Electric Vehicles

Companies are researching the possible use of electric vehicles to meet peak demand. A parked and plugged-in electric vehicle could sell the electricity from the battery during peak loads and charge either during night (at home) or during off-peak.Plug-in hybrid or electric cars could be used  for their energy storage capabilities. Vehicle-to-grid technology can be employed, turning each vehicle with its 20 to 50 kWh battery pack into a distributed load-balancing device or emergency power source.

This represents 2 to 5 days per vehicle of average household requirements of 10 kWh per day, assuming annual consumption of 3650 kWh. This quantity of energy is equivalent to between 40 and 300 miles (64 and 483 km) of range in such vehicles consuming 0.5 to 0.16 kWh per mile. These figures can be achieved even in home-made electric vehicle conversions. Some electric utilities plan to use old plug-in vehicle batteries (sometimes resulting in a giant battery) to store electricity However, a large disadvantage of using vehicle to grid energy storage would be if each storage cycle stressed the battery with one complete charge-discharge cycle. 

However, one major study showed that used intelligently, vehicle-to-grid storage actually improved the batteries longevity. Conventional (cobalt-based) lithium ion batteries break down with the number of cycles – newer li-ion batteries do not break down significantly with each cycle, and so have much longer lives. One approach is to reuse unreliable vehicle batteries in dedicated grid storage as they are expected to be good in this role for ten years. If such storage is done on a large scale it becomes much easier to guarantee replacement of a vehicle battery degraded in mobile use, as the old battery has value and immediate use.

Vehicular Communication Systems

Vehicular communication systems are computer networks in which vehicles and roadside units are the communicating nodes, providing each other with information, such as safety warnings and traffic information. They can be effective in avoiding accidents and traffic congestion. Both types of nodes are dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) devices. DSRC works in 5.9 GHz band with bandwidth of 75 MHz and approximate range of 300 m. Vehicular communications is usually developed as a part of intelligent transportation systems (ITS). The main motivation for vehicular communication systems is safety and eliminating the excessive cost of traffic collisions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), road accidents annually cause approximately 1.2 million deaths worldwide; one fourth of all deaths caused by injury. A study from the American Automobile Association (AAA) concluded that car crashes cost the United States $300 billion per year. It can be used for automated traffic intersection control.

 However the deaths caused by car crashes are in principle avoidable. The U.S. Department of Transportation states that 21,000 of the annual 43,000 road accident deaths in the US are caused by roadway departures and intersection-related incidents. This number can be significantly lowered by deploying local warning systems through vehicular communications. Departing vehicles can inform other vehicles that they intend to depart the highway and arriving cars at intersections can send warning messages to other cars traversing that intersection. Studies show that in Western Europe a mere 5 km/h decrease in average vehicle speeds could result in 25% decrease in deaths.

V2V (short for vehicle to vehicle; see also VANET) is an automobile technology designed to allow automobiles to "talk" to each other. The systems will use a region of the 5.9 GHz band set aside by the United States Congress in 1999, the unlicensed frequency also used by WiFi. V2V is currently in active development by General Motors, which demonstrated the system in 2006 using Cadillac vehicles. Other automakers working on V2V include BMW, Daimler, Honda, Audi, Toyota, Volvo and the Car-to-Car communication consortium. V2V is also known as VANETs (vehicular ad hoc networks). It is a variation of MANETs (mobile ad hoc networks), with the emphasis being now the node is the vehicular. In 2001, it was mentioned in a publication that ad hoc networks can be formed by cars and such networks can help overcome blind spots, avoid accidents, etc.

India's reusable launch vehicle is operational

During this period, a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) reusable launch vehicle is developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This follows successful testing of smaller, scaled-down versions, which demonstrated important technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance and control, hypersonic and scramjet flight, a reusable thermal protection system, and re-entry mission management. An early prototype in 2016 achieved a speed of Mach 5 and maximum altitude of 40 miles (65 km)– not quite enough to reach outer space, which is generally considered to begin at a height of 62 miles (100 km).

 It lasted for 13 minutes and covered a distance of 280 miles (450 km), steering itself to an on-target splashdown to land (ditch) in the Bay of Bengal. Not designed to float, the vehicle disintegrated on impact and was not recovered. Known as the Hypersonic Flight Experiment (HEX) this was the first in a series of five tests. The four subsequent iterations were more advanced and enabled landing, return flights and scramjet propulsion experiments. These would eventually culminate in the finalised version, able to transport cargo into orbit, return safely to Earth and be re-used.

India had already launched astronauts into space by 2021, in a small capsule atop a GSLV rocket. The addition of a reusable launch system greatly expands ISRO's capabilities in space – enabling longer, more complex and commercially successful missions, while cutting launch costs by a factor of ten. This comes at a time when various new space planes are being developed by other countries and space agencies, making access to space increasingly affordable and routine.

Reusable Rockets

             One of the costliest aspects of space exploration is the building of sophisticated and powerful rockets capable of transporting thousands of pounds of equipment into space. The fact that we have figured out how to land rockets -- even the large ones used to launch the Falcon Heavy -- will help to reduce the cost of space travel.

           A reusable launch system (RLS, or reusable launchvehicle, RLV) is a space launch system intended to allow for recovery of all or part of the system for later reuse. To date, several fully reusable sub-orbital systems and partially reusable orbital systems have been flown. NASA's space shuttle was the world's first reusable spacecraft.

           It launched like arocket and returned to Earth like a glider. It was designed to carry large payloads — such as satellites — into orbit and bring them back, if necessary, for repairs.

 To date, several fully reusable sub-orbital systems and partially reusable orbital systems have been flown. However the design issues are extremely challenging and no fully reusable orbital launch system has yet been demonstrated.

Voice Shopping in Vehicles

          Voice shopping in vehicles may arrive. I predict that we’ll be able to use our voices to shop during our commutes, thanks to the seamless integration of voice interfaces in cars. We could see billboards prominently using voice shopping calls to action. Amazon released its Alexa Auto Software Development Kit in August, which allows you to summon Alexa for navigation, controlling entertainment options, building a grocery list, etc. Very soon, I think we can expect voice shopping in vehicles because it’s really as simple as retailers adding an Alexa skill for voice shopping.

           At CES 2018, voice technology proved it will be integrating even further into our lives. Car manufacturers announced new voice assistant features. Google and Amazon are battling it out to introduce their voice assistants into our cars; which means the days of tapping a screen to check directions or look up info while driving will be long gone. This is unsurprising, as over 32 million people drive cars in the UK, meaning they’ll be reaching a wide audience. Instead, drivers will speak and their car will speak back.

         Fifty percent of all searches will be voice searches by 2020, according to comScore. As we become accustomed to the ease of speaking, rather than typing, consumers will change the way they interact with their surroundings. It’s no wonder big names already want in; this is something that will really change our journeys.