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Unmanned Systems

ZF Spins off Autonomous-Payment Company

Taking aim at automated valet parking and other autonomous-vehicle operations that involve payment transactions, Car eWallet GmbH has been spun out as a startup. The move was made after Germany-based...

Articles

Motion Control

3D Printed Tools and Robo-Glove Make Inroads at GM Assembly Plant

A few General Motors manufacturing plant workers are sharing space with collaborative robots, suggesting assembly line applications for 3D printed parts—and potentially in...

News

Design

Tenneco Tech Center Expands NVH Capabilities with New Materials Lab

A material analysis lab and a dual material injection press, the latest additions to Tenneco’s Milan Technical Center, are helping technical specialists develop and...

News

Manned Systems

Denso Bringing Driver Monitoring to Commercial-Vehicle Market

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), 4,440 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal accidents in 2016—a 29% increase since 2009. Driver...

News

Communications

ADAS Features Expand Role, V2V Looms

Truck owners and commercial-vehicle suppliers are ramping up their safety efforts, making more advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) standard while looking at the potential benefits of...

Articles

Software

E-Axles Speed Electrification

In the quest for ever-lower CO2 emissions, and more immediate needs to retain vehicle access in some of the world’s most-populous cities, the e-axle has found its calling. With most dedicated, fully electrified...

News

Power

Jaguar’s New EV Pacesetter

The state of the art of battery electric vehicles is progressing so quickly that each new vehicle introduction advances it. That is exactly what Jaguar has done with the I-Pace crossover SUV.

News

Sensors/Data Acquisition

LiDAR: New “Eyes” for Vehicle Autonomy

The acronym stands for Light Detection and Ranging, and LiDAR first showed its potential in May 1962, when electrical engineers Louis Smullin and Giorgio Fiocca used the 12-inch telescope at MIT’s...

News

Materials

Linking Embroidery and Carbon Fiber to save Weight and Cost

The story of carbon fiber’s use by the automotive industry in medium- to high-volume manufacturing has for decades moved through chapters of high expectation and low likelihood....

Road Ready

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

2019 Acura RDX Brings World’s-First Chassis Tech

Few words are as inspiring to an engineering team as “all-new.” For the 2019 Acura RDX, the engineers behind the compact SUV’s third-generation had a host of all-new to manage,...

Articles

Motion Control

McLaren Earns Its Ph.D. in Handling

Following its 2017 launch at the Geneva International Motor Show, the McLaren 720S has received adulation and awards, garnering particular praise for its ride quality, handling and driver engagement. The...

What We’re Driving

Test & Measurement

2018 Toyota Corolla

What do you get for $20,000 these days? How about a Toyota Corolla—one of the most proven and reliable compacts whose nameplate stands on over 40 million units sold to date. While this year’s big Corolla news focuses...

Supplier Eye

Electronics & Computers

Sourcing the Multi-Energy Platform

During most of the 43 years since U.S. Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards became law, the typical vehicle platform—unibody or full frame, with one ICE-based propulsion source running on hydrocarbon...

The Navigator

Unmanned Systems

The Navigator: Traversing the Autonomous Trust Gap

During a recent conference hosted by semiconductor maker NXP in Silicon Valley, I had the honor of moderating a panel on the Autonomous Trust Gap. The timing was fortuitous in the wake of...

What We’re Driving

Green Design & Manufacturing

2018 Volvo XC40 T5 AWD

Volvo is becoming increasingly technology centric. By the middle of the next decade, it expects to generate half of all sales annually from electric cars, with one third of all its cars sold to be autonomous.

News

Manned Systems

What We’re Driving: Toyota Land Cruiser

This sixth-generation of Toyota’s seminal Land Cruiser has been on the burly J200 (Tundra pickup-derived) body-on-frame architecture since 2007—and although there’s a certain allure to driving...

News

Materials

Nissan Kicks Entry-Level CUV Makes Its U.S. Debut

Two years after debuting in Brazil, Nissan’s smallest utility vehicle, the Kicks, arrives in the U.S. market with alterations to the suspension and a quieter interior.

Road Ready

Power

All-New, Unibody 2019 Chevy Blazer Aims for Stylish On-Road Capability

Chevrolet took the wraps off its all-new 2019 Blazer in mid-June, as the front-engine, FWD/AWD D-segment midsze SUV is charged with filling a gap in the Chevy lineup,...

Technology Report

Propulsion

Driver Out, Testing In: AVs Bring New Transmission and Driveline Engineering Challenges, Opportunities

Drawing up a specification for a transmission or driveline may be relatively routine for a conventional vehicle, but for an autonomous...

News

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.

Technology Report

Propulsion

Eaton Goes Internal with Its Next-Generation EGR Solution

Eaton’s Internal Exhaust Gas Recirculation (iEGR) solution production-debuts in the 2020MY as a next-generation technology providing near-instantaneous heating of the selective...

What We’re Driving

Power

2018 Porsche 718 Boxster

For enthusiast users of high performance sports cars, cylinders count. But when the counting stops at four, it can be a figure of disappointment for many who have become accustomed to the sound of six or eight. In...

Articles

Manned Systems

Daimler Shows It's Serious About Electric and Automated Truck Development

The recent flurry of electric truck reveals continues, this time in the Pacific Northwest at Daimler Trucks North America's (DTNA) headquarters in Portland, Oregon....

Articles

Government

Meeting Environmental Objectives and Regulations

Gone are the days when the impact of products on the environment or human health were optional business concerns. Regulatory constraints on materials and chemicals are increasing, and many...

Articles

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Using the Full CAD-CAM-CNC Process Chain in Ultrasonic and Conventional 5-Axis Machining

DMG MORI manufactures a wide variety of conventional chip-cutting and ultrasonic machining centers for OEMs and production job shops serving the aerospace...

Articles

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Underway on Nuclear Power

At Ford Motor Co., CTO Dr. Ken Washington is driving new approaches to technology innovation — from inside and outside the enterprise.

Articles

Materials

Steeling for Reduced Mass and Higher Strength

OEMs are now willing to pay over three times the cost of conventional carbon steel, experts say, for new material solutions that reduce vehicle mass while retaining crash integrity and overall durability.

Articles

Transportation

Balancing the RUMBLE and ROAR

Multiphysics simulation is part of the development toolset at Mahindra Two Wheelers, as the Indian motorcycle and scooter maker expands into global markets with larger bikes.

News

Power

Mecalac Targets Building Sites in Cities for Fully-Electric E12 Excavator

With a focus on developing and manufacturing construction equipment for urban environments, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Mecalac plans to begin production...