Formula E reveals its new futuristic, electric hyper car

7 Feb 2020

The Gen2 Evo Formula E car. Image: Formula E

This week in future tech, Formula E has revealed its newest car set to race around tracks across the world later this year.

Formula E – the electric vehicle (EV) racing equivalent of Formula One – has unveiled the latest generation of its hyper car. The Gen2 Evo is an updated version of the car that debuted just two years ago.

Updates include a re-profiled front wing, aggressive-looking new dorsal fin and a distinctive curved rear wing. It’s set to be launched at the Geneva Motor Show on 3 March, with plans to be ready for the 2020/2021 season of the Formula E Championship.

In December last year, Formula E got the historic green light to be granted world championship status by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), the organisation responsible for major racing events including Formula One and the World Rally Championship.

This now means the EV racing tournament will be called the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship starting this season.

“The Gen2 already stands out as one of the most striking race cars to hit the track and, just as the name implies, the Gen2 Evo is another evolution of the distinctive design,” said Alejandro Agag, founder and chair of Formula E. “As we did with the first-generation car, the Gen2 Evo has been given re-profiled bodywork to make it look more sleek and agile.”

UK’s first AR art and street art gallery opens

The city of Birmingham will host a new art-tech gallery where pieces can be seen in augmented reality (AR). The Thomas Crown Gallery officially opened yesterday (6 February) and was founded by Stephen Howes, a locally-born international art dealer.

“It houses some of the country’s most original and lauded graffiti and street artists who have been inspired by revolutions and by ideas that disrupt convention, such as blockchain, cryptocurrencies and activist groups,” Howes said.

Speaking of the benefits of AR in the art world, he added: “AR allows artists to add considerably more layers and depth to their works. Aside from just simply replacing one section in a painting with another still image, animation, effects and even technical details can be applied relatively easily with several purpose-built apps.

“In the AR world, you can explore and interact with art like never before in history. As such, the new art-tech gallery becomes a transformative artistic playground.”

ESB confirms milestone of 4,000MW of Irish wind capacity

ESB Networks confirmed that there is now 4,000MW of wind capacity on Ireland’s grid, contributing to record levels of renewable generation in recent weeks.

The news was announced by Paddy Hayes, managing director of ESB Networks, at the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s Sector Energy conference.

“The connection of 4,000MW of wind energy onto our electricity network is a significant achievement for ESB Networks, the wind energy community and for Ireland,” Hayes said.

“Together with the work of our colleagues in EirGrid, we have helped Ireland become a world leader, with 41pc of our electricity generated from wind energy.”

Number of 5G devices passes the 200 barrier

The Global Mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has reported that the number of 5G devices available on the market has exceeded 200 for the first time.

With 208 5G devices now announced from 78 vendors, the number of commercial devices has more than doubled in the last five months, having surpassed the milestone of 100 devices from 41 vendors in August 2019.

“During 2019, the number of announced 5G devices grew rapidly, starting with a few announcements and then gathering pace as operators in various parts of the world launched their first commercial 5G services,” said Joe Barrett, president of GSA.

“Not only is this a symbolic milestone, but it also means we are starting to be able to identify trends in spectrum support and form factors. The diversity of both further reinforces how the industry is working hard to deliver on the 5G promise to markets and operators around the globe.”

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Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

editorial@siliconrepublic.com