Month: December 2016

Tesla

Anyone who has driven a Tesla can't help but be impressed by what the company has achieved in just a few short years. OK, the Roadster was basically a Lotus Elise underneath, but the Model S and Model X are ground-up designs and feature a very impressive powertrain. But at the same time, anyone who has driven a Model S or Model X also can't help but notice the company's weakest point—the terrible interiors. Evidently Tesla has realized this and has poached Volvo's head of interiors, Anders Bell, in order to remedy the problem.

I'm sure writing this will enrage some of the company's more vociferous online supporters, but I make no apologies. It's clearly evident that all the R&D money has been spent on that powertrain and on software (particularly Autopilot); the cabins have been almost an afterthought. It's not just a lack of design flair—although that is certainly true. It's also the materials used, most of which would look out of place in an economy car in 2016, let alone a luxury SUV or sedan that starts out at more than $60,000. And this stuff is important. As a driver, the interior of a car is the bit that you'll look at and touch almost all the time.

Enlarge / The Waymo self-driving car prototype. (credit: Waymo)

Honda Motor Co. and Waymo, the newly renamed Google/Alphabet self-driving car initiative, could be teaming up soon. According to a report from Bloomberg, the two companies are in talks to put Waymo's self-driving technology into Honda's vehicles.

The report says that "both companies stressed that the talks are about research, rather than full production vehicles at this point," and "if all goes well," Honda's vehicles could be modified for Waymo's self-driving car fleet.

The deal would be another step for Waymo's partner model, which aims to have the company sell its technology to car companies rather than try to become an auto manufacturer itself. Waymo has already struck a deal with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to make 100 self-driving minivans based on the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid. The minivans were chosen in part because the sliding doors can close themselves, a necessary feature for an automated taxi service.

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Canada's telecom regulator yesterday declared that broadband Internet must be considered "a basic telecommunications service for all Canadians" and created a fund to connect rural and remote communities. With this decision, high-speed broadband is now treated as an essential technology similar to voice service.

All Canadians should be able to purchase home Internet with 50Mbps download speeds and 10Mbps uploads, and they should have the option of purchasing unlimited data, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announcement said. A new fund will make $750 million available over the next five years to support projects in areas where that level of broadband isn't available.

Money will be distributed to applicants based upon a competitive process. Funding can be used either for fixed broadband service or to upgrade mobile networks, but the goals of 50Mbps/10Mbps and unlimited data for all is specifically for home Internet service. About 10 percent will be allocated to communities that are dependent on satellite access.

Enlarge / Mars or the Moon? It’s a debate that has bedeviled NASA for decades. (credit: Aurich / Getty)

HOUSTON—Possessed of slight build and modest height, John Grunsfeld is not an imposing man. But this appearance belies a brilliant mind and a considerable resume. A quarter-century ago, Grunsfeld worked as a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, studying X-ray and gamma ray astronomy, before becoming an astronaut. He flew in space five times and made three trips to the Hubble Space Telescope where he performed eight spacewalks to repair and upgrade the iconic instrument.

In 2012, Grunsfeld assumed responsibility for all of NASA’s science missions. He oversaw the dramatic landing of Curiosity on the surface of Mars, and he was in charge during the exploration of Pluto. He wrangled the James Webb Space Telescope toward the launch pad, and he plotted a pair of ambitious flights to Jupiter’s moon Europa.

On a gray day in early December, I met Grunsfeld—who left NASA earlier this year—at a Starbucks across the street from Johnson Space Center. In the shadow of the buildings where he spent nearly 20 years training to fly in space, we spoke for two hours about all areas of spaceflight, from the intriguing oceans of Europa to human destinations.