Connect with us

Tech News

Elon Musk’s Boring Company lands $48.7M contract for underground “people mover” in Las Vegas – TechCrunch

Published

on

The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s tunneling and transportation startup, has landed a $48.7 million project to shuttle people in an underground Loop system around the Las Vegas Convention Center.

This is the company’s first commercial contract.

The initial design for the project, dubbed Campus Wide People Mover or CWPM, will focus on the Las Vegas Convention Center, which is currently in the midst of an expansion that is expected to be complete in time for CES 2021. The newly expanded Las Vegas Convention Center will span about 200 acres once completed. The LVCVA estimates that people walking the facility would travel two miles from one end to the other, a distance that prompted officials to find a transportation solution.

In March, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority recommended that the Boring Company be selected. The board of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority voted Wednesday to approve the contract.

The approval comes with numerous strings and requires The Boring Company to achieve specific milestones, details of which The Guardian published earlier this month. The contract withholds over two-thirds of payments until construction is complete and requires The Boring Company to meet specific ridership goals.

The LVCVA estimated an initial $1.2 million outlay to TBC in fiscal year 2019, following by $15 million in 2020 and the final $32.47 million in 2021.

While the project is limited for now, TBC has said in the past project could someday connect downtown, the Las Vegas Convention Center, the Las Vegas Boulevard Resort Corridor and McCarran International Airport.

This underground people mover will involve the construction of twin tunnels for vehicles and one pedestrian tunnel, according to contract documents. The twin tunnels are expected to be less than a mile. There will be three underground stations for passenger loading and unloading and an elevator or escalator system for passenger access to each station.

The people mover, once complete is supposed to whisk people between stops at high speeds in modified electric Tesla vehicles. The contract describes these as autonomous vehicles. (Today, Tesla vehicles are not self driving, and instead have an advanced driver assistance system that handles certain tasks on highways such as lane steering and adaptive cruise control.) Before it opens to the public, the contract dictates that TBC test the system for three months.

As Musk’s Boring Company lands one contract, safety concerns have been raised on the design of another more ambitious Loop system from Washington D.C. to Baltimore.

Details of the 35.3-mile system, which emerged recently in a 505-page draft environmental assessment, reveals a design that fails to meet several key national safety standards. The underground system appears to lack sufficient emergency exits, ignore the latest engineering practices and proposes passenger escape ladders that one fire safety professor calls “the definition of insanity.”

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tech News

The Eight Best Floor Jacks To Lift Your Car Safely And Easily

Published

on

While only rated for 1 ½ tons, the Daytona jack has a lot going for it. It’s relatively inexpensive, super lightweight (as it’s made from aircraft-grade aluminum), and has a minimum height of only 2 ⅜ inches to get under the lowest of low vehicles. It’s useful for low vehicles and vehicles that rest lower when air ride suspension needs to be turned off prior to service, as well as cars with flat tires.

Reviewers often cite the surprisingly light weight of this jack — it’s only 36 pounds — along with its durability, great looks, smooth rolling wheels, welded side-mounted carrying handle, and two-piece lift arm construction as positives. Meanwhile, Harbor Freight is a reputable name brand in the space, having been in business for nearly 50 years.

Get the Daytona 1.5 Ton Ultra-Low Profile High-Performance Aluminum Racing Jack from Harbor Freight for $299.99.

Continue Reading

Tech News

10 Of The Most Incredible Cars In Lionel Messi's Collection

Published

on

Lionel Messi is known for decades of on-pitch excellence, and his success has allowed him to build a very enviable car collection.

Continue Reading

Tech News

10 Unexpected Uses For Your Smart Speakers

Published

on

Just as you can use your smart speaker to help train your brain, you can use your smart speaker to train your body. Your smart speaker can help you to curate workout routines through the use of any number of apps available through Amazon’s Alexa or without any extra skills on Google Home. Unfortunately, it isn’t currently possible for Apple HomePod users to take advantage of a potential Apple subscription in this context, as Apple Fitness+ doesn’t currently support use with the HomePod.

However, on Google Home and Alexa, through voice-activated commands, your smart speaker can guide you through exercises with precision. It can provide step-by-step instructions for various workouts, ensuring proper form and technique to maximize effectiveness while reducing the risk of injury.

Going further, your smart speaker can help you keep up with how you’re doing with your goals throughout the day if you own a Fitbit. By connecting Alexa and your Fitbit, you can ask your smart speaker a plethora of questions, including how far you’ve walked in a day, how many calories you’ve burned, or what your resting heart rate is.

Achieving fitness goals isn’t just about exercise; it also involves proper nutrition. Tying back to using your smart speaker as an infinite cookbook, your smart speaker can provide dietary advice, suggest healthy recipes, and even create meal plans that align with your fitness objectives.

By connecting all of these separate pieces, your smart speaker can quickly become a hand-in-hand companion for helping you to stay on top of your fitness goals. Whether it be through reminders for workouts and meals or just staying up to date on your progress toward your goals on any given day, your smart speaker can have your back for all of your fitness needs.

Continue Reading

Trending