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Issue Archive

Automotive Engineering - January 2017

News

Software

HMI Development: More Features, less System Complexity

Human machine interfaces are changing rapidly as radio head units handle more functions and connect to diverse systems inside and outside the vehicle. HMI systems are being...

Articles

Electronics & Computers

Connectivity Advances Dominate at CES 2017

If there’s any doubt that connectivity is the next wave for advanced features and functions, it should dissipate after CES 2017. A multitude of advances in over the air updates and security...

News

RF & Microwave Electronics

Delphi Showcasing Next-Gen Autonomous System at CES 2017

Delphi will use CES 2017 to demonstrate an advanced new automated-driving technology platform the company plans to make available to automakers by 2019 as a complete system to...

Supplier Eye

RF & Microwave Electronics

The Impact of Shifting to the ‘Softer’ Side

Welcome to Supplier Eye, a new monthly column that explores the changes facing our industry and analyze the impact—of new technologies, regulations, business dynamics and consumer...

News

Electronics & Computers

Pour Your Next EV Battery?

While electric propulsion appears destined to supplant the internal combustion engine at some point in the future, the laws of economics and market forces will likely keep ICEs around for decades. Batteries for...

News

Propulsion

2016 Los Angeles Auto Show: Mazda’s All-New CX-5 to Include Diesel Engine for North America

Mazda made no secret it would unveil an all-new CX-5 compact crossover—now one of its best-selling models in the U.S.—at the 2016 Los...

News

Automotive

New Ford Fiesta Claims B-Car Tech Leadership

It may look similar to the current model but Ford describes its next generation Fiesta as the “world’s most technologically advanced small car.”

Product Briefs

Aerospace

High-Performance Thermoplastic Elastomer

Sarlink ML-2355B from Teknor Apex Co. (Pawtucket, RI) is a new styrene block copolymer thermoplastic elastomer (TPE-S) for automotive interior parts such as cable ducts and grommets. The compound...

News

Electronics & Computers

Continental Demonstrates New Sensing Technologies for SAE Level 4 Capability

A braking and cruise-control system that can move a vehicle up and down steep off-road hills. Vehicles that can detect at-risk road users not in the driver’s...

Product Briefs

Electronics & Computers

1.7-Megapixel Automotive Image Sensor

The OV10650 from OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) is a wide-format image sensor that captures high-quality color images and video in a 2:1 aspect ratio. Built on OmniVision’s 4.2-µm...

News

Aerospace

Polymeric Lead-Free Bearings

The new lead-free bearing system from Mahle Engine Components (Farmington Hills, MI) combines highly engineered polymeric coatings with robust lead-free bearing linings for heavy-duty truck engines. The company claims the new system delivers improved performance compared to existing bearing linings that include lead....

Articles

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

High-Pressure Spiral Hose

The EC600 X-FLEX high-pressure spiral hose from Eaton (Eden Prairie, MN) is designed for demanding applications that require very high-pressure performance in small areas, including construction, mining and industrial equipment. At 50% of the SAE 100R15 bend radius, the hose’s flexibility makes installation in tight...

News

Defense

U.S. Air Force Concludes Redesigned TF33 Component Testing

U.S. Air Force engineers successfully completed verification and validation of new Pratt & Whitney TF33 engine components at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex in...

Product Briefs

Software

CAD Viewer Module

CoreTechnologie (Moembris, Germany) offers a new module that enables easy creation of animated explosion views for assemblies of all major CAD formats for its conversion software and the CAD viewer 3D_Analyzer. Illustrated...

News

Defense

Graphene Advances May Lead to Improved Data Transmission, Storage

The phenomenon known as "spin filtering" is due to an interaction of the quantum mechanical properties of graphene with those of a crystalline nickel film. When the nickel...

News

RF & Microwave Electronics

Flat Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors

The new MLSG series of Cornell Dubilier Electronics' (New Bedford, MA) flatpack ruggedized flat aluminum electrolytic capacitors targets compact power supply applications in military and aerospace, as...

Product Briefs

Electronics & Computers

Through-Shaft Sensor

Piher Sensors & Controls’ (Brighton, MI) hollow-shaft PST-360 contactless Hall-effect magnetic sensor was designed as a reliable solution for maintaining accurate pedal position (brake, accelerator or throttle) in...

News

Electronics & Computers

1000-V SiC MOSFET

The 1000-V silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET from Wolfspeed (Durham, NC) enables a reduction in overall system cost, while improving system efficiency and decreasing system size. The company claims the new MOSFET, specially...

Product Briefs

Test & Measurement

Data Acquisition and Control System

DynPro₂ from Taylor Dynamometer (Milwaukee, WI) is a data acquisition and control system that provides one common platform for engine, vehicle and industrial component testing. The system can...

Product Briefs

Test & Measurement

Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator

With the new SCALEXIO LabBox, dSPACE (Wixom, MI) offers a compact high-performance system for hardware-in-the-loop tests. The LabBox fits on every desk and therefore can be used for early function tests right...

Articles

RF & Microwave Electronics

CES 2017: Faraday Future Shows Its First Vehicle—the FF 91

After teasing the media and consumers with a racecar concept at the 2016 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, and then with a series of detailed close-up images and...

News

Aerospace

Elastomers and Thermoplastics Portfolio

Qultimax proprietary elastomers and thermoplastics portfolio developed by Minnesota Rubber and Plastics (Minneapolis, MN) is suitable for application in custom-molded parts greater than 3 in (76 mm)...

INSIDER

Defense

Cockpit Display Shows Precise Locations of Sonic Booms

NASA pilots flying supersonic aircraft now have a display that tells them exactly where sonic booms are hitting the ground. The display provided NASA research pilots the ability to...

INSIDER

Aerospace

Computer Model More Accurately Predicts Flight Delays

Researchers at Binghamton University have devised a new computer model that can more accurately predict delays faster than anything currently in use. The multilevel input layer...

What's Online

Energy

F-150 and Mustang Hybrids Part of Ford's Global Electrified Vehicles Plan

Ford Motor Co. plans to introduce hybrid versions of its iconic F-150 and Mustang in the U.S. by 2020, the company announced at a press conference at its Flat...

News

Electronics & Computers

CES 2017: Honda Partners with VocalZoom to Advance Speech-Recognition Technology

Speech recognition as a distraction-mitigation solution for automotive features has emerged as the classic love-hate situation for new technology....

Technical Innovation

Automotive

Glowing Aerodynamic Add-Ons Could Boost Big-Rig Fuel Economy by 7-10%

“Headlight white” and “stoplight red,” the characteristic colors of the highway at night, could soon get a companion: “plasma purple”—that is, if a new...

News

Manned Systems

Operator Chair System

The Merritt Synergy system from J.R. Merritt Controls, Inc. (Stratford, CT) is engineered for continuous use in a variety of machine and industrial cabin applications from cab-operated cranes and mining dredges to...

Product Briefs

Software

Fully Embedded CFD

Mentor Graphics Corp. (Wilsonville, OR) offers the only fully embedded computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solution for Solid Edge software, a mainstream computer-aided design (CAD) solution developed by Siemens’ product...

News

Electronics & Computers

CES 2017: Schaeffler Surprises CES with 'Bio-Hybrid' Minicar for Urban Use

By 2050, urban populations worldwide will have risen by 2.5 billion, according to the United Nations. But “infrastructure expansion is not keeping pace with...

News

Software

Combating Motion Sickness in Autonomous-Driving Simulators

Motion sickness has become a very real issue for engineers developing and testing autonomous vehicle technologies. Automotive simulators can reach such high levels of realism...

Road Ready

Propulsion

2018 Ford F-150 Diesel Aims to Beat 30 Mpg

With two key 30-mpg enablers for F-150 already in production—an aluminum body structure and 10-speed transmission—Ford Truck Engineering now brings the final piece of the technology puzzle:...

Articles

Automotive

NAIAS 2017: Stinger Gives Kia a Fast, Nimble Sedan

Kia’s racy GT concept sports sedan shown at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show becomes production reality with the 2018 Stinger.

News

Automotive

Waymo’s End Game: Beat Conti, Delphi and Valeo in Self-Driving Tech?

What does Waymo, formerly Google’s self-driving car project and now a standalone company, want to be when it grows up?

News

Electronics & Computers

150V Power MOSFETs

Targeting high-efficiency designs and applications, Infineon Technologies’ (Munich, Germany) OptiMOS 5 150V portfolio product family further expands the OptiMOS 5 generation of power MOSFETs. The new product family is...

Product Briefs

Propulsion

Electric Drive Module

GKN Driveline’s (Auburn Hills, MI) complete electric-drive system for plug-in hybrid vehicles will help automakers more easily incorporate eDrive systems into their vehicle lines and eliminates the integration of...

News

Propulsion

NAIAS 2017: The 2018 Lexus LS Gets Twin-Turbo V6, 10-Speed and Shiatsu

The flagship sedan that inaugurated the Lexus brand in 1990 ups the power and luxury quotient for its fifth-generation iteration with an all-new turbocharged V6, a...

News

Propulsion

NAIAS 2017: Power and More Underscore 2018 Toyota Camry

The best-selling car in America for the past 15 years breaks its mold with a new platform and powertrains. Things have changed with Toyota’s 8th-generation flagship sedan and the...

News

Manned Systems

NAIAS 2017: Lightweight Door Module Aims to Trim Vehicle Weight

A new ultralight door architecture nets a 42.5% weight savings compared to a current production door—and that’s enough to put this lightweight concept in an enviable...

News

Transportation

NAIAS 2017: I.D. Buzz Could Be VW's Microbus of the Future

It’s a VW Microbus for future generations, an electric van capable of fully autonomous driving. But at this point, it’s only a concept.

News

Software

CES 2017: Car as Close Companion

Let’s face it. For you (and everybody else), it’s all about you, you—and by the way, you. You know, me, the big "I."

News

Electronics & Computers

NAIAS 2017: Yanfeng Shows Concept Interior for Autonomous Driving

The driver's experience of being in a vehicle—but not driving—means opportunities for working or relaxing as envisioned in a vehicle cabin concept from the world's...

INSIDER

Robotics, Automation & Control

Army Researchers Demonstrate 3-D Printed Drones

Soldiers witnessed the innovation of Army researchers recently during flight testing of 3-D printed unmanned aircraft systems that were created on-demand for specific missions.

INSIDER

Unmanned Systems

High-Speed, Autonomous Surface Patrol Capability Demonstrated

After a year of internal research and development, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, recently conducted a large, at-sea...

INSIDER

Defense

Professor Simulates Bomb Blasts to Study How Things Break Apart

How much force does it take to shatter a Humvee, a soldier’s body armor, or a submarine?

News

Automotive

Simulation Squeezes More Range out of Formula-E Racers

"Range anxiety" is not just affecting electric vehicle drivers on the road—it is also a significant hurdle for Formula E teams on the track. Highly accurate energy consumption...

Editorial

Electronics & Computers

CNH Advances Driverless Tech for Tractors

Precision farming and machine automation already play a significant role in agriculture. CNH Industrial’s Innovation Group is focusing on key times of the year when farm work still requires...

Original Equipment

Transportation

Cat 14M3 'Most Technologically Advanced' Motor Grader for Construction

Caterpillar plans to showcase 40 machines at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2017 in March, one being its new 14M3 motor grader that features a larger engine, increased power to...

Technology Report

Electronics & Computers

SAE Level 3 "Hand Off" Is Challenging AI Researchers

When Gill Pratt, the CEO of Toyota Research Institute, the carmaker’s artificial intelligence (AI) lab in Menlo Park, CA, mounted the CES 2017 stage earlier this month, he delivered...

News

Electronics & Computers

Nader: Are Glitch-Free Autonomous Vehicles Possible?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is emerging as a mainstay of automated driving technologies, sparking a steady cadence of partnerships and product announcements. But the increased...

News

Propulsion

Honda’s New 10-Speed Is a Slick Shifter

Honda’s 2018 Odyssey offers room for eight passengers and its transaxle is packed with 10 forward gears. Developed in-house over a three-year period, the new automatic is the industry’s first...

News

Software

Attacking the Cybersecurity Threat

SAE Standards News aims to update readers on the extensive activity in the SAE Global Ground Vehicle Standards development arena, by more than 800 ground vehicle committees comprised of volunteers from...

News

Test & Measurement

New 10-Speed Is a Delight in the 2017 F-150

Less than 200 feet after leaving my home driveway, the F-150’s transmission is already in 3rd gear. A half-block later it has upshifted into 5th. Merging into the main drag on light throttle,...

INSIDER

Aerospace

Simulation Software Improves Pilot Training

Providing pilots with the best possible preparation for extreme situations is the goal of new simulation software. The program that combines flow mechanics and flight dynamics in real time. The...

INSIDER

Aerospace

Nano-Modified Aerospace Composites Have Improved Conductivity

Research indicates the potential of a carbon fiber reinforced plastic that is made multifunctional while still maintaining its structural integrity. Novel functionality including...

News

Green Design & Manufacturing

Ford Prepares Transit PHEV Fleet for London Trials

Ford will launch a test program of its new Transit Custom plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vans in London aimed at helping to improve the city's air quality. The multi-million pound project will...

News

Transportation

Volvo CE Adds A45G Articulated Hauler to Product Lineup, Increases Tonnage Across G-Series

With the addition of the new A45G articulated hauler to its product lineup, Volvo Construction Equipment offers increased payload capacities,...

News

Propulsion

Rolls-Royce to Supply MTU Engines for Claas Agricultural Vehicles

Rolls-Royce and Claas recently signed a project agreement for the supply of MTU engines for use in agricultural vehicles. The MTU brand engines, which are a part of...

News

Internet of Things

SAE WCX17 Preview

On the centennial of the Society of Automotive Engineers’ first “Annual Meeting” in 1917, the organization is evolving the mobility sector’s all-encompassing collaborative gathering—long known as World...

Q&A

Unmanned Systems

WABCO Advances Autonomous Through ADAS

WABCO was busy near the end of 2016, bringing its advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to multiple partnerships to advance autonomous driving and platooning of commercial vehicles. The supplier...

News

Electronics & Computers

Q&A: Print Your Next Wiring Harness

Imagine your next-generation vehicle wiring harness printed in electrically-conductive ink on a thin, stretchable and flexible substrate with sensors embedded into the molded substrate. Known as flexible...

News

Transportation

Perdix: Overwhelming Numbers and Success

The Department of Defense’s Strategic Capabilities Office, in cooperation with the Naval Air Systems Command and MIT Lincoln Laboratory, recently announced that it has successfully tested a...

News

Defense

Boom Aims to Conquer Concorde by 2023

Colorado-based Boom Technology’s “Baby Boom” XB-1 supersonic demonstrator—a one-third scale stepping stone to a supersonic 40-seat passenger airliner—will make its first test flight...

News

RF & Microwave Electronics

DARPA Works Toward Unmanning Aircraft

DARPA’s Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program envisions flight operations with reduced onboard aircrew while improving mission performance and flight safety. This is achieved...

News

Defense

SBIR to Paint It Black, Secures Exclusive Vantablack Rights

Surrey NanoSystems has granted exclusive rights to the use of the ultra-black Vantablack S-VIS surface coating to Santa Barbara Infrared (SBIR) of Santa Barbara, CA, for...

News

Defense

Unmanned Canada Works to Elevate Drones

The 2016 Unmanned Canada (UC) conference, hosted in Alberta, provided a venue for companies to outline their programs for new UAV technologies, capabilities, products, and services. One of the key...