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Congress wants to force AM into every new car for emergency alerts.
The fight over the future of AM radio got a little more heated this week as organizations representing the auto and technology industries told Congress that its plan to mandate this mode of radio wave reception is poorly conceived and will hinder progress.
AM radio has seen almost every other in-car entertainment option come and go—vinyl, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs—and it might predate just about everything other than playing "I Spy," but time is catching up with this old broadcast technology. It is starting to get left behind as new models—many of which are electric vehicles—drive off into the sunset, streaming their audio instead of modulating its amplitude.
[...] "As more and more Americans adopt electric vehicles, we must ensure that they are equipped with AM radio. AM radio is—and will remain—an essential communications channel for emergency alerts and for disseminating news and other important information to residents of our district and communities across our country. I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan legislation which would ensure that EVs continue to be equipped with this basic but critical capability," said Rep. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), another co-sponsor.
(Score: 3, Informative) by TheGratefulNet on Thursday May 25 2023, @12:57PM (1 child)
the battery swap stuff is from NIO (I used to work for them a few years ago).
battery swap is killer app stuff. it works, its great, and china loves it. it works over there. it could work here, too, but tesla decided 'no' and that was that. no one else considered it in the US. if nio does come to the US, we can see if they bring swap stations here, too. the whole idea is really good and its a shame others didn't embrace the concept.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Thursday May 25 2023, @04:29PM
Thanks for that. That's not the one I had seen, but it's what I've envisioned for a long time- easily swappable battery packs. Charge if you want to, or swap it out if you're in a hurry (and/or wealthy enough because it will cost more than just a recharge).
In the US and many countries some kind of standard would be needed for it to work economically.
It would be an enormous investment, and the only way, I think, it could happen is a complete cooperation between competing companies and governments. China can do it because they act as a cooperative entity (whether they want to or not) under the government. That and frankly they understand the benefit to everyone.
It sure makes sense on every other level, and is the kind of thing where, in the long run, society benefits from standards and collaboration.
This is what I had seen (India):
https://www.deccanherald.com/business/hurdles-seen-in-mass-adoption-of-ev-battery-swapping-technology-1078152.html [deccanherald.com]
https://www.news18.com/news/auto/chargeup-is-offering-a-2-minute-ev-battery-swap-within-a-radius-of-2-km-for-increased-roi-interview-3729374.html [news18.com]
I also see some Japanese companies collaborating (as they do) to come up with something similar.
A worldwide standard (like USB-C?) would be best for everyone.