Transport

We've been hearing about in-road EV charging tech for a number of years, including tests from Renault and Stellantis. Now the City of Detroit is reported to be the first installation of wireless charging in a public roadway in the US.

As is the case with their gas-burning counterparts, electric cars are limited in spaciousness and design by the layout of their drivetrain. Hyundai and Kia have set about addressing that issue, with their radical new Universal Wheel Drive System.

Lotus is aiming to go 100% electric by 2028, a mission that's seen it launch hyper-SUVs and hyper ebikes. Now it's turned its attention to hyper-chargers. Its Flash Charge hardware will be future-proofed for outputs up to 450 kW.

Having shown off simplified copter controls, Airbus Helicopters' FlightLab has completed a fully automated flight testing a new simplified tablet-based human machine interface (HMI) designed to reduce pilot workloads and increase safety.

Airbus innovation division UpNext is testing its next-gen autonomous systems for air-to-air in-flight refueling, which could be a revolutionary leap forward for a variety of military and civil aircraft, safely extending range and endurance.

In a video posted to TikTok, Gravity Industries founder Richard Browning has shown off what appears to be live-fire aerial testing of a shoulder-mounted, head-tracking weapons system for the Iron Man-style jet suit he's been flying since 2017.

A few months ago, awkwardly-named Chinese ebike maker Cyrusher launched its first mid-drive model in the shape of the Nitro adventure bike. This has now been joined by a carbon-framed fat-tire beast called the Hurricane.

Cannondale has dissected the DNA of its Synapse road bike to create a tasty carbon-framed "commuter bike that would make a pro cyclist smile." The Tesoro Neo Carbon ebike is a Europe-only release, and rides out with Bosch power.

Cyrusher has opened pre-sales for a full-squish low-step adventure ebike called the Scout, which is pitched as a "harmonious blend of compactness and uncompromised performance," and can be had with a single motor/battery or dual motors/batteries.

One of the most magnificent and terrifying steeds in motorcycledom gets its second major overhaul for 2024. The new KTM 1390 Super Duke R gets a bigger motor, a bigger tank, semi-active suspension and a savagely alien new headlight design.

Triumph starts an "all-in" assault on the dirtbike world with the TF 250-X, a race-ready MX bike with a "class-leading power to weight ratio and the most complete specification package ever to launch into the ultra-competitive 250cc motocross market."

Bimota has a whole new design for its wacky hub-steered front end, nearly doubling the steering range, and it's celebrating this achievement with one of the strangest production motorcycles of the year: a 200-horsepower supercharged adventure bike.

We've covered a few of Italian designer Pierpaolo Lazzarini's Jet Capsule compact motorboats since they hit the market back in 2013. The most recent version, which is set to be released in 2024, is dubbed the Jet Capsule Super Sport.

Dutch ship builder Damen has announced an all-electric version of its 70-m-long hybrid service vessel designed to support offshore wind farm operations. And the company is aiming to charge the batteries direct from a wind turbine.

Swedish foiling e-boat maker Candela has announced the maiden flight of its P-12 passenger ferry, with its dual electric drives and tri-wing setup lifting the vessel above the water to reach a top speed of 30 knots. Series production has now begun.

Shimizu is working on what it says will be the world's smallest electric scooter. The 10-lb Arma scooter folds to the length and width of a piece of printer paper to carry in a messenger bag or work as its own mini-briefcase.

Remember back before smartphones existed, when you had to buy a separate cell phone, camera, music player, calculator and calendar? Well, the Utility Personal Transporter may one day do for electric vehicles what smartphones did for gadgets.

When it comes to electric vehicles, there's definitely a gap between small, simple ebikes and larger, costlier electric cars. The new-and-improved Veemo velomobile is intended to firmly fill that niche – and I recently got to try it out for myself.