Transmission

Researchers have developed a new method for transmitting data to smartphones – by embedding it in music. That means phones might one day receive Wi-Fi passwords or local information via tunes floating through the airwaves, with no perceptible change to the audio as far as the human ear can tell.

Aston Martin throws a juicy bone to the purists with a 7-speed manual version of its Vantage sports car, complete with carbon ceramic brakes. The Vantage AMR keeps the same 195-mph (314-km/h) top speed as the regular Vantage, but drops an impressive 209 lb (95 kg) of weight.

Toyota has unveiled new engines based on its Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), to be used in both standard gasoline and hybrid vehicles. The company says that the recently-developed, more efficient engines will begin rolling out in 2017.

Using a technique known as Probabilistic Constellation Shaping, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Bell Labs researchers claim to have achieved subsea optical fiber transmission speeds equivalent to streaming more than 10 million HDTV channels simultaneously across a single cable.

Downsized turbo engines capable of punching well above their weight are the new norm, along with clever gearboxes packing a huge spread of ratios. Kia is the latest brand to develop an efficient new gearbox, launching a new lightweight eight-speeder to work with its upcoming front-wheel drive cars.

​Tiny droplets linger in the air for minutes in the aftermath of swirling tornadoes of fragmented mucus. This is the latest portrait painted by a team of MIT researchers who use high-speed imaging to study the fluid dynamics of sneezes.

With the supercharged V8 under the hood of the 2017 Camaro ZL1 putting out 640 horsepower (477 kW) and 640 pound-feet (868 Nm) of torque, Chevrolet has designed a new 10-speed automatic transmission​ to handle all of that power going to the rear wheels.

The 2017 Ford F-150 pickup truck will include the latest-generation 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine as an option, adding 30 lb-ft of torque to its output. This will mate to a new 10-speed automatic transmission to aid performance and capitalize on the now best-in-class torque values of the new engine.

Converting a manual shifting bike to something resembling an automatic has not been easy. Biperformance Development Corporation (BDC) believes its ShiftFX Electronic Shift Transmission (EST) could change that.​

Shifting gears can be a hassle, which is why a growing number of bicycle manufacturers are outfitting their bikes with the NuVinci N360 continuously-variable hub transmission. Now, NuVinci has announced the lower-priced NuVinci N330, which is designed to bring the technology to less costly bikes.

Developed as part of the MAGDRIVE research project, a new frictionless transmission gear and corresponding contactless axles have been created using superconductor magnetic levitation. Aimed primarily for use in spacecraft, the system is also adaptable for use in automobiles, railways, and aircraft.

Two issues preventing the widespread uptake of electric vehicles are recharging time and lack of range. Now, scientists have shown one potential means of negating these issues. Their demonstration of electric power transfer via the car-wheel is claimed as the world's first.