Blogs

Omni-directional, six-legged robot

Submitted by GregW on Wed, 04/01/2012 - 14:59

This robot can walk in any direction, climb, recover from being on its back & pick up objects:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMF83m8lNrw

SIM-LEI EV gets a video walk-through: shaped like a fish, has a big screen (video)

Submitted by GregW on Wed, 04/01/2012 - 13:14

Zero to 100km/h (62mph) in 4.8 seconds, with maximum speed of 150km/h (93mph), range of 333km (207 miles).

So what's the catch?  Price is not mentioned.  And, though tastes vary, this is ugly.  First assumption would be that this is for aerodynamic purposes.  In some of the articles linked below, a "tiny coefficient of 0.91" is quoted.  This should be a "tiny coefficient of drag of 0.19", which is actually tiny.  To put this in perspective, the coefficient of drag (Cd) of some other energy efficient cars:

0.28 Chevrolet Volt
0.32 Honda Insight (2010)

Toyota claims a Cd of 0.25 for its Prius, but other manufacturers claim it is more like 0.30 .

http://www.engadget.com/2011/12/28/sim-lei-ev-gets-a-video-walk-through-shaped-like-a-fish-has-a/

http://www.engadget.com/2011/03/31/sim-drives-sim-lei-electric-car-achieves-207-mile-driving-range/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPwphfWTZ6w&feature=uploademail


And a discussion of Cd:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/gm-chevy-volts-cd-0-28-prius-0-a-11313.html

Chevrolet Volt "Low Emissions Package"

Submitted by GregW on Wed, 04/01/2012 - 12:38
"Low Emissions Package"? – It's a secondary air-injection pump that adds air to the exhaust system to improve the catalytic converter's ability to remove pollutants.
 
In California, this is good news because vehicles fitted with this package can get access to high-occupancy-vehicle lanes as well as a $1,500 state rebate.
 
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