Solar roofs over highways
In Germany, tests are to be carried out this year to see whether photovoltaic electricity can be generated on motorways. A demonstrator is to be set up at the Hegau-Ost service area on the A 81 in Baden-Württemberg, a spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of Transport told heise online. The demonstrator will be a 10 m × 17 m roof made of photovoltaic modules, which will be set up about 5.50 m above the road with a steel structure. According to the ministry, the pilot project is intended to show that the generation of solar power over flowing traffic also works in reality, can be represented in terms of costs and can be operated permanently.
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Israel Police spyware denials premature
The Israeli police have used spyware such as NSO Group’s Pegasus to spy on the cellphones of Israeli citizens. This is indicated by a new statement by Israel’s national police, which, among other things, also contradicts a previous denial. A detailed investigation is expected to be completed by early July. Immediate action was taken to prevent further abuse. While the practices of the NSO Group and espionage attacks using the Pegasus spyware have been discussed worldwide since the summer, the scandal reached the company’s Israeli homeland just a few days ago.
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Cruise starts self-driving taxi service
GM subsidiary Cruise is beginning to open up its self-driving cars to taxi-style adult transportation. The company does not use security drivers. It starts with night rides in a part of San Francisco, initially even free of charge. Cruise still lacks the license for commercial passenger transport; it may take strangers with it, but may not charge anything.
Chinese probe takes selfie video off Mars
Just in time for the Chinese New Year, China’s space agency has released more spectacular images of its own Mars mission. A cropped video shows the Tianwen-1 orbiter flying by the red planet. The photos were taken by a camera attached to a five-foot boom that can capture parts of the probe to monitor its condition. The surprising release once again underlines the versatility of the Chinese probe, which has already provided several such spectacular images.
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