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The weeding machine is a beast at almost 10,000 pounds. It boasts no fewer than eight independently-aimed 150-watt lasers, typically used for metal cutting, that can fire 20 times per second. They're guided by 12 high-resolution cameras connected to AI systems that can recognize good crops from bad weeds. The Laserweeder drives itself with computer vision, finding the furrows in the fields, positioning itself with GPS, and searching for obstacles with LIDAR. It drives 5 miles/hour and can clear 15-20 acres in a day.

Kodiak's fourth-generation truck features a modular and discreet sensor suite in just three locations: a slim profile "center pod" on the front roofline of the truck, and pods integrated into both of the side mirrors. This well-integrated and low profile sensor placement vastly simplifies sensor installation and maintenance, and increases safety. The new generation of Kodiak self-driving trucks will improve the robustness of the autonomous system. It was designed with greater fleet uptime, manufacturing, and serviceability in mind--all of which are critical to scale quickly, safely and efficiently.

With the trucking industry continuing to move forward, the main thing on truck drivers' minds is the security of their jobs. Let's take a closer look at self-driving trucks quickly becoming a reality.

"The wireless occupancy sensors market is expected to register a CAGR of 18.3% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Energy-saving has been crucial for growth in any economy, as a result, the government is also coming with several policies to save energy, which will drive the market in the forecast period."

"The wired occupancy sensors market was valued at USD 2.15 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 6.57 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 7% over the forecast period 2021 - 2026. The increase in demand for the stable and high-accuracy sensor will drive the wired occupancy sensors market in the forecast period."

"The smart building market was valued at USD 82.55 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach USD 229.10 billion by 2026 at a CAGR of over 11.33% over the forecast period (2021 - 2026). Growing energy concerns, increasing government initiatives on smart infrastructure projects are driving the market's growth positively. Solutions, such as the Building Energy Management System, Infrastructure Management System, and Intelligent Security System, are being adopted for smart buildings. BEMS is integrated, computerized systems for monitoring and controlling energy-related building services plant and equipment, such as HVAC systems and lighting, among others"

"Data sharing can also drive better business decisions. Knowing the weather patterns at other farms around the world can prepare growers for shifts in the market, from potential yields to pricing trends. ... "So, bringing that data story together helps individual farmers grow and makes sure they have a sustainable business model."

"For a snapshot of what all this points to regarding the total materials footprint of the green energy path, consider the supply chain for an electric car battery. A single battery providing a useful driving range weighs about 1,000 pounds.[15] Providing the refined minerals needed to fabricate a single EV battery requires the mining, moving, and processing of more than 500,000 pounds of materials somewhere on the planet (see sidebar below).[16] That's 20 times more than the 25,000 pounds of petroleum that an internal combustion engine uses over the life of a car."

Automation is seen as the big drive of change in sea ports of the future. With so many benefits being realized as a result of automation, it seems inevitable. Not only will we see automation but more connectivity of ports with other systems.

The Aging Water Infrastructure (AWI) research program is part of EPA's larger effort called the Sustainable Water Infrastructure (SI) initiative. The SI initiative brings together drinking water and wastewater utility managers; trade associations; local watershed protection organizations; and federal, state, and local officials to ensure that all components of our nation's water infrastructure….drinking water treatment plants, drinking water distribution lines, sewer lines, and storage facilities….meet future needs. The AWI research program supports the four priority areas of the SI initiative's strategy: (1) Better Management - moving beyond compliance to sustainability and improved performance, (2) Full-cost Pricing - helping utilities to recognize the full cost of providing service over the long term, (3) Water Efficiency - promoting water efficiency in the residential and commercial sectors, (4) Watershed Approach - integrating watershed management principles and tools into utility planning and management practices. The driving force behind the SI initiative and the AWI research program is the "Clean Water and Drinking Water Infrastructure Gap Analysis." In this report, EPA estimated that if operation, maintenance, and capital investment remain at current levels, the potential funding shortage for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure could exceed $500 billion by 2020.

But by late 2019, Aurora's emphasis had shifted. It said self-driving trucks, not cars, would be quicker to hit public roads en masse. Its executives, who had steadfastly refused to provide a timeline for their self-driving-car software, now say trucks equipped with its "Aurora Driver" will hit the roads in 2023 or 2024, with ride-hail vehicles following a year or two later.

Just as there is talk of automated self driving cars, the same is for cargo ships. Only the reality is that autonomy will start with smaller ships, whith shorter hauls.

3D printing technology, using heat-resistant metal alloys, is revolutionizing trial-and-error rocket development. Whole structures that would have previously required hundreds of distinct components can now be printed in a matter of days. The key to fast engine development is to reduce the number of parts, which reduces the time it takes to assemble the engine and the disruption caused by supply chain delays. The easiest way to do this is to change manufacturing processes. Space companies are now moving away from subtractive manufacturing processes-which remove material to shape a part-to additive manufacturing processes that build up a part by adding material to it bit by bit.

FORD is stepping up their game making $F LEAPs for 2023 a great investment! "Based on Ford's 1978 F-100 pickup, the all-electric all-wheel drive F-100 Eluminator has 480 horsepower and features Ford Performance Parts' Eluminator electric crate motor."

It will form a dress rehearsal of sorts for Musk's eventual aim of Martian exploration. And even thought it still sounds like science fiction, Barker thinks we should not underestimate Musk's ambition to reach the Red Planet. More confirmation not to doubt Musk and his drive to Mars.

On race day, it is not drivers that will make the difference -- but about 40,000 lines of code programmed by each team. "If people get used to seeing cars like these going 300 kilometers per hour... and they don't crash," said Savaresi, they may eventually think that such cars are safe "at 50 kilometers per hour."

John Deere has bought Bear Flag Robotics for $250 million in a move that sees it bolster its already strong fleet of autonomous farming robots, a press release reveals. The Silicon Valley-based Bear Flag Robotics was founded in 2017 with the goal of developing autonomous driving technology for tractors and other farm machinery. The deal "will accelerate the delivery of solutions to farmers that address the immense challenge of feeding a growing world," said Jahmy Hindman, Chief Technology Officer at John Deere. A significant amount of work in autonomy is focused on farming, the implementation of these technologies could increase yields as well as the ability to produce crops in areas that have been in the past inhospitable to growing.

DRIVER-MATERIALS-INFRASTRUCTURE Municipal pipe market spending makes up 30 percent of overall utility CAPEX for water infrastructure. In part, to address aging pipes, bursts, and other leakage management issues, the pipe market is turning to new materials (plastic) and new technologies (trenchless). More than $234 billion (USD) of capital expenditures (CAPEX) are forecasted over the next decade to address aging municipal water and wastewater pipe network infrastructure, according to Bluefield's forecasts. Precipitated by decades of underinvestment, municipal utilities are under increasing pressure to address deteriorating linear assets at a faster pace. Water losses through leaks for U.S. utilities average 15 percent annually, with some cities, towns, and communities losing more than half of all water pumped and treated for distribution to customers. As a result, rehabilitation of existing pipes is the fastest growing spend category, increasing annually from $253 million in 2019 to $576 million by 2028. Network expansions, particularly in high population growth across the sunbelt states (e.g. Texas and Arizona), will drive the lion's share of spending on new build.