Human Factors and Ergonomics

Anatomy

Latest Stories

Supplier Eye
Power

A New Reckoning

As the industry worked through accelerated production volumes last decade, there were few concerns surrounding low capacity utilization in our fixed-cost-heavy North American ecosystem. With the benefit of stronger demand and...

Feature Image

News
Data Acquisition

Advancing HMI Development of ADAS and Active Safety Systems

The advancement of vehicles with enhanced safety and infotainment features has made evaluating human-machine interfaces (HMI) in modern commercial and industrial vehicles crucial....

Feature Image

Technology Report
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

NVH-Fighting Plastic EV Motor Mount Wins Lightweighting Award

Most motor mounts, even for EV applications, are made of metal alloys. It makes intuitive sense: It’s a vibration-intensive mounting application that demands durability that...

Feature Image

Original Equipment
Power

Cat Reveals All-New 255 and 265 Compact Track Loaders

Caterpillar revealed its next-generation 255 and 265 compact track loaders at its Edwards Demonstration and Learning Center in Peoria, Illinois, in October. Based on D3 series, the 255...

Feature Image

Articles
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Why the Turbomachinery Industry is Increasingly Bullish on Additive Manufacturing

Whether we’re talking about industrial turbines, air breathing jet engines, or liquid-rocket space applications, the higher the pressure and the higher the flow rate, the better the performance.

Feature Image

Articles
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

New Approach to Viscosity Enables Complex Motions in Soft Robots

Cornell researchers have laid the foundation for developing a new class of untethered soft robots that can achieve more complex motions with less reliance on explicit computation.

Feature Image

Articles
AR/AI

Breathing Life into Artificial Intelligence and Next Generation Autonomous Aerospace Systems

When it comes to image recognition in today’s AI world, a human is required to initially train the underlying system to recognize an object.

Feature Image

Articles
AR/AI

Spelling Ford with an ‘E’

One year ago, Ford Motor Co. kicked off a new era in its long history when it bifurcated into two strategically interdependent auto businesses. Ford Blue, the “traditional” business, is responsible for the...

Feature Image

News
Power

Airflow Concept Presents Chrysler EV Direction

In a far corner of the main exhibition hall of the 2022 New York International Auto Show, its display flanked by the latest products from Ram and Jeep, Stellantis rolled out a second edition...

Feature Image

Editorial
Power

Autonomous Timeline: Following the Money

Acquisitions, mergers and outright departures from the sector serve as almost weekly reminders not just that significant consolidation of autonomous-vehicle (AV) development is underway. Right in...

Feature Image

Articles
Unmanned Systems

Aptiv’s Satellite Route to ‘Democratizing’ Autonomous Tech

Despite the myriad challenges the world faced in 2020, it was a "great year of growth” for Aptiv, the technology company formerly known as Delphi Automotive, according to...

Feature Image

Articles
Energy

Volvo CE, Norrhydro Team to ‘Revolutionize’ Digital Hydraulics

A patented, multi-chamber digital hydraulic actuator developed by Finland-based Norrhydro is set to “revolutionize machine hydraulic performance,” according to the OEM...

Feature Image

Technology Report
Software

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...

Feature Image

News
Power

Illuminating New Roles for Vehicle Lighting

Vehicle lighting used to be about seeing and being seen, but Audi has much larger ambitions for automotive illumination. New LED and digital control technologies are moving the humble headlamp...

Feature Image

Briefs
Test & Measurement

Bioenvironmental Engineering Guide for Composite Materials

Develop a comprehensive baseline for identifying, evaluating, and controlling occupational and environmental hazards associated with composite fibers.

Feature Image

Road Ready
Power

Nissan Reveals Design for Next-Generation Z Sportscar

Giving hope to automotive enthusiasts that niche models will remain in at least some automakers’ lineups, Nissan this week revealed the Z Proto, “signaling the company's intent to...

Feature Image

News
Connectivity

Is Ground-Penetrating Radar the Next Innovation for Automated-Vehicle Sensing?

Most of the existing autonomous-vehicle (AV) localization strategies try to replicate how human drivers perceive the world. But reliable autonomy requires new...

Feature Image

News
Test & Measurement

2021 Chevrolet Suburban High Country

GM engineers tell me that their latest full-size light truck program, which most recently spawned the 2021 Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon, encompassed nearly 10,000 engineering and technical staff during...

Feature Image

News
Unmanned Systems

Clean Is the New Safety Paradigm for AV Development

Privately-owned vehicles were never so safe as they are today. Nor have they made so much sense. That thought hit me between the nostrils recently, as I sprayed a pungent disinfectant on...

Feature Image

News
Unmanned Systems

JLR Developing a “Morphable” Smart Seat

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) Research Lead Engineer Dave Withey has invented a seat design that may be the closest yet to a fits-all system for comfort and safety. Rather than use pneumatics for...

Feature Image

News
Manned Systems

Faurecia Creates ‘Personal Bubbles’ for AVs

App-led exercises that unfold while seated, and audio selections heard via the seat headrest illustrate the types of wellness and comfort options that supplier Faurecia envisions with its...

Feature Image

News
Connectivity

SAE Symposium Covers New Approaches in Thermal Management

Vehicle thermal management, once almost exclusively about safely rejecting powertrain heat, continues to evolve to dealing with two extremes in operation of battery electric...

Feature Image

News
Photonics/Optics

Driver-Monitoring Systems to Be as Common as Seat Belts

Regulators across the globe, most notably in Europe, are calling for driver-monitoring systems to become standard vehicle-safety equipment. The ability for a vehicle to combine...

Feature Image

Application Briefs
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Precision 3D Bioprinter

nScrypt is now launching the nRugged 3D Bioprinter.

Feature Image

News
Manned Systems

‘Active Scents’ Show Potential to Enhance Cabin Experience and Improve Driver Safety

A Tel Aviv, Israel startup company is taking the now-familiar concept of aromatherapy to a new level. Saying its research into “active scents” can...

Feature Image

News
Power

Autonomy Already Influencing Vehicle Interior Design

Just about everyone’s seen a recent rendering of future vehicle interiors, but high-function driver assistance, automated driving and mobility as a service (MaaS) are new dimensions...

Feature Image

What We’re Driving
Power

2019 VW Beetle Convertible Final Edition

Here it is: 2019 is the swan song for the Beetle. There’s baggage that goes along with Volkswagen’s “new” Beetle soldiering along many years longer than it should have, but this Final Edition...

Feature Image

Articles
Test & Measurement

UofM Research Hopes to Eliminate That Queasy Feeling

As concerns mount around how automated-vehicle (AV) passengers will react to increasing degrees of driving detachment, researchers are trying to better understand how and why humans are...

Feature Image

News
Test & Measurement

Honda Ready with New Injury-Reducing Airbag

Starting next year, Honda will begin fitting vehicles with a new, advanced-design passenger-side front airbag that its engineers said is designed to mitigate brain and neck injuries by cradling...

Feature Image