However, it will be waived if the car is moved within 5 minutes (still seems like a long time to wait), and it won&#8217;t apply if the Supercharge station is mostly empty.
<figure style="width: 783px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/12/Screenshot_1.png" alt="Elon Musk/Twitter" width="783" height="380" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Elon Musk/Twitter</figcaption></figure>
You can take a look at the full press release from Tesla below:
Improving Supercharger Availability 

We designed the Supercharger network to enable a seamless, enjoyable road trip experience. Therefore, we understand that it can be frustrating to arrive at a station only to discover fully charged Teslas occupying all the spots. To create a better experience for all owners, we’re introducing a fleet-wide idle fee that aims to increase Supercharger availability. 

We envision a future where cars move themselves once fully charged, enhancing network efficiency and the customer experience even further. Until then, we ask that vehicles be moved from the Supercharger once fully charged. One would never leave a car parked at a gas station right at the pump and the same rule applies with Superchargers. 

The Tesla app allows owners to remotely monitor their vehicle, alerting them when their charge is nearly complete and again once fully charged. For every additional minute a car remains connected to the Supercharger, it will incur a $0.40 idle fee. If the car is moved within 5 minutes, the fee is waived. To be clear, this change is purely about increasing customer happiness and we hope to never make any money from it. 

We’re excited to increase availability during long distance travel and think this change will make the Supercharging experience far better for everyone.

Earth & Energy

Electric car owners better get moving, or face the wrath of Musk.

Supercharged: Tesla is Trying to Ensure Electric Car Owners Aren’t Selfish

Elon Musk's solution to the problem is a $0.40 per minute fee.

We&#8217;ve all sat at a red light that seems to take ages.
Concepts for <a href="http://www.wired.com/2010/11/concept-traffic-light-is-an-hourglass-for-traffic/">&#8216;hourglass&#8217; traffic lights</a> make impatient drivers optimistic, along with news that, someday, autonomous cars might make <a style="line-height: 1.42857;background-color: white" href="https://futurism.com/heres-will-look-like-autonomous-cars-render-traffic-lights-obsolete/">traffic signals altogether obsolete</a>. 
That&#8217;s Audi&#8217;s plan. The company recently announced it&#8217;s going to start working with municipalities to tell its cars when a light is about to turn green. The automaker says this is the first step in a Vehicle to Infrastructure (V2I) partnership with cities that will be launching this fall.
<figure style="width: 500px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/08/dfbfgbfyy.jpg" width="500" height="272" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Audi</figcaption></figure>
Each car will use its built-in LTE connection to get information from a participating city&#8217;s central traffic control system. Using that data and GPS, the cars will be able to show on the dashboard when an upcoming signal will turn green in a countdown format.
The 2017 Audi Q7, A4 and A4 Allroad vehicles built after June 1, 2016 have the technology to communicate with traffic signals already build in. Drivers will also need to subscribe to Audi Connect Prime. 
The other catch? Audi isn&#8217;t divulging where the new V21 infrastructure will roll out first. Audi hopes the system will be working in five to seven metropolitan areas by the end of the year.

Future Society

Audi has announced that all of its cars built after June 1 of this year have the ability to display a countdown showing when a traffic light will turn green. The infrastructure will be launching this fall in select cities.

Audi Cars Will Be Able To Tell You Exactly How Long Until A Red Light Turns Green

Vehicles with built-in LTE connection will pull information from the traffic signals. 

<h2>Light And Strong</h2>
Japanese company <a href="http://www.nssmc.com/en/" target="_blank">Nippon Steel &amp; Sumitomo Metal</a> has developed a super automotive steel that’s 25 percent stronger than the toughest high-tensile steel now on the market. It is also up to 30 percent lighter than what’s currently being used by carmakers.
The company said the <a href="http://www.worldautosteel.org/steel-basics/automotive-steel-definitions/" target="_blank">super steel</a> can help manufacturers build more fuel-efficient, safer vehicles. Nippon Steel is conducting verification tests and will start marketing the product around 2020 for use in vehicle frames, chassis, and other components.
The highest grade of cold-rolled steel offered by major steelmakers has a strength of 1,180 megapascals. Nippon Steel&#8217;s new, lighter material has a strength of 1,470 megapascals.
Engineers from Nippon Steel improved the heat treatment process and adding alloy elements, which in turn improved both strength and ease of rolling. The material is resistant to cracks from the stamping process.
<figure style="width: 580px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/07/0707N-Nippon-Steel_article_main_image.jpg" alt="Image source: Nikkei Asia" width="580" height="380" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image source: Nikkei Asia</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Affordable Price</h2>
In terms of pricing, the company plans to keep the price low even with the current top-of-the-line offerings.
The material is not as light as aluminum alloy or plastic reinforced with carbon fiber. But its price is only a third to half that of aluminum &#8212; with processing costs factored in &#8212; and about 1/20 that of carbon-fiber plastic.
Nippon Steel’s new product could help automakers who are scrambling to meet increasingly tight fuel-economy regulations worldwide by using lighter materials in vehicles.

Robots & Machines

Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal has developed an automotive steel sheet that is 30% lighter and 25% stronger than the toughest high-tensile steel now on the market, hoping to help carmakers build more fuel-efficient, safer vehicles.

/Car

Advanced Transport

Autonomous Cars Must Anticipate and Adapt to Spontaneous Human Behavior

Advanced Transport

Cruise the Streets (and the Air) of the Future With Airbus

Virtuality

Augmented Reality Lets You See Inside Cars Like Never Before

WATCH: Toyota’s Concept I Is a Beautiful Mix of Futuristic Design and Artificial Intelligence

Virtuality

Tour the Car of Your Dreams in Virtual Reality

Sci-Fi Visions

Meet Honda’s New Self-Balancing Motorcycle That Can Also Follow You Around

Artificial Intelligence

Faraday Future Has Unveiled Their New Electric Car, And It’s Beautiful

Earth & Energy

Supercharged: Tesla is Trying to Ensure Electric Car Owners Aren’t Selfish

Future Society

Audi Cars Will Be Able To Tell You Exactly How Long Until A Red Light Turns Green

Robots & Machines

Auto-Steel Created That’s 25% Stronger And 30% Lighter

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