Category: Emerging-Technologies

Fiat Chrysler and AV startup Voyage partner on self-driving minivans

Self-driving vehicle startup Voyage said Monday that it has inked a deal with Fiat Chrysler to supply purpose-built vehicles, a partnership that will help accelerate its plan to launch a fully driverless ride-hailing service. Voyage, a three-year-old startup that tests and operates a self-driving vehicle service (with human safety operators)…

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NASA will test a new spacecraft solar sail using a NanoAvionics satellite

NASA is going to test a new solar sail system to determine if it’s a viable alternative to propellant-based thrusters for maneuvering small satellites, and potentially for low-cost transportation of spacecraft set on deep-space missions. The agency has selected Illinois-based NanoAvionics to provide the spacecraft that will be used to…

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Manufacturing startup Divergent 3D reduces staff by one-third

Divergent, the Los Angeles-based startup aiming to revolutionize vehicle manufacturing, has cut about one-third of its staff amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has upended startups and major corporations alike. The company, which employed about 160 people, laid off 57 workers, according to documents filed with the California Employment Development Department.…

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Voyage gets the green light to bring robotaxi service to California’s public roads

Voyage has cleared a regulatory hurdle that will allow the company to expand its self-driving service from the private roads of a retirement community in San Jose, Calif. to public roads throughout the rest of the state. The California Public Utilities Commission issued a permit Monday that gives Voyage permission…

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The Station: Pony.ai turns to delivery, Kodiak cuts, Lime snaps up Boosted’s IP

Hi and welcome back to The Station, a weekly newsletter dedicated to the future (and present) of transportation. I’m your host Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch. What you’re reading here is an abbreviated version of The Station. To get the complete newsletter, which comes out every weekend, go…

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Mammoth Biosciences receives first peer-reviewed validation of CRISPR-based COVID-19 test

SF-based CRISPR diagnostics startup Mammoth Biosciences has published the first peer-reviewed study that shows validation of using its testing method to detect the presence of COVID-19 in patients. The study, published in Nature, shows performance on par with existing PCR-based molecular tests, the one ones currently authorized for use by…

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