54824243
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cartechboy writes:
We all remember the legendary car chase with a white Ford Bronco and more cop cars than could fit on television in close pursuit. We remember that Bronco flying through the spike strips and other futile attempts by the police to stop the vehicle. Fast forward almost 20 years: Now police are talking about new technology that could disable a vehicle's engine just by sending a radio pulse. In recent years, there has been talk of using electromagnetic-pulse systems to disable fleeing vehicles, but they really affect a car's electronics. A British company called E2V is now testing a system that could confuse the vehicle's electronic systems enough to cause the engine to turn off. Essentially, it would stall the vehicle, which would bring it to a stop. This solution could be much safer than traditional spike strips--but what about the braking and steering systems on new vehicles with electric power steering systems?
54754653
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cartechboy writes:
When you're in a waiting room and get hungry, what do you do? You hit the vending machine for a candy bar or some salty snack food. Now, if you're in China and you need to borrow an electric car from the local car-sharing service, you can do exactly the same thing: go and get one from the vending machine. Just like the Smart-car dispensers seen across Europe, the Kandi car-sharing service dispenses two-seat electric cars with a 75-mile range from a big tower that looks like a huge vending machine full of candy, errrrr, cars. It costs $3.25 an hour to rent one, and China hopes it'll help cut emissions from transportation. So the next time you're in China, and you need a car, just hit up the biggest vending machine you can find.
54586391
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cartechboy writes:
Sometimes what we think of as 'car tech' is colored by sensational coverage of things like autonomous cars. But real engineers are working behind the scenes every day to make existing auto technologies more efficient. Take cruise control: Today, even adaptive cruise systems just throttle up when the car's speed drops and ease off when speed rises or a car gets too close. Today's cruise-control systems aren't predictive--meaning they don't plan ahead. At all. Now, engineers at Ford are adding predictive algorithms and more sophisticated powertain mapping to reduce the built-in overcompensation that ends up wasting fuel. Ford has mapped each vehicle's powertrain in much greater detail, and their prototype control systems look at grade steepness, load on the engine, and other variables every few seconds to predict what's likely coming up. Will the hill level off soon? Will the driver ask for more gas, or let up on the accelerator? Down the road, connected-vehicle and cloud-based data will build on these predictive developments--as will those autonomous vehicles you hear so much about. Think of this as a building block to the future.
54520793
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cartechboy writes:
It looks like Elon Musk and Tesla Motors find themselves in another PR war over the cause of a fire involving a Tesla Model S. Authorities in Irvine, CA are currently investigating the reason for a fire in a garage that, yes, contained a Tesla Model S. While the actual cause of the fire remains unknown, Tesla Motors and the Orange County Fire Authority are already publicly disputing possible causes, thought to center around the Tesla charging system. Tesla says the fire was not caused by any part of the car nor its charging system, reports Reuters. For what its worth — we've seen a version of this movie before. In 2011, investigators determined that a garage fire that destroyed a Chevrolet Volt had started away from the car, later spreading to engulf and destroy the car.
54513173
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cartechboy writes:
Two guys have made a life-sized Lego car that runs on air. That's right, the 256-piston, air-powered Lego working vehicle built with half a million black and yellow Lego pieces can actually be driven up to 18 mph. It was designed and built by 20-year-old Romanian Raul Oaida in 20 months after he and his partner, Australia-based Steve Sammartino raised "tens of thousands" of crowdfunded dollars with their prospectus entitled quite simply: "Super Awesome Micro Project." The car was built in Romania and then moved to Melbourne, Australia (presumably not brick-by-brick.) In the video, the only visible non-Lego components are the gauges, wheel rims, and tires (though the wheels have Lego faces--literally.)
54483305
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cartechboy writes:
The state of California will give Tesla Motors a $34.7 million tax break to expand the company’s production capacity for electric cars, state officials announced yesterday. Basically, Tesla won’t have to pay sales taxes on new manufacturing equipment worth up to $415 million. The added equipment will help Tesla more than double the number of Model S sedans it builds, as well as assemble more electric powertrains for other car makers. In addition to continued Model S production, Tesla plans to introduce the Model X electric crossover in late 2014, as well as a sub-$40,000 car--tentatively called Model E--that could debut as soon as the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. It turns out California is one of the few states to tax the purchase of manufacturing equipment--but the state grants exemptions for 'clean-tech' companies. California estimates this expansion by Tesla will add 112 permanent jobs.
54481059
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cartechboy writes:
The South Korean conglomerate recently filed a series of patents for components that could be used in making electric vehicles. The patent filings--submitted to both the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office and the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Service--cover technology for electric motors, tires, and in-car electronics that relay information to the driver. Samsung so far says they have no plans to build electric cars — the patents will simply keep its options open. But the company has long been searching for a new growth area based on slow downs in the hyper completive TV and mobile device markets. Samsung actually started its own car division in the 1990's but sold it to Renault after the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The company's battery division has also been in talks with Tesla Motors to supply lithium-ion cells.
54398991
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cartechboy writes:
It looks like the old-school windshield wiper is about to be replaced by new technology — but not until 2015. British car-maker McLaren is apparently developing a new window cleaning system that is modeled from fighter jet tech. The company isn't revealing exactly how it will work, but the idea comes from the chief designer simply asking a military source why you don't see wipers on jets as they land. Experts expect McClaren to use constantly active, high-frequency sound waves outside the range of human hearing that will effectively create a force field across a car's windshield to repel water, ice insects and other debris. Similar sound waves are used by dentists to remove plaque from teeth. Windshield wipers were originally invented by Mary Anderson, who received a patent in 1903. She envisioned the design after seeing drivers open the windows of their cars in order to see out of them in the rain, solving the problem with a simple swinging arm device with a rubber blade.
54311153
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cartechboy writes:
There are no car chases better than the Blue Brothers tearing through a shopping mall wreaking humorous mayhem. It's the kind of iconic movie scene that really can't be done again right? That was until the master Lego builders at Bricktease devoted hours to recreating — shot for shot as a video shows — the iconic car chase scene in LEGO. Builder Duncan McConchie used over 5,000 separate LEGO pieces to build the mall set, designing it and the three cars in LEGO's digital design program, which allowed to him to calculate exactly which pieces he needed. The entire mall fits on a large table and McConchie says he watched the scene a few hundred times and spent four hours just on the JC Penny storefront the Bluesmobile drives through in the chase's finale. Best part: You can download instructions and watch a detailed "making of" video to work on a replica yourself.
54256503
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cartechboy writes:
Autonomous driving is every car manufacturer's immediate R&D project. In car-building terms, even if a new technology isn't due for 10 years — since that's just two full vehicle generations away-- it has to be developed now. So now it is for autonomous car research and testing, and this week Ford revealed a brand new Fusion Hybrid research vehicle built for autonomous R&D with some interesting tech capabilities. Technologies inside the new Fusion Hybrid research vehicle include LIDAR (a light-based range detection), which scans at 2.5 million times per second to create a 3D map of the surrounding environment at a radius of 200 feet. Ford says the research vehicle's sensors are sensitive enough to detect the difference between a small animal and a paper bag even at maximum range. More road-ready differentiations include observation and understanding of pedestrians, cyclists, and plain old stationary objects. Ford is working on this project in cooperation with the University of Michigan.
54238617
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cartechboy writes:
How many Nissan Leafs does it take to power an office building? The answer, it turns out, is six. Nissan is the latest Japanese automaker to explore electric "vehicle-to-building" setups, this time with impressive results. The company started testing its latest system at the Nissan Advanced Technology Center in Atsugi City, Japan, during the summer. It found that just six Leafs plugged in to the building's power supply allowed it to cut peak-hour electricity use by 2 percent. Annualized, that's a savings of half a million yen (about $4,800 US) in electricity costs. How it works: The building pulls electricity from the plugged-in vehicles during peak-use hours, when power is most expensive, and then sends the power back to recharge the cars when grid prices fall. Nissan says the system is set up to ensure the cars are fully charged by the end of the workday. (Is this a devious secret way to make sure workers stay until a certain time?) Next up: Why not just do this using batteries--never mind the cars?
54201857
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cartechboy writes:
We know 3D printing, which some call the new industrial revolution, is taking off in a big way. Now, your 3D printer can make an officially sanctioned (if miniature) model of the 2014 Porsche Cayman. Porsche has released 3D printing data to allow you to replicate the Cayman's form in your own home. (Presumably also saving you the trouble of driving a full-size one through a massive 3D scanner.) Just how big you print your Cayman depends on what your 3D printer will allow, but the model looks remarkably accurate. The download is available on Porsche’s website, and can be used to print cars in a variety of sizes and colors, depending on how large your 3D printer is and the filament used. Models are all well and good, but who will be the first to 3D print a full-sized car?
54113253
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cartechboy writes:
Rev the engine, side step the clutch, and watch the tires smoke. That's how car burnouts have been done for decades--the better part of a century, really--but Ford has decided to take the burnout into the 21st century for the new 2015 Mustang. The Mustang's new 'electronic' burnout system is intended to enable perfect burnouts every time, much like launch control has made it easier to accelerate quickly from a stop. So think of every new Mustang with a bright red "burnout" button. While the details on how the burnout control system will work remain secret, it's possible that a combination of the features used in a typical launch control system, including traction and rev-limiting controls, together with a front brake locking system, could enable Ford to pull together existing technology in a completely new way. So far Ford has no comment.
53991729
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cartechboy writes:
Is the Tesla Model S actually a vampire, sucking down power even when the car is switched off? Recently, a tweet to Elon Musk with an article saying so sparked the Tesla CEO's attention. He tweeted that it wasn't right and that he'd look into the situation. Then a few hours later, he tweeted that the issue had to do with a bad 12-Volt battery. Turns out Tesla had already called the owner of the affected car and sent a service "Ranger" to his house to replace that battery--and also install a newer build of the car's software. Now it appears the "Vampire Draw" has been slain. The car went from using 4.5 kWh per day while turned off to a mere 1.1 kWh. So Musk got his vampire — but there may be a few left lurking in the shadows he needs to address. Tesla may either need to fix some software, or start sending a few new 12-Volt batteries out to the folks still experiencing the issue.
53966063
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Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes:
Josh Gerstein writes on Politico that President Barack Obama told Chris Matthews in an interview recorded for MSNBC's "Hardball." that he'll be reining in some of the snooping conducted by the NSA, but he did not detail what new limits he plans to impose on the embattled spy organization. "I'll be proposing some self-restraint on the NSA. And...to initiate some reforms that can give people more confidence," said the President who insisted that the NSA's work shows respect for the rights of Americans, while conceding that its activities are often more intrusive when it comes to foreigners communicating overseas. "The NSA actually does a very good job about not engaging in domestic surveillance, not reading people's emails, not listening to the contents of their phone calls. Outside of our borders, the NSA's more aggressive. It's not constrained by laws." During the program, Matthews raised the surveillance issue by noting a Washington Post report on NSA gathering of location data on billion of cell phones overseas. "Young people, rightly, are sensitive to the needs to preserve their privacy and to remain internet freedom. And by the way, so am I," responded the President. "That's part of not just our First Amendment rights and expectations in this country, but it's particularly something that young people care about, because they spend so much time texting and-- you know, Instagramming." With some at the NSA feeling hung out to dry by the president, Obama also went out of his way to praise the agency's personnel for their discretion. ""I want to everybody to be clear: the people at the NSA, generally, are looking out for the safety of the American people. They are not interested in reading your emails. They're not interested in reading your text messages. And that's not something that's done. And we've got a big system of checks and balances, including the courts and Congress, who have the capacity to prevent that from happening."
