June 5th, 2009

United States (US) chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra said his main target is to develop the country’s economy using the government policy to create jobs and business around technology.

He said in an interview that his job is to serve as the innovation platform champion in addressing private market opportunities in support of public priorities.

In contrast, Chopra’s emphasis reflected his working experience since 2005 as the secretary of technology for Virginia, where much of his efforts went into fostering technology companies.

By detail, Chopra’s top goal consists of  four objectives, as presented recently to Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff. They four are economic growth through innovation, addressing presidential priorities through innovation platforms, building the next-generation digital infrastructure, and fostering a culture of open and innovative government.

He said mainly about the first two of these priorities, and concerning economic growth his top idea is to change the government’s view on the fund it spends on research and development. That makes sense given his position in the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which plays a key role in helping allocate the government’s research expense.

Instead of purely thinking about basic research, the government should focus on investing in technologies that can be developed, he said. A first step is to find ways to actually measure how much research is being commercialized, he said further.

He said there is an implicit assumption that research and development.&D. investment will lead to job growth and economic success. “The measurement question will lead us to think about how do we begin to assess the outcomes,” he put it.

Among universities, Chopra said, there is a wide range in how effective they are in commercializing the work of their laboratories. He wants to take the practices used by the most commercial of universities and spread them to other research facilities.

Even he wants the government to create data and services that can be used by others. Taking for an example, he said video feeds from public transit systems have been incorporated into an iPhone app for commuters.

“An entrepreneur has taken government information, mashed it up with information and application value, to deliver something of value to the general public,” he said. “The work we do in government, if made more accessible to the public, could spawn new industries,” he said.

As a former management consultant, Chopra talked often about ways to quantify and evaluate various government efforts. All this is more important as President Obama has called for the country to increase public and private spending on research to 3% of the gross domestic product, from approximately 2.5% today.

Coda Automotive bringing all-electric’s sedan to California shores next year. Coda has just been formed in order to build all-electric cars into production. Company will make the electric car with  four-door, five-passenger, fully-equipped mid-size… Well, you may see the images and press release below.

Press Release:

Coda Automotive Unveils Mainstream All-Electric Sedan
Announces Global JV with Lishen to Develop Automotive Grade Battery Systems

Santa Monica, CA - June 3, 2009 /PRNewswire/ — Coda Automotive, formed and developed under the stewardship of entrepreneur Miles Rubin (known for his marketing and sales of low-speed, electric fleet vehicles under the Miles Electric Vehicles brand), today announced that it will be introducing an affordable, full performance all-electric sedan to the mainstream California market in 2010. Additionally, the company, which has an existing long-term sourcing contract with Tianjin Lishen Battery Joint-Stock Co., Ltd., (Lishen) for lithium-ion batteries used in the Coda, announced the establishment of a global joint venture with Lishen to design, manufacture and sell transportation and utility power storage battery systems.

As a new automotive company, Coda Automotive’s focus will be on branding, designing and manufacturing fully safety compliant, all-electric cars capable of mainstream performance and highway use. Scheduled for delivery in the fall of 2010 in California, the four-door, five-passenger, fully-equipped mid-size Coda sedan will be available for $45,000 (mid-$30,000s after including a $7,500 Federal tax credit and additional state incentives). Powered by a 333V lithium-ion battery with a real-world range of 90 to 120 miles depending on individual driving habits, the Coda sedan travels far enough between charges to satisfy 94% of daily driving routines. The onboard charger plugs into any 110 or 220V standard outlet and completes a full charge in less than six hours at a 220V service. Charging the battery for a 40-mile commute can be completed in two hours.

“The Coda sedan is an all-electric vehicle for everyone,” said Kevin Czinger, President and CEO, Coda Automotive. “It’s a practical revolution for real drivers who need reliable transportation.”

The battery system is the chief enabling technology for electric cars and Coda has established its strategic position in the development and commercialization of automotive grade battery systems through the joint venture with Lishen. Lishen is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of lithium-ion cells and a key supplier to Apple, Motorola, Samsung and Vodafone, among others. The joint venture’s manufacturing facility is located within Lishen’s existing manufacturing complex in Tianjin, China, thus accelerating the company’s ability to commercialize the battery system and bring an all-electric car to the mass market. Plans have been made to establish capacity in the U.S. in partnership with a U.S. battery company.

“The uncertainty of battery supply is an issue that plagues many electric vehicle manufacturers today,” explains Czinger. “This long-term agreement has enabled us to design an integrated battery system with an existing world-class partner with mass manufacturing capacity. That enables us to rapidly industrialize Coda’s power system for commercial volume production and to scale the business. Eventually, we expect to manufacture batteries in the U.S.”

Coda’s internal team, along with specialized U.S. and European engineering partners, oversee the manufacturing process to ensure that Coda vehicles are built to Western safety specifications and market expectations. This includes vehicle body design, safety engineering, the design and engineering of the battery pack, battery management system and power electronics, and additional engineering to integrate an electric vehicle drivetrain (comprised primarily of Tier 1 U.S.-based supplier components) into the chassis. The Coda sedan is engineered to be FMVSS complaint, and based on existing crash test results the company expects a four or five-Star NCAP crash rating.

Coda Automotive employs a creative, open and flexible variable cost/low capital expenditure business model. The company has a core team of engineers who work with a network of top-tier partners that provide engineering services and components. The company controls brand, design and IP while teaming with established large-scale manufacturers and assemblers to avoid the most capital intensive aspect of the car business. Coda’s manufacturing partner, Hafei, is an established state-owned Chinese manufacturer of automobiles and airplanes and has delivered more than one-million vehicles and currently produces two-hundred thousand vehicles per year.

Featuring a fraction of the moving parts of a gas-powered vehicle, the Coda sedan is less susceptible to wear-and-tear and never requires an oil change. The company estimates that it will cost less than $3, on average, to drive 100 miles. A comparable gas-powered sedan that gets 20 mpg costs about $17 per 100 miles. Driving a Coda equates to over $2,000 in operation and maintenance savings per year at normal driving rates - that’s $20,000 in savings over a ten year period.

The Coda sedan is fully-equipped for comfort, convenience and safety. Factory-standard equipment includes a telematics package, navigation with turn-by-turn directions, a “green screen” that monitors driving efficiency, roadside assistance with an emergency button, a Bluetooth system with an embedded microphone, AM/FM/XM radio with Sirius satellite capability, iPod dock, MP3/USB connectivity, security system, aluminum wheels, and power windows, doors and mirrors. Safety equipment includes anti-lock brakes with electronic stability control and advanced airbags with an occupant detection system. The vehicle is backed by a three-year/36,000 mile warranty.

Coda Automotive employs a direct distribution model, and will sell the vehicle only in the state of California initially. Coda will also perform the vehicle’s maintenance and service through an outsourced network comprised of brand name car service partners. Customers interested in purchasing a Coda can register their interest on the new Coda website at www.codaautomotive.com. The company will contact interested customers on a first come, first served basis later this year.

Microsoft has introduced Windows Embedded CE, the newest operating system for consumer gadgets that include media players, navigation systems, digital picture frames and digital televisions.

Windows Embedded is not similar to Android and other dialects of Linux, because it has a license which is fee charged by Microsoft for every device shipped with the operating system, usually US$3-15 in comply with the volume.

Microsoft said this fee is worth it because it costs the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) less to design software for Windows Embedded than for other operating systems.

The improvements to Windows Embedded are meant to facilitate device makers to design more attractive user interfaces. Particularly, they allow designers to use existing Microsoft tools like Expressions Web design software and Visual Studio programming environment, to make the menus, buttons and other features of a gadgets.

Android is promoted for cellphones and laptop computers, but Windows Embedded is not. There is Windows Mobile OS for phones. And the company wants netbooks to run the Windows 7 PC operating system, albeit with a cheaper limited version. The full version of Windows is meant only for processors using the X86 architecture. Windows Embedded can also run on other chips, including the ARM processor design used in many cellphones.

Microsoft also said that it was working on a future version that would make it easier to link gadgets to Internet-based services, like social networks. It already has a special version meant for GPS navigation systems, with links to Microsoft’s Web search service.