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Manned Systems

Traxen ‘Trains’ AI-Based Adaptive Cruise Control for Trucks

Artificial intelligence (AI), high-definition maps, and advanced algorithms and sensors combine to enable Traxen’s intelligent adaptive cruise control (ACC) system for...

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News
Manned Systems

CES 2021: Cadillac Shows off Multiple EV Concepts

Cadillac unveiled three electric vehicle (EV) concepts at CES 2021. They included the Halo Portfolio autonomous van, the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) Concept autonomous aircraft (both...

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INSIDER
Aerospace

New Propulsion Method Moves CubeSats Without Fuel

A CubeSat is exploring the feasibility of a new propulsion method that could enable very small satellites to move around Earth’s orbit without carrying fuel. This could pave the way for...

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INSIDER
Aerospace

Keeping Drones Flying When a Motor Fails

For drones with four propellers – also known as quadcopters – the failure of one motor is a big problem. When one rotor fails, the drone begins to spin on itself like a ballerina. This high-speed...

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INSIDER
Aerospace

NASA Brings Airport Communications into the Digital Age

As air travel has increased, the challenge of keeping track of all the moving parts of an airport has only grown. A digital wireless airport communications system developed in part by...

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Original Equipment
Automotive

CES 2021: Deere Highlights Digital Technology Via Virtual Reality

Digital technology is rapidly transforming off-highway equipment, giving users more functionality and higher precision than is possible with human operators. John Deere...

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Q&A
Manned Systems

Neste Targets Hard-To-Electrify Vehicles for Renewable Diesel

Commercial vehicles run under a wide range of operating conditions and duty cycles – not all are well-suited for battery-electric propulsion, particularly in the near term....

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Q&A
Test & Measurement

Q&A: Panasonic Races to Keep Pace with EV Battery Demand

As part of its series of virtual Tech Talks at the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Panasonic hosted two of its key battery engineers to discuss the fast-paced development of...

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INSIDER
Propulsion

Origami Solves Space Travel Challenge

Washington State University researchers used the ancient Japanese art of paper folding to possibly solve a key challenge for outer space travel – how to store and move fuel to rocket engines.

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INSIDER
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Hinge Design Helps Quadrotors Climb

Army researchers invented a hinge that improves how quickly a quadrotor the size of a king-sized mattress can ascend from the ground to the rooftop of a two-story building, particularly with large...

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News
Power

A Novel Materials Approach to EV Battery-Box Design

A battery enclosure that features a single-piece, metal-reinforced composite tray and one-piece composite cover is a step closer to an electric vehicle (EV) production application....

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News
Automotive

Supplier Opportunities for 2021

We happily put 2020 in the rearview mirror and await the full rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines to gain some level of normalcy. The automotive industry once again underscored its industriousness and...

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Articles
Communications

Vehicle Safety Communications Landscape Clarified with Controversial FCC Ruling

After years of transportation-industry tussle over competing technologies to enable communications between vehicles and a “connected” environment, the...

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Articles
Unmanned Systems

'Level 2+': Making Automated Driving Profitable, Mainstream

Soon after SAE International released its J3016 “Levels of Automated Driving” standard in January 2014, engineers and product planners working in automated-vehicle development...

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Articles
Software

Velodyne Preps for Volume Lidar

Prior to 2020 there were allegedly 80 to 100 “lidar companies” in the world, depending on who in Silicon Valley was compiling the list. Such was the over-inflated bubble of autonomous mobility prior to...

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Technology Report
Lighting

CES 2021: Mercedes-Benz Hyperscreen Brings Dash-Wide Displays to Production

Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its new Hyperscreen, a 56-inch IP-display that will debut on its 2022 EQS EV sedan and serve as the visual cornerstone of its MBUX...

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News
Power

CES 2021: GM Creates BrightDrop, a New Electrified Delivery and Logistics Company

During her CES 2021 keynote on January 12, GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra announced the creation of a new logistics company called BrightDrop. The new...

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News
Propulsion

CES 2021: Magna Execs Warn of Impending EV Complexities

The industry’s transition to electrified, and ultimately fully electric, vehicles is bringing far greater complexity in product development and technology-management overall,...

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Road Ready
Materials

Nissan’s 2021 Rogue Is a COVID Beater

Nissan staff truly pulled out the stops to get the all-new 2021 Rogue into the market during the global pandemic. Rogue is the company’s best-selling product in North America, by far – a...

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News
Software

Built-In Google Vehicle Apps Arrive

The modern vehicle cabin experience increasingly is defined by software and interactive screens. The new prominence of digital media interactions is evident in the late 2020 debut of the all-electric...

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News
Propulsion

Gearing EVs for Greater Efficiency

A long-touted benefit of electric vehicles has been the utter simplicity of their drivetrains. With just a pair of reduction gears between the traction motor and final drive, single-speed gearing helps to...

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Technology Report
Propulsion

Dana’s Twin-Clutch Axle Boosts Bronco Sport’s Off-Road Cred

Bandwidth is the Holy Grail of global vehicle development. Its measure of success includes the ability to derive genuinely diverse products and even entire brands from a...

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Articles
Green Design & Manufacturing

Allison Builds a Testing Powerhouse

Reducing product development time is among the industry’s top priorities, particularly as vehicle makers transition into an electrified future. Waiting on the environment – climate, weather, terrain...

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News
Power

2021 Nissan Kicks SV

Since its U.S. launch for the ’18 model year, the positioning of the Kicks has puzzled me. Though Nissan was anxious to bill it a “crossover,” I think most would call it a “car.” Nissan hardly is alone in...

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News
Manned Systems

Riding on Air: Activated Carbon Aims at Autos

Activated carbon may seem an esoteric piece of science in the automotive space, but it is quietly playing a key role in Audi A6 and A7 air-suspension systems. The technology also is promising...

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What We’re Driving
Manned Systems

When a Van Beats a Pickup

As a utilitarian tool, the 2021 Great American Pickup truck has some fundamental flaws. Its open bed jeopardizes any cargo that’s valuable (exposing your payload to the world) or not waterproof. Worse, however,...

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What We’re Driving
Power

2020 Toyota Camry TRD

There was more than a little scoffing when Toyota revealed there would be a TRD (Toyota Racing Development) variant of the Camry. Already strange enough that Toyota established TRD mostly as toughened-up trim for its...

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Road Ready
Unmanned Systems

Sparkling RWD Platform Underpins 2021 Genesis GV80

Genesis went standalone (in the same way most premium brands coexist with their parent company’s volume brands) from Hyundai Motor Group in 2016 and immediately asserted itself as...

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