Human Factors and Ergonomics

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What We’re Driving
Materials

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...

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News
Connectivity

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...

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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...

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Articles
RF & Microwave Electronics

ZF’s Autonomous Systems Head Takes a Pragmatic View of the ‘Levels’ Playing Field

“We are constantly asking this question: Who is the customer likely to buy an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle in the consumer passenger market?”...

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Articles
Connectivity

Autonomy in Your Face

Research into potential automotive applications for biometrics ─ facial and retina scans or fingerprints ─ is increasing, despite rising concerns about privacy and data security, and outcries from civil liberties...

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Articles
Manned Systems

Trucks with Intuition

The automotive and commercial vehicle industries are working on answers to a tremendous number of questions no one bothered to ask before. Volvo, for example, wants to know if vehicles can have human intuition.

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What We’re Driving
Propulsion

2018 Ford EcoSport

I’ll concede I might not have thought the EcoSport so irredeemably awful if our test vehicle had been fitted with the 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that comes standard with all-wheel-drive for any of EcoSport’s (more on that...

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News
AR/AI

Motion Sickness Meets Autonomous Adaptable Dynamics

Amid the plethora of challenges that face the acceptance of the coming world of autonomous vehicles (AVs), one is distinctly human: motion sickness. The realization that this...

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News
Automotive

Mercedes Reveals Its Experimental Safety Vehicle 2019 – Mobile Robot Included

Mercedes-Benz is among leading OEMs focusing on autonomous vehicle safety, and will showcase its latest concept in June at the Enhanced Safety Vehicles...

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Briefs
Sensors/Data Acquisition

Modular Biosensor Patch

Researchers are identifying new biomarkers to help monitor cognition and stress in the human body and enhance human performance. Traditional biomarkers like heart rate, temperature, oxygen partial pressure, blood...

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News
Electronics & Computers

JLR Pavement Signals Throw New Light on AV Trust Levels

A necessity for all AVs is to ensure that other road users, including pedestrians, have trust in their actions. To help achieve this confidence, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has developed...

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News
Unmanned Systems

Citroën Frames a Motion-Sickness Solution

Following Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR’s) detailing of a new system to help alleviate motion sickness in vehicles, French company Citroën has announced its own undeniably unique solution:...

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Briefs
Test & Measurement

Circuit Models for Robust, Adaptive Neural Control

This project seeks to reproduce the neural circuits used by the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans for locomotion. Caenorhabditis elegans is a small (~1.2 millimeter) nematode found in rotting...

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Road Ready
Automotive

Jeep’s Gladiator Takes up Arms in Midsize-Pickup Battle

Maybe the only thing more surprising than the fact it’s been more than a quarter-century since FiatChrysler’s Jeep brand sold a pickup truck is that it’s taken so long to pull...

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News
Test & Measurement

A Chat with 2019 Toyota RAV4 Chief Engineer Yoshikazu Saeki

Yoshikazu Saeki (above) is the chief engineer for the Toyota RAV4 and Toyota Highlander. Saeki (54) joined the company in 1987 as a suspension engineer on the Land Cruiser team...

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News
Defense

Industry Loses Tech Titan Paul G. Allen

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our founder Paul G. Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and noted technologist, philanthropist, community builder, conservationist, musician, and...

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News
Test & Measurement

Autonomous Vehicles Present Passive-Safety Challenges

Reclined and rotated seating positions are commonly depicted for autonomously driven vehicles. But for the Autoliv engineers tasked with developing occupant safety for tomorrow’s...

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What We’re Driving
Propulsion

2018 Mercedes-Benz A200 AMG Line

Mercedes-Benz is fond of saying it cascades at least some of the S-Class’ posh luxury and technology throughout its range. That’s just what it has done for the fourth-generation A-Class, the nameplate...

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News
Connectivity

Jaguar Land Rover Makes Eye Contact with New AV Research

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) engineers developing autonomous-vehicle (AV) driving systems are working with cognitive psychologists to determine how users—and particularly...

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Technology Report
Imaging

New Osram IREDs Enhance Vehicle Vision, less Harmful to Human Eyes

As a compliment to cameras, LIDAR and radar, a new family of Infrared LEDs (IREDs) can expand the vision of SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles without harming human eyes.

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News
Energy

2018 Nissan Leaf SV

Uncoiling the fat-diameter charge cord from its kit bag, I plugged the Nissan’s new Leaf into the 120-V outlet on my garage’s exterior wall. Handling the cord, which was dirty from the previous night’s charging,...

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Briefs
Medical

Validation of Automated Prediction of Blood Product Needs Algorithm Processing Continuous Non-Invasive Vital Signs Streams (ONPOINT4)

Hemorrhagic shock occurs frequently in natural and man-made disaster scenarios. To control bleeding and to...

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Application Briefs
Defense

Turret Aiming and Stabilization System

Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions DivisionAshburn, VA+1-703-779-7800www.curtisswrightds.com Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division recently completed significant enhancements to the production...

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Articles
Aerospace

WIAMan

The newest crash test dummy in development is actually a blast test dummy. WIAMan (Warrior Injury Assessment Manikin) is a ground-breaking anthropomorphic test device (ATD) being developed by the U.S. Army. It’s the first test dummy...

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Application Briefs
Defense

Joint Effects Targeting System

U.S. Army Operational Test CommandFort Hood, TX254-287-9993www.otc.army.mil Forward observers, experts in directing artillery and mortar fire onto enemy targets, have been testing a new piece of targeting...

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Application Briefs
Defense

Gun-Mounted Rangefinder

Optics 1, Inc. (Safran)Bedford, NH603-296-0469www.optics1.com Optics 1, Inc. (Safran) recently announced that its Integrated Compact Ultralight Gun-mounted Rangefinder (ICUGR) has been selected by the United States...

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Application Briefs
Medical

Enterprise Imaging System

Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc.Stamford, CT1-800-872-3854www.fujifilmhealthcare.com Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc., was recently awarded a new 10-year contract with a maximum value of $768 million as part...

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Briefs
Aerospace

The Impact of Video Compression on Remote Cardiac Pulse Measurement Using Imaging Photoplethysmography

Remote measurement of physiological signals has a number of advantages over traditional contact methods. It allows the measurement of vital...

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News
Power

Driverless Cars and Freeway Traffic Flow

The integration of driverless cars onto multilane freeways brings challenges for vehicle and infrastructure planners, not the least of which is ever increasing congestion. The threshold for serious...

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