<p><span dir="auto">Explore what an eVTOL multicopter grand prix could look like across different terrains including desert, ice and snow, and how teams can use pit stops to their advantage during a race. The February update also introduces Airspeeder’s systems-based engineering approach to ensure safe but closely fought racing in the skies in the not too distant future and explains the Mk3 slide-and-lock battery system.&nbsp;</span></p><hr><p><span dir="auto">Airspeeder is the world’s first raci</span><span dir="auto">ng series for electric flying cars. &nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Our mission will accelerate eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) advanced aviation technology through intense sporting competition. This mobility revolution, underpinned by future tech will transform urban air mobility (UAM), global logistics and even medical applications with a clean-air electric vehicle (EV) solution. &nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Our racing multicopters are developed at our advanced aerospace engineering hub in Adelaide, South Australia by engineers drawn from elite motorsports, automotive, aviation and even FPV drone, electric plane, electric vehicles and passenger drone backgrounds. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Airspeeder’s vision will deliver the most exciting and future focused motorsport on the planet. Following an inaugural unmanned season, elite pilots will take to the skies to race prop-to-prop while navigating electronically governed racetracks in the skies above some of the most visually arresting scenery in the world. These manned multirotor electric vehicles will define a new era in advanced air mobility (AAM). &nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Airspeeder’s first unmanned air race is scheduled for 2021 and will feature a full grid of multirotor unmanned Airspeeder Mk3 racing craft. The best pilots from drone racing will utilise latest RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft systems) in aerial battles across the globe. &nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Our innovations will hasten the arrival of new advanced air mobility (AAM) technologies. Close but safe air racing is assured through latest LiDAR and radar technologies that create virtual forcefields around the sport’s cutting edge quadcopter format flying cars. Rapid hair-pin turning manoeuvrability is delivered using a multicopter layout.&nbsp;</span><span dir="auto">This pioneering approach to aircraft design also enhances stability while electronic speed control (ESC) systems empower pilots to exploit the full potential of our advanced electric powertrains.&nbsp;</span></p><hr><p>Subscribe to get the inside track on the creation of the future of motorsport and a catalyst for the rapid development of VTOL technologies. </p><p><span dir="auto">Subscribe to Airspeeder channel</span><span dir="auto">&nbsp;|&nbsp;</span><a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?%E2%80%8B" rel="nofollow" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/airspeeder?</a><span dir="auto">&nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Website |&nbsp;</span><a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbU0xX05OMWFZRWJKT3VOZlZ3eUp5TVZuWGowZ3xBQ3Jtc0tsaF81UlVOb2o1Y0FROGdXRlFRM255d0xCbGI2SVgyeXUySVNiZVFaQW1iXy1JZUY2dWhjRWItNVJmc3ZzZzNqOXEtay1HS3hhZnZuSWxIUjJRNmRkalN2eUtyN0c2LWdKZWxLMmhYZmstSktzTG54cw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fairspeeder.com" rel="nofollow" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">https://airspeeder.com</a></p><p><span dir="auto">Twitter |&nbsp;</span><a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbTlmYmxkU20taWUwZ0xYSW1zVlRfMXJQVkNwd3xBQ3Jtc0tsRnhwZGNLSXFtSFQ4MXBLR1U3Q1VTaUZTS2xScFFMTEZNcGpRLUs4cUxFcGUwbXEzREw3RklHX1ZvLUZTODVnQ255Q01TQm85dHBFTWpqaWV2a2tiZGhwam1iV0RMNWtoazAzZm0wcXF0NjN4RDBoUQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.twitter.com%2FairspeederHQ" rel="nofollow" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">https://www.twitter.com/airspeederHQ</a><span dir="auto">&nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Facebook | &nbsp;</span><a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqa1J0Y3ZTV1ZWRjFoV05DaXd6VXRtbXdaZVhfZ3xBQ3Jtc0ttSG4zZkhrakFUcktTMGVqd1ZSZFNjN3hkZmYtb29IQVJiZWduaWhsbklqVVMxUlMxUmdmMTVUb2ZoYW9tZkZlMDR6MkVHMFlZQkdJT2d5enFsRzcwaDZ4S3lxZW11TVZQNlVrV0cwUmd5aFdyc2k4Zw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/airspeeder</a><span dir="auto">&nbsp;</span></p><p><span dir="auto">Instagram |&nbsp;</span><a dir="auto" href="https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbkpBQlFKZ1ZuREFSbFJ3RW93VUJWa1dpMk14QXxBQ3Jtc0tucGwyQ2FFRUlwY09UcU5UNk5qZjRwOFJtanpCdmlRYXdtS25PekdHZkc4VEJVVWFZeHYtb2dwa2hOc28yOENQNkNoNGhQTnRBUFI5N0hzMUZJa2NVVTlLRnJRNXdRYXk0amcyMVhZSEVnbmVvNkZaSQ&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fairspeeder" rel="nofollow" spellcheck="false" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/airspeeder</a></p>

Explore what an eVTOL multicopter grand prix could look like across different terrains including desert, ice and snow, and how teams can use pit stops to their advantage during a race.

Engineering an eVTOL Grand Prix - Airspeeder February Report

<p>This article was discussed in our <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte&source=gmail&ust=1640817319915000&usg=AOvVaw2nPRdRwJrXSYYeM9RCFu5x" href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/b9d818f3-5ab0-4c44-aedf-84114d57d281?dark=false" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></p><p>The full article will continue below.</p><hr><h1>What Do We Know?</h1><p>Honestly, not a lot. It's no surprise that Apple has strongly protected the details about this project as much as possible; however, we have some information about what the final product <em>could&nbsp;</em>look like based on patents, hiring decisions, and discussions with other automakers.</p><h1>The Talent</h1><h2>Dr. Michael Schwekutsch | Senior Director of Engineering - Special Projects Group</h2><p>Dr. Schwekutsch led the powertrain development at Tesla between 2015 - 2019.</p><h2>Doug Field | Vice President - Special Projects Group</h2><p>Mr. Field was in charge of the Tesla Model S program between 2013 - 2018.</p><h1>Notable Patents</h1><h2>U.S. Patent #<strong>10,908,328</strong></h2><p>Visibility system to assist driving in poor conditions</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,948,582</h2><p>Stabilizing system when on slippery roads&nbsp;</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,825,255</h2><p>AR display to beat motion sickness in case you really hate looking out the window</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,843,525</h2><p>Dynamic tinted windows to tune the amount of privacy you'd like at any given time</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,878,699</h2><p>advanced situational awareness system to notify passenger of passing ambulances, etc.</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,875,380</h2><p>Optimized climate control based on passenger body part temperatures</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,878,699&nbsp;</h2><p>Autonomous charging to make manual charging obsolete</p><h2>U.S. Patent #10,891,745</h2><p>Realtime depth sensing to potentially assist an autonomous driving system.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>There's a lot more patents related to Project Titan (codename for the Apple car project) but from the shortlist above a somewhat coherent picture starts to come together: A passenger experience-centric, autonomous, electric vehicle. There is no way to confirm if all of the applications of these patents will be bundled together in one product or if Apple has longterm ambitions and consumers will see bits and pieces of this technology as time goes on.</p><h1>Manufacturing Partners</h1><h2>Hyundai/Kia</h2><p>Apple was in talks with Hyundai for quite some time and in early February, it seemed like a deal was getting finalized where Apple would be designing the vehicle and Hyundai would take on the manufacturing at their Kia factory in Georgia. Unfortunately, the deal fell apart shortly after being made public.</p><h2>Foxconn</h2><p>Foxconn has been one of Apple's biggest manufacturing partners for quite some time and they've announced plans to start manufacturing electric vehicles by 2023. The company has dismissed it's rumored partnership with Apple to manufacturer the tech giants first EV but, given their duos proven history along with Apple's inability to secure an established automotive manufacturer as a partner, it would make sense that they team up to push Project Titan to the finish line.</p>

What the Apple Car could look like based on what we know so far (very little)

Apple's automotive project has been under wraps since 2014 but the public is getting some much needed insight as the tech giant discusses production plans with potential partners

The Apple Car & What We Know So Far

<p>This article was discussed in our <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte&source=gmail&ust=1640817319915000&usg=AOvVaw2nPRdRwJrXSYYeM9RCFu5x" href="https://www.wevolver.com/profile/the.next.byte" id="isPasted" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Next Byte podcast</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/ef727514-e071-4310-94c3-ab0d48d9b24d?dark=false" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span></p><p>The full article will continue below.</p><hr><h1>Nissan's Initiative&nbsp;</h1><p>Nissan has set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 but they have decided to double down on hybrid powertrains in an industry that is heavily focused on battery electric vehicles (BEV).</p><p>Although electric vehicles don't burn fuel to operate, they still need power - which often comes from power grids utilizing fossil fuels - to charge their batteries. Therefore, the key question to address is how can we charge batteries with the least amount of carbon emissions?&nbsp;</p><h1>Lifecycle Emissions</h1><p>When analyzing total carbon emissions during the vehicle lifecycle, there are three aspects to consider: (i) the emissions from producing the vehicle, (ii) the emissions required to get the vehicle the fuel it needs to operate (whether that is electricity or fossil fuels), and (iii) the emissions produced when operating the vehicle.</p><p><br></p><p><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 666px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE1NjUyOTg1MjAzLVNjcmVlbiBTaG90IDIwMjEtMDMtMTMgYXQgMTEuMDYuNDkgQU0ucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 666px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Lifecycle carbon emissions of gasoline, hybrid, and battery powered vehicles. (Nissan)</span></span></span>The STARC System</p><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">The automaker recently revealed the strong, tumble, and appropriately stretched robust ignition channel (STARC) system which offers a 50% thermal efficiency. To put this feat into perspective, the current industry leader (Toyota) offers a peak thermal efficiency of ~40%.</p><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2"><br></p><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2"><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jeUEEfnr5-k?&amp;t=239s&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br></p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">Improved thermal efficiency is owed to two factors: (1) combusting a more diluted air-fuel mixture at a higher compression ratio allowing for a 46% thermally efficient process and (2) a waste heat recovery system that recaptures 4% of the thermal loss. Since the combustion engine is not directly connected to the wheels, it can consistenly operate in optimal conditions while charging the batteries that power the electric motors.</p><h1 class="fr-img-space-wrap2">The Roadmap To Carbon Neutrality&nbsp;</h1><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">As depicted in the lifecycle carbon emissions diagram, the current emissions associated with Nissan's e-POWER system is comparable with BEVs; however, by utilizing the STARC system, they are able to reduce emissions to that of the overall projected amount of a BEV charged using renewable energy sources (solar, wind, geothermal, etc.). Since renewable energy only makes up a small fraction of the overall power generated across the world, the e-POWER hybrid powertrain is a strong answer to the carbon emission reduction question while we figure out large-scale renewable energy implementations.&nbsp;</p><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">&nbsp;</p><div class="fr-img-space-wrap"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width: 595px;"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjE1NjU0MTg0NjUyLVNjcmVlbiBTaG90IDIwMjEtMDMtMTMgYXQgMTEuNDguNDAgQU0ucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 595px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><span class="fr-inner">Nissan's powertrain evolution (Nissan)</span></span></span><p class="fr-img-space-wrap2">But they're not stopping there. If the reaching carbon neutrality was a 100m dash, internal combustion engines were the starting point, the e-POWER system is the halfway mark, and fuel cells are the finish line - at least according to Nissan.</p></div><p>&nbsp;</p></div>

Nissan's strong, tumble, and appropriately stretched robust ignition channel (STARC) system

Nissan's new e-POWER system houses a 50% thermally efficient internal combustion engine boasting lower total carbon emission than battery powered electric vehicles

hybrid electric vehicles

ORGANIZATIONS. SHAPING THE INDUSTRY.

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