Transportation Tech News from SnapMunk

World’s First Smart Car Tire Pressure Monitor Is Killing Its Crowdfunding Goal

Dilara Kurtaran June 21, 2017 • 2 min read

The world’s first car tire pressure monitor that detects slow leaks is currently killing the funding game on Indiegogo. The […]

Why the Hell Aren’t We Mining Asteroids Already?

Daniel A. Guttenberg June 9, 2017 • 4 min read

With sci-fi staples like reanimation, hoverboards, and 3D ovaries already reality, space may truly be the final frontier. Near-Earth asteroid […]

The Military May Soon Use Personal Hoverboards to Get Around

Prateek Jose June 6, 2017 • 3 min read

If anyone should have access to the latest greatest technology, it’s the people in the military; or at least people […]

An Autonomous Robot Valet Can Now Park Your Car And It Doesn’t Need The Keys

Prateek Jose May 30, 2017 • 2 min read

In a world where parking space and time are precious commodities, valets provide a valuable service. But for those of us […]

Uber’s New Uber Freight App Matches Shippers and Carriers On Demand

Prateek Jose May 22, 2017 • 3 min read

Despite all their recent controversy Uber continues growing and broadening their brand. The company just launched Uber Freight, the service that necessitated the blog. […]

Video: An Ultralight Personal Flying Vehicle from Kitty Hawk

Prateek Jose May 1, 2017 • 2 min read

Airplanes exist. Based on the many hours I spend in traffic every morning, cars definitely exist. So it’s only natural […]

Awesome Alert: Lilium’s Bringing The “Friendly” Back To The Skies With An Air Taxi

Brenda Barron April 25, 2017 • 3 min read

There are some very interesting things happening in the skies right now, and we’re not referring to the latest news […]

Gita Is a Cargo Robot That Follows You Around Carrying Your Belongings

Prateek Jose February 16, 2017 • 3 min read

Some know Piaggio as the company that still makes the Vespa 70 years later. Although our knowledge of the Piaggio […]

The Urban GC1 Bike Is Made (Almost) Entirely Out of Paper

Prateek Jose January 30, 2017 • 3 min read

Thought that paper swan you made was complex? Maybe it was, but your origami chops are not high-level enough until […]

NASA’s New Spacesuit Looks Like It’s From The Lego Movie

Michael Chindamo January 27, 2017 • 3 min read

Everyone is familiar with the classic NASA launch and entry spacesuit. It’s big, its orange, and it makes astronauts look […]

This Electric Scooter Folds To The Size Of A Yoga Mat

Prateek Jose January 24, 2017 • 2 min read

It is tough for a new entrant to drum up excitement in a niche as crowded as electric scooters. But GoTube has […]

Airbus Says They’ll Have A Flying Car By Year’s End

Michael Chindamo January 17, 2017 • 3 min read

It’s interesting to see various major companies zero in on similar ideas. We previously talked about Arconic’s Jetsons plan, which listed […]

Amazon AI Will Be In Fords and Volkswagens This Month, With The Help Of A Startup

Michael Chindamo January 10, 2017 • 2 min read

If you were one of those folks gawking at the growing trend of AI-based wireless home assistants like Amazon Alexa, while simultaneously […]

SnapMunk’s Wishlist for Santa (and whoever he hires for Hanukkah)

SnapMunk December 23, 2016 • 3 min read

Straight up, 2016 was fucked. You know it, we know it, and Miss Cleo knew it before any of us. What […]

Elon Musk Made A Big Supercharger Update & Conceptualized A New Company Inside Of A Week

Prateek Jose December 21, 2016 • 3 min read

Elon Musk is probably the human with the highest productive hours to waking hours ratio on the planet. Heck, he […]

New Bike Tires That Don’t Get Flat And Don’t Need Air

Charles Costa November 9, 2016 • 3 min read

When it comes to cycling, whether you have a high-end ride or cheap beater, bike tires are most often the […]

Finally Someone Patented A 100 Passenger Plane With Helicopter Take-Off

SnapMunk November 1, 2016 • 2 min read

File this one under, “It’s about bloody time” (and then file that comment under “As if we just criticized a […]

Xerox Made Technology To Catch HOV Lane Cheaters

Charles Costa October 20, 2016 • 4 min read

As traffic continues to worsen across the globe, many municipalities are turning to high occupancy vehicle and high occupancy toll […]

BMW Says Motorcycle Helmets Will Be “Superfluous” With Their Future Safety Technology

Prateek Jose October 20, 2016 • 3 min read

Last week, BMW unveiled its latest concept at the BMW Group Future Experience event in Los Angeles. It was a […]

Tesla Will Now Build All Their Cars To Be Self-Driving Cars

SnapMunk October 20, 2016 • 4 min read

Well this might change everything forever (leave it to an eccentric engineer worth $11.7 billion to make that sort of […]

A Mumbai Teen Built A Crazy Car With Just YouTube Tutorials & $3,700

Devin Greene October 18, 2016 • 3 min read

Ever watched a Photoshop tutorial online? Cooked a recipe from Pinterest? Learned guitar through an app? Downloaded a MOOC with […]

Toyota Is Making Robot Companions; Should We Bring Back Tamagotchi?

Charles Costa October 13, 2016 • 3 min read

Remember the days of the Tamagotchi, where children were introduced to companionship and parenting in the form of a handheld digital gadget? Now, […]

Everything You Should Know About Elon Musk’s Plan To Colonize Mars

Prateek Jose October 6, 2016 • 4 min read

At this point, humanity’s colonization of Mars (or at least attempting it) has become an eventuality. That’s right; that fabled […]

We Really Want To Ride This All-Terrain Hoverboard With A Fat Middle Wheel

Charles Costa October 3, 2016 • 3 min read

There are a kinds of get-around gadgets on the market today, from basic (flammable?) hoverboards to skateboards that want you to feel […]

Should We Have a Universal Basic Income? Ask a Trucker in Ten Years

Daniel A. Guttenberg September 27, 2016 • 5 min read

It has been called many things; universal basic income, guaranteed minimum income, guaranteed basic income, etc. It all means the […]

I Think Everyone Should Have Their Own Tiny Breathalyzer

Benjamin Mann September 23, 2016 • 6 min read

Until recently, I believed that there were only three things that everyone who drinks alcohol, casually or excessively, should own; […]

Lyft Plans To Be Mostly Electric Self-Driving Cars in Five Years

Devin Greene September 20, 2016 • 3 min read

This has been a big month for transportation. We saw a solar car, an electric bus, and now, a detailed article from Lyft […]

A Solar-Powered Car Got Crowdfunded & Plans To Sell for Under $20K

Charles Costa September 8, 2016 • 3 min read

Thanks to advances in battery technology there’s at least one company building a “solar-powered car that will be available “for everyone.” […]

Audis Will Talk To Traffic Lights And React Before They Change Using V2I Technology

Daniel A. Guttenberg August 25, 2016 • 4 min read

The engines are revving and the RPMs are raging as the testosterone-pumped drivers wait at a red light, prepared to pop into […]

Google Self-Driving Car: Police Report Highlights

Louis Weinstein August 23, 2016 • 3 min read

—– IMPORTANT NOTE: These are not real police reports. Yet. —— Date: 08/23/16 08:46 AM Case: HW723482135P Location: El Camino […]

Dude I Need A Truck Is On-Demand Truck Rental That Comes With Its Dude (or Dudette)

Prateek Jose August 11, 2016 • 3 min read

Dude, where’s my truck? Even if you don’t need one right now, you’re likely going to need one in the near […]

Tesla Autopilot Drove Man With Medical Emergency To Hospital, So It Can Save Lives Too

Devin Greene August 8, 2016 • 4 min read

The Tesla autopilot function may have been called into question due to two high-profile summer accidents but, here’s one story about a self-driving vehicle saving a life.

Weekly Snapshot: Tech News To Know August 1-5

Stephen Altrogge August 5, 2016 • 3 min read

Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep […]

A Solar Powered Airplane Just Circumnavigated the Globe – It Took A Year, But It Made It

Devin Greene July 26, 2016 • 4 min read

A solar powered airplane has just circumnavigated the earth. Bertrand Piccard & André Borschberg, with the Solar Impulse 2, became the first people to circumnavigate the globe by .

5 Space Tech Startups Doing Pretty Stellar Stuff Outside The Spotlight

Prateek Jose July 21, 2016 • 3 min read

The space race was first spurred by Cold War hostilities and the jostling for bragging rights. Today, innovation in space […]

Interviewing Founder Kevin Halsall of Ogo, The Hands-Free Self-Balancing Wheelchair

SnapMunk July 20, 2016 • 10 min read

This week we chat with Kevin Halsall, the founder of Ogo Technology and the inventor of a hands-free self-balancing wheelchair inspired by a Segway. The Ogo is taking crowfunding by storm and could be life-changing for people with disabilities. Plus, it’s just fun.

BeeLine Is A “Sense Of Direction” Handlebar Nav for Cyclists And It Ships In Fall

Charles Costa July 7, 2016 • 2 min read

As a cyclist, you often don’t (safely) have the luxury of turn by turn directions at a glance. While there are GPS […]

Can Columbus Lead The Smart Cities Charge With $40 Million In Prize Money?

Krystle Vermes June 28, 2016 • 3 min read

In case you missed it, the U.S. Department of Transportation launched the Smart City Challenge at the end of 2015, […]

Weekly Snapshot: Tech News To Know June 6-10

Stephen Altrogge June 10, 2016 • 3 min read

Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep […]

5 South Korean Startups Changing the Game Overseas

Krystle Vermes June 2, 2016 • 3 min read

In 2013, more than five ministries and agencies in South Korea started investing $3 billion on startup competitions to support […]

Detroit Startup Week: The Lowdown from Motown

Daniel A. Guttenberg May 31, 2016 • 6 min read

Detroit Startup Week wrapped up last Friday. Can startups and these kinds of events finally re-rev the city’s business engine? We provide the rundown on all the events from this Chase Bank-sponsored event in the motor city.

Prize-Winning Wearables Promise to Prevent Drinking and Driving

Daniel A. Guttenberg May 25, 2016 • 4 min read

In a bid from Challenge.gov to reduce drunk driving, these four companies received awards from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for their non-invasive wearables that measure blood alcohol content.

Weekly Snapshot: Tech News To Know May 16-20

Stephen Altrogge May 20, 2016 • 3 min read

Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep […]

2 Startups Helping Us Fight Parking Tickets & Traffic Tickets

Charles Costa May 17, 2016 • 3 min read

Anyone who has seen the show Parking Wars knows that getting a parking ticket or traffic ticket (or worse, getting booted) […]

10 Minutes with Robin Chase, Co-Founder of Zipcar, Buzzcar & Veniam

Benjamin Mann May 13, 2016 • 8 min read

Robin Chase, co-founder of Zipcar, Buzzcar and Veniam – and obviously, a beacon of transportation technology – talks to us about who she is, why she is, and where everything is headed.

TechCrunch Disrupt New York 2016: The Highlights

Prateek Jose May 12, 2016 • 9 min read

From the Hackathon and its winning tool – a CMS with voice recognition – to the Battlefield and its winning startup – Beam and its SDK to integrate with Twitch – to the most interesting keynotes, here are all the highlights from 2016’s TechCrunch Disrupt in New York.

The Wheel That Turns Every Bike Into an eBike

Prateek Jose May 5, 2016 • 3 min read

Entrepreneurs are generally told not to reinvent the wheel. And you probably shouldn’t, unless the wheel you have in mind […]

Weekly Snapshot: Tech News To Know April 18-22

Stephen Altrogge April 22, 2016 • 3 min read

Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep […]

Weekly Snapshot: Tech News To Know April 11-15

Stephen Altrogge April 15, 2016 • 3 min read

Believe it or not, we don’t cover every piece of tech news here at SnapMunk. In an effort to keep […]

Valet Parking App Luxe Lands $50 Million in Funding

Prateek Jose April 11, 2016 • 3 min read

Luxe, the San Francisco-based valet parking app startup, recently closed a $50 million Series B round, a large part of which was a […]

The First Hands-Free Wheelchair, Ogo Hits IndieGoGo

Prateek Jose March 31, 2016 • 2 min read

Ogo, now on Indiegogo, is a self-balancing wheelchair that lets users control its movements without having to use their hands. It’s not the only medical device hoping to improve accessibility and transportation for the disabled.

Y Combinator Boom’s Supersonic Passenger Plane Is Insane

Prateek Jose March 28, 2016 • 3 min read

Boom’s supersonic plane will be capable of Mach 2.2 speeds (~1,451 mph), which means they’ll travel at more than double the speed of sound. And with 25 planes optioned, 10 of them by Virgin Group, and an upcoming graduation from Y Combinator, they are set to take off soon.

LEAOS, The First Self-Sufficient Solar Panel eBike

Charles Costa March 22, 2016 • 3 min read

This electric bike with integrated solar panels comes from Leaos Solar, winner of a 2015 Red Dot Product Design Award. With a top speed of either 25 km/hr or 45 km/hr (depending on the model), automatic and manual transmission, and high performance design, this eBike is generating some buzz. The question is whether it will pay off with funding.

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