Electric vehicles

Silicon Valley in California spawns the awesome giants that hold the future in their hands but they cannot solve their traffic problem.

Watch our preview of the IDTechEx Show! coming up in Santa Clara on Nov. 16-17 (www.idtechex.com/usa).

Cornerstone presentations at North America's largest event on emerging technologies cover how new technologies are addressing world's biggest needs

Agricultural robotics can upend several commonly-held notions. Amongst them is the idea that big is better. In practise this has translated into ever larger and more powerful agricultural machinery. This makes sense because a big machine amplifies the capabilities of the skilled driver, dramatically boosting its productivity. This notion may however be about to experience a fundamental change. The reason is that the driver can now finally be taken totally out of the equation.

Energy harvesting is off-grid production of electricity where it is needed using ambient energy such as wind, tide and waves or just vibration.

48V mild hybrids will start series production at many automotive manufacturers in 2017 with many others following shortly after.

Electric vehicles have gone from curiosity to being a frequent news item and, if you live in Norway or the Netherlands, something you see often. However, that is nothing compared to EVs shaking the foundations of society over the coming decade from robot agriculture and delivery to almost free travel in sunny countries and almost eliminating air pollution even in mining.

Toyota and Daimler presented at a recent IDTechEx conference on their fuel cell vehicle programs. A questioner asked them to reveal the unique selling proposition of fuel cell vehicles. They said there is no USP.

At this year's CEATEC, Japan's largest consumer electronics show, Honda showed an example of its so-called Micro Commuter electric car with a body that's been constructed using additive manufacturing.

Major focus is batteries with new form factors.