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Dyson is developing an electric car
at its headquarters in Wiltshire with
help from public money, according to
government documents.
The company, which makes a range of
products that utilise the sort of highly
efficient motors needed for an electric
car such as vacuum cleaners, hand
dryers and bladeless fans, last year
refused to rule out rumours it was
building one.
But on Wednesday, the government
appeared tohave accidentally disclosed
Dyson is working on one, along with other big companies
outside of the automotive industry, such as Apple. “The
government is funding Dyson to develop a new battery
electric vehicle at their headquarters in Malmesbury,
Wiltshire. This will secure £174m of investment in the
area, creating over 500 jobs, mostly in engineering,” said
the National Infrastructure Delivery Plan, published on
Wednesday.
When Dyson CEO, Max Conze, was asked last year if the
company was working on an electric car, he said: “We are
Dyson developing an electric car, according to government
documents
ruling nothing out. Like our friends in
Cupertino [Apple] we are also unhealthily
obsessive when it comes to taking apart
our products to make them better.”
Dyson recently reported profits up 20%
in 2015, driven by strong growth in
China, and said it plans to invest £1bn
in battery technology over the next
five years. Last October, Dyson bought
solid-state battery company, Sakti3, for
$90m, which founder Sir James Dyson
said had “developed a breakthrough in
battery technology.” Asked if the company was, as the
government suggested, developing an electric car, a Dyson
spokesman said: “We never comment on products that are
in development.”
The Guardian has also contacted the Office for Low
Emissions Vehicles, which encourages the roll-out of
electric vehicles as a way to cut air pollution and lower
carbon emissions, and is awaiting details on the exact level
of funding.
Sir James Dyson at Dyson’s Malmesbury
headquarters. Photograph: Adrian
Sherratt/Rex
Samsung Italy and Yamaha have
announced their collaboration to add
a smartphone-connected display to
the windshield of a motorcycle. The
Smart Windshield concept will display
notifications like calls and texts on a
head-up display on the screen, with the
software designed to be hands-free.
This is being undertaken as nearly 25
percent of motorcycle accidents in Italy
involve smartphones.
The windshield pairs up with the
smartphone wirelessly and shows call
or SMS notifications, incoming emails, messages and more
and this aims at reducing distractions to the rider.
Samsung presents a new concept of safety on two wheels
Smart Windshield
The screen is transparent and located
low on the windshield so it doesn’t
obscure the rider’s vision. It connects
through wi-fi and has a dedicated app
to relay information. This will also show
directions to the user with the help of
GPS.
Samsung is developing this technology
as part of its global Launching People
communication project and Yamaha
has offered its Tricity scooter as the
test vehicle. While it’s still a concept,
Samsung is hopeful that the concept could be the future of
safer motorcycle riding.
smartphone-connected for Yamaha
motorcycle
14 l New-Tech Magazine Europe