Transportation
Army ditches helicopters for new radical air assault planes
Fox News contributor Brett Velicovich joins'Fox & Friends First' to discuss Secretary's Hegseth's sweeping Army transformation, how Russia has responded to the U.S. minerals deal with Ukraine and the military bolstering drone technology. This is how the Army will island hop in the Pacific to fend off China. And by the way, Chinese President Xi Jinping has nothing like it. With a stunning announcement, the Army did more than ax 40 generals and open the door to AI. The Army bet its future on this radical aircraft, whose engines swivel to take off and land like a helicopter, or fly high and fast like an airplane.
Australia has been hesitant โ but could robots soon be delivering your pizza?
Robots zipping down footpaths may sound futuristic, but they are increasingly being put to work making deliveries around the world โ though a legal minefield and cautious approach to new tech means they are largely absent in Australia. Retail and food businesses have been using robots for a variety of reasons, with hazard detection robots popping up in certain Woolworths stores and virtual waiters taking dishes from kitchens in understaffed restaurants to hungry diners in recent years. Overseas, in jurisdictions such as California, robots are far more visible in everyday life. Following on from the first wave of self-driving car trials in cities such as San Francisco, humans now also share footpaths with robots. Likened to lockers on wheels, companies including Serve Robotics and Coco have partnered with Uber Eats and Doordash, which have armies of robots travelling along footpaths in Los Angeles delivering takeaway meals and groceries.
Can new patrol vehicles crack down on 'video game-styled' driving in California?
The California Highway Patrol is deploying new patrol vehicles in hopes of cracking down on what the agency called "video game-styled" driving. The vehicles, 100 Dodge Durangos, will be paired with a fleet of Dodge Chargers and Ford Explorers to "observe the most reckless and dangerous behaviors without immediate detection," according to a CHP news release. "The new vehicles give our officers an important advantage," CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said in a statement. "They will allow us to identify and stop drivers who are putting others at risk, while still showing a professional and visible presence once enforcement action is needed." The vehicles will be placed in various regions across the state starting this week.
Tesla's 'Robotaxi' brand might be too generic to trademark
The US Patent and Trademark Office has refused one of Tesla's initial attempts to trademark the term "Robotaxi" because it believes the name is generic and already in use by other companies, according to a filing spotted by TechCrunch. Tesla was hoping to trademark the term in connection to its planned self-driving car service, but now it'll have to reply with more evidence to change the office's mind. The main issue outlined in the USPTO decision is that "Robotaxi" is "merely descriptive," as in its an already commonly used term. A robotaxi typically refers to the self-driving cars used in services like Waymo. As long as Silicon Valley has believed money could be made selling autonomous vehicles (and the rides you can take in them), the term has been in use.
Zoox issues software recall for all robotaxis following Las Vegas collision
Zoox, the Amazon-owned robotaxi company, announced a voluntary software recall for its vehicles. The company had paused its driverless vehicle operations for a review following an incident last month where a Zoox car and a passenger car collided in Las Vegas. According to the report filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the crash did not cause any injuries. CNBC reports that Zoox has resumed usual operations following the software update. "After analysis and rigorous testing, Zoox identified the root cause," the company said in a blog post today.
Kia's wild concept EV includes hydro-turbine wheels, solar panels, and a rooftop tent
Designing concept cars seems kind of like being back in grade school, when kids are encouraged to dream up things like a bedroom with a bouncy-house floor or a spaceship with an ice cream machine on board. At least concept cars have a chance of making it to production at some point, even if that timeline is a long way off. At Kia's EV Day in Barcelona, Spain in March, the brand unveiled a new modular electric van it's calling the Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV). The PV5 is the first in the automaker's plan, with four variants: Cargo, Passenger, Crew, and a Wheelchair Access Vehicle option. The designers pushed that a little further with the PV5 WKNDR concept, an EV made for camping and overlanding.
Drone near-misses surge at busiest US airports amid rise in unauthorized flights
Following several months of numerous high-profile aviation accidents, new data suggest pilots are facing a specific threat when it comes to keeping airline passengers safe in the skies. Last year, drones accounted for approximately two-thirds of reported near-midair collisions with commercial aircraft taking off or landing within the country's 30 busiest airports, according to the Associated Press. The findings come as aviation safety data indicate drones accounted for the highest number of near-misses since 2020, with the first reports dating back to 2014. "The rise in recreational and commercial drone use has simply outpaced education and enforcement," aviation attorney Jason Matzus told Fox News Digital. "More people are flying drones without fully understanding the rules or the risks."
AI-powered cameras gave out nearly 10,000 tickets along L.A. bus routes. Are you next?
Cameras were first installed on the windshields of some Metro buses last year, but the first tickets were issued in mid-February. Initially, the only buses to have cameras were along line 212, from Hollywood/Vine to Hawthorne/Lennox stations via La Brea Avenue, and line 720, from Santa Monica to downtown L.A. via Wilshire Boulevard. Line 70, which services Olive Street and Grand Avenue, and lines 910 and 950 that serve Metro's J Line have since been included. The AI-powered cameras scan for illegally parked cars and compile a video of each violation, a photo of the license plate and the time and location, according to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Each citation is reviewed by a human.
Fox News AI Newsletter: Woman says ChatGPT saved her life
Lauren Bannon says ChatGPT helped diagnose her with cancer. 'LUCKY TO BE ALIVE': A mother of two credits ChatGPT for saving her life, claiming the artificial intelligence chatbot flagged the condition leading to her cancer when doctors missed it. AUTONOMY TEST RUN: Robotaxis are closer to becoming a reality, after Tesla launched a full self-driving (FSD) supervised ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas, and the San Francisco Bay Area "for an early set of employees." HARVESTING YOUR DATA?: A powerful House Committee is demanding information from DeepSeek on what U.S. data it used to train the AI model as members accuse the company of being in the pocket of the Chinese government. EDUCATION REFORMS: President Donald Trump signed multiple Executive Orders relating to education Wednesday afternoon, with several tied to the theme of returning meritocracy back to the education system.