China Aerospace Science and Industrial Corporation (CASIC) has said it will build a supersonic superconducting magnetic levitation (maglev) tansportation system. Nextbigfuture covered the CASIC announcement a few days ago. There is some additional information about the staging of development plans. NOTE: This is not a hyperloop. CASIC is looking to make partial to fully evacuated …
China Railway began construction on the 78.2km Beijing – Bazhou high-speed line, which will serve the city’s new international airport at Daxing, 46km south of the capital. The line will include four new stations, including an underground station at the airport, and is expected to cost Yuan 27.4bn ($US 4billion), including Yuan 800m for rolling …
A team of engineering researchers has made a fundamental advance in controlling so-called soft robots, using magnetic fields to remotely manipulate microparticle chains embedded in soft robotic devices. The researchers have already created several devices that make use of the new technique. “By putting these self-assembling chains into soft robots, we are able to have …
Apps for Bicycle sharing are huge in China Customers use an app to release a bike’s lock for rides costing as little as 1 yuan (15 cents) an hour. Bikes can be left anywhere for the next user. Beijing Bikelock Technology Co. cycle-sharing startup, known as Ofo, won about $100 million backing in September, 2016 …
The UK Ministry of Defence has officially awarded a £30m (US$38 million) contract to produce a prototype laser weapon. The aim is to see whether “directed energy” technology could benefit the armed forces, and is to culminate in a demonstration of the system in 2019. If the demonstration is successful, the first laser weapons could …
The Carnival of Space is up at Everyday Spacer Universe Today – NASA Might Build an Ice House on Mars The “Mars Ice Home” is a large inflatable dome that is surrounded by a shell of water ice. NASA said the design is just one of many potential concepts for creating a sustainable home for …
China flew an improved version of its Shenyang FC-31 Gyrfalcon stealth fighter. Compared to the previous prototype, the new version features a host of refinements and has started to resemble a genuine fifth-generation stealth aircraft in many ways. The FC-31 is intended for military export markets. It is expected to be priced around $70 million. …
Nextbigfuture has reviewed AI and Computers and Space for 2016 and looked ahead in those areas. Here we will look at Energy. France also had a shutdown of some nuclear reactors because of concerns over japanese parts The component in question was manufactured by Japan Casting and Forging Corp., which is based in Kitakyushu. In …
DARPA is developing robotic support and maintenance of geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites with the Phoenix and GEO programs The traditional process of designing, developing, building and deploying space systems is long, expensive and complex. These difficulties apply especially to the increasing number of expensive, mission-critical satellites launched every year into geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO), approximately …
China’s coal power generation capacity will grow as much as 19 percent over the next five years even as the world’s biggest energy consumer expands use of non-fossil fuels. While coal-fired plant capacity will increase, it will still remain below 1,100 gigawatts, National Energy Administration Chief Engineer Han Shui said Monday in a webcast posted …
The new Long March 5 rocket launched successfully on Thursday. The rocket could be used to support a Chinese space station and send an uncrewed mission to Mars. The new Long March 5 rocket launched successfully from the Wenchang Space Launch Center. The rocket measures 187 feet, making it the largest produced by China. It …