Airbus Group confirmed production plans for electric aircraft E-Fan 2.0 from late 2017 or early 2018.

The company will invest €20 million in the overall design and development of the E-Fan 2.0 aircraft, while the rest will comes from partners and government support.

The aircraft will be manufactured by subsidiary Voltair in a new plant, for which construction is scheduled to begin in 2016 in Pau in the southwest of France.

Initial production volume will be small, and should grow to some 80 units annually by 2025.

“Voltair will also be in charge of selling and providing services like maintenance for the E-Fan aircraft. Airbus Group will invest € 20 million in the overall design and development of the E-Fan 2.0 aircraft, in addition to contributions from Airbus Group’s partners. The consortium is supported by La Nouvelle France Industrielle. The Aquitaine region is also supporting the project through a regional subsidy and the FEDER (Le Fonds Européen de Développement Regional) investment for a total of € 2.25 million. Pau, which is already a regional centre for the aeronautics industry in France, was chosen as it is located close to design partner Daher and offers direct access to the runway, a medium size airport and good meteorological conditions. The purchase of the site from the current owner is due to be signed by mid-year 2015 with construction works for the FAL scheduled to start in the middle of 2016. The targeted goal for entry-into-service of the first E-Fan 2.0 is around the end of 2017 or beginning of 2018. E-Fan 2.0 is a key project in the industrial plans launched by the French government in 2013.”

“Airbus Group will bring its electric technical demonstrator aircraft, E-Fan, into serial production with the E-Fan 2.0, a two-seater version dedicated to initial pilot training. Airbus Group’s E-Fan project started in 2012 with an intensive development phase of more than 12 months. The demonstrator aircraft was first presented at the Paris Air Show in 2013. Since its first flight on 11 March 2014, the E-Fan has performed more than 78 test flights with more than 38 flight hours in total.”

What is the best building in the world?

A High Performance Building

Firstly, let’s define what a high performance building is, according to the High Performance Building Council definition “high performance building” is a building that integrates and optimizes all major high-performance building attributes; including energy efficiency, durability, life-cycle performance, and occupant productivity.

My simple definition of a high performance building is;

 Based on the above image which explains what is a HIGH PERFORMANCE BUILDING (HPB) There are no cars that posses all the criteria of a High performance building. One will immediately think that a HPB will be extremely expensive, well with the research that I conducted; proves that HPB is a feasible structure especially over the Life cycle of a building. For instance, a HPB consumes very little energy and natural resources including water. Furthermore, the building is designed to run fully on renewable energy (wind & or solar) and the excess energy produced are sold to a local electricity company.

So who designs a High Performance building? Certified professionals in the fields of building science, sustainable design and building performance. Currently major Architectural, Engineering and Construction firms focus on HPB designs to achieve LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design. (For more information go to http://www.usgbc.org/leed) These professionals are highly trained in doing complex building simulations based on climate adaptations, building performance analysis, integration of structural systems and material selection (just to name a few). This highly technical feat is accomplished by utilizing both top-notch B.I.M (building information modeling) intelligent model with simulation tools and site investigations.

Will driverless cars be the death of the insurance industry?

Driverless cars are coming and they will reduce the risk of accidents - so what does that mean for the future of the motor insurance industry?


Driverless cars could be on our roads within the decade. Some of the technology is already out there, from automatic brakes to cruise control to warnings when a car drifts out of its lane.
But if the idea of travelling at 70mph in a vehicle controlled by a computer, rather than a person, scares you, it shouldn’t. An estimated 90pc of road accidents are the result of driver error. Eliminate the driver, and you eliminate the error - or so the theory goes.

But that begs the question: if the risks of driving are removed, will there be any need for motor insurance?
The development of this new technology has certainly given the industry pause for thought. This week Britain’s largest motor insurer, Direct Line, described driverless cars as an emerging risk which could have “a major impact on the size and nature of the insurance market and the role of insurers”.

Toyota’s 2017 Highlander heads to New York with updated styling, powertrains

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The Toyota Highlander is one of those crossovers that makes one wonder why its owner didn’t just buy a minivan. Sure, it’s got a tall ride height and styling that makes it look vaguely like a truck, but that styling isn’t very interesting, and there’s nothing on the spec sheet that hints at the Highlander being fun to drive.

At least Toyota is diligent about updates. Debuting at the 2016 New York Auto Show, the 2017 Toyota Highlander gets a refresh that includes revised styling and some mechanical changes. The updates will likely keep the Highlander selling in droves, but probably won’t make it any less boring.

The biggest news is the addition of an eight-speed automatic transmission and a 3.5-liter direct-injected V6 that Toyota says is new. The company wouldn’t release specifications for this powertrain, but says it will be shared with the 2017 Sienna minivan. The 3.5-liter V6 in the current Highlander makes 270 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque, and is mated to a six-speed automatic.

Scania India to launch 2 new premium products at Auto Expo 2016

Scania Commercial Vehicles India Private Limited, a leading commercial vehicles and engines manufacturer, will launch two new flagship products further enhancing it's offering of sustainable transport at this year's Auto Expo 'The Motor Show at India Expo Mart' in Greater Noida, Delhi NCR, between February 5 and 9.

Scania will showcase the R580 with V8 engine - the most powerful on road truck. The Scania R580 was certified by ARAI under a brand new category named 'puller'.


Scania India's management team comprising Stefan Palskog, President, Scania India and Mikael Benje, Managing Director of Business Unit, Scania India, will formally launch the two new products, and highlight the company's vision to deliver sustainable transport to the Indian Subcontinent.

Auto Expo is the biggest platform in the country for vehicle manufactures to display their products, and for B2B deals. Auto Expo is jointly organised by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

Scania has been represented in the Indian market since 2007. In 2011, Scania established the company Scania Commercial Vehicles India Pvt. Ltd. to strengthen its presence through sales to additional segments of the Indian commercial vehicle market and to widen its offer of Sustainable Transport Solutions.

Scania has launched a range of on-road haulage truck models specially adapted for the Indian market ?India?s most powerful puller the R 580V8 6x4, the G 460 6x4 and the G410 6x2 and also the off-road P 410 8x4 Mining and Coal Tipper. Scania has a partnership with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in the Mining segment.

In the beginning of 2013 Scania launched a new bus range, Scania Metro link 12, 13.7 and 14.5 m to meet the growing need of Safer, Sustainable and Comfortable travelling. The new bus range is purpose-designed for luxury Intercity or Charter travels.

Scania has world class experience in mobility solutions run on biofuels and Scania brings this unique offer to India. Scania handed over the first ethanol run Green Bus in India to the city of Nagpur in August 2014. Public transport on ethanol buses is a cost effective way of reducing several of the city's environmental problems.

The solutions developed create the necessary preconditions for comfortable commuting and also better living conditions in city centers, without requiring major investments in new infrastructure.

With this ethanol bus, Scania also introduced an engine complying with Bharat stage 5, which is a huge step to minimize emissions. Biofuels is the sustainable solution for urban public transport available here and now.

Best Prime Lens for Video

1. Rokinon 35mm Cine T1.5 Lens

Prime lens are a must have in your arsenal and Rokinon is our first recommendation for the best prime lens for shooting video. Prime lens have fixed focal length so you are not going to get any zoom on this one but you’ll get a much sharper image which is why it is preferred for portrait photography too but this specific model is made for video as it can be used with follow focus for smooth focus.

It has the perfect focal length for a prime lens and a de-clicked aperture, which gives much more control over aperture. It has a maximum aperture of f1.5 and a wide-angle field of view making it perfect prime lens for product reviews, especially for tech channels on Youtube. You can use it with a recommended Canon DSLR or any other camera like Nikon, Sony or Panasonic as it comes with different mount.

Apple planning 2016 'iPhone 7' to be thinnest yet, in-line with new iPod touch & iPad Air 2.

While all eyes are on this week's "iPhone 6s" unveiling, Apple's 2016 iPhone upgrade is already in the works, with the company said to be aiming to make the device as thin as 6 millimeters, which would be even thinner than the latest iPod touch and iPad Air 2.

Details on next year's so-called "iPhone 7" upgrade were shared by analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities in a note to investors on Sunday, a copy of which was obtained by AppleInsider. His sources indicated Apple is planning to make the new iPhone between 6.0 and 6.5 millimeters thick.

If accurate, that would put the "iPhone 7" in line with Apple's current iPod touch and iPad Air 2, both of which are just 6.1 millimeters thick. In contrast, the current iPhone 6 is 6.9 millimeters thick, and new 7000 series aluminum on the "iPhone 6s" are expected to make that device just over 7 millimeters thick.
Apple is said to be aiming to make the "iPhone 7" 6-6.5mm thick. The iPhone 6 is 6.9mm.
The thinness of the next-generation iPhone will likely leave Apple using the same technology to power Force Touch in its 2016 iPhone upgrade, according to Kuo. The "iPhone 6s" is expected to enable pressure sensitive input on its display via flexible printed circuit board technology.

In the long run, Kuo believes Apple would like to switch to a glass-on-glass solution for Force Touch sensing, especially if iPhone displays become even higher resolution. But that may not be in the cards within the next few years, as current glass-on-glass solutions would not allow Apple to achieve a 6-millimeter-thin iPhone, he said on Sunday.

"Apple and its suppliers have invested heavily in iPhone Force Touch in 2015 and we believe 2016 new models will stick with a similar Force Touch structure as used in 2015," he wrote.

Kuo said nothing else on Apple's anticipated "iPhone 7," though it's widely expected that next year's update will introduce a new chassis to differentiate from the iPhone 6 series. Apple has historically redesigned its iPhone every two years, and introduced an "s" upgrade with largely identical appearance to its predecessor in the years in between.

That's what's expected to be unveiled this Wednesday, when Apple is likely to showcase an "iPhone 6s" with a chassis that appears very similar to the iPhone 6. The most significant upgrades will be internally, in the form of Force Touch input, a faster "A9" processor, 2 gigabytes of RAM, and higher resolution cameras.

In terms of external tweaks, Apple is expected to unveil a new rose gold color option, joining space gray, white, and gold. And the device is expected to sport the same series 7000 aluminum found in the Apple Watch, which should improve durability of the device.