Technology Briefs - March 30 - April 5
The Latest Headlines:
- FedEx Express Hybrid Trucks Begin Service
- SBC, UPS in Wi-Fi Deal
- Material Technologies to Inspect Los Angeles Bridges
- SBC, UPS in Wi-Fi Deal
FedEx Express Hybrid Trucks Begin Service
FedEx Express said Tuesday it had placed the first of its hybrid diesel-electric delivery vehicles into service in Sacramento, Calif.The FedEx OptiFleet E700 hybrid vehicle was built using Eaton Corp.'s powertrain technology. Two of the vehicles have been tested in Sacramento since late February.
An additional 18 hybrid trucks will be put into service around the country this year, FedEx said in a release.
SBC, UPS in Wi-Fi Deal
SBC Communications Inc. said Tuesday its FreedomLink Wi-Fi service would be available at thousands of UPS Inc. retail stores around the country.In a separate announcement, Sprint said it entered into a deal with Truckstop.net to allow customers to access each other's Wi-Fi networks at truck stops and other locations in the United States and Canada.
Meanwhile, the SBC and UPS agreement would allow users to access the Internet at up to 100 times dial-up speed at UPS retail outlets such as the UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc.
SBC offers Wi-Fi for $19.95 a month, though that price is expected to decrease when the company starts bundling Wi-Fi with other SBC services aggressively later this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Transport Topics
Material Technologies to Inspect Los Angeles Bridges
Material Technologies Inc. said it would use its Electrochemical Fatigue Sensor device to conduct beta tests on several bridges in Los Angeles.The company said in a release the device could help cities and states save money by avoiding unnecessary bridge repairs, while preventing catastrophic bridge failures that could be far more costly.
Material Technologies said the device can detect tiny surface cracks and sub-surface cracks. Transport Topics
