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Power

The Electric, Autonomous Revolution Lifts Off

Nearly a quarter-century ago, the Vertical Flight Society, a helicopter-industry group founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, published a graphic dubbed “V/STOL Aircraft and...

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Propulsion

2021 Ford Bronco Aims to Kick Some Jeep

“There is nothing on this truck that is superfluous – no decorative chrome or extraneous styling. It’s designed for function, not fashion,” explained Paul Wraith, chief designer for Ford’s...

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Q&A
Materials

Directing GM’s 3D-Printed Future

Among automakers, General Motors was an early adopter of 3-D printing/additive manufacturing (AM) in the 1980s and is accelerating both its use of, and investment in, the technology. Nearly 40,000...

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News
AR/AI

Alitheon’s Vision Is Easy Digital Traceability

Imagine a “no-touch” system for tagging and tracing nearly any production part. One that uses off-the-shelf imaging tools including smartphones, generates compact data that can be stored...

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Manufacturing & Prototyping

Toyota Tops 2020 OEM-Supplier Relations Study

Toyota ranks as the top performer among the six major U.S. and Japanese automakers in all scorecard categories of an annual study focused on the OEM-supplier working relationship. “Toyota...

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Articles
Energy

Lightweight Design Beyond CAD

Automakers have been focused on lightweighting their vehicles for years, motivated by fuel economy, performance and safety. This engineering task is becoming increasingly difficult as the areas to trim become...

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Q&A
Design

New Polycarbonates Provide ‘Sensor Transparency’

The sensor arrays that currently reside on the roofs of development mules will be hidden from view on future production vehicles. But how to conceal them without affecting their safety-critical performance?

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Articles
Green Design & Manufacturing

Tata Steel Europe Innovates to Retain the Automotive Materials Lead

In the constantly evolving world of automaking, Dr. Karl Haider, Chief Commercial Officer of Tata Steel Europe (TSE) is certain of one thing: that steel will continue to...

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News
Connectivity

New CHAdeMO 3.0 Aims to Harmonize Global EV Quick-Charging Standards

On April 24, the CHAdeMO Association released the 3.0 version of its electric-vehicle (EV) charging protocol. The technology was co-developed by the China Electricity...

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News
Unmanned Systems

Ford Releasing Comprehensive Dataset to Promote Autonomous R&D

Ford is releasing a comprehensive autonomous vehicle (AV) dataset to the academic and research community to help spur innovation in the field. The package includes data from...

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Regulations/Standards

Electrifying Opportunities at IAV

Mike Kenhard joined IAV Automotive Engineering as president in 2019, bringing a diverse career in systems engineering and “all sides of engines and engine controls” from his previous experience at AVL,...

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Connectivity

Speeding AV Testing with a Digital Twin

A European company has developed time-saving simulation software for users of the University of Michigan’s Mcity CAV (connected and autonomous vehicle) testing facility in Ann Arbor. It has created...

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News
Unmanned Systems

Origin of the Species

“I was a vehicle-dynamics engineer my entire career—but maybe not a good one, because they put me in charge of a self-driving car!” jokes Jason Fischer, chief engineer for the Cruise Origin, the autonomous...

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News
Propulsion

Millbrook’s New California EV Testing Facility

The new 25,000 ft2 California test facility run by Millbrook Revolutionary Engineering (MRE) seemed huge to Matt Harris when he first set foot in the building in spring 2019. Six months...

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News
Software

StreetDrone Proposes Top 10 Safety Rules for AV Developers

OE vehicle safety systems must remain connected, in hard engineering terms and intellectually, during autonomous vehicle (AV) development, stresses Mike Potts, CEO of StreetDrone,...

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Articles
Regulations/Standards

New EU Patent System Could Unify and Simplify Process

To engineers who are developing autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies, the legal landscape around innovation can look increasingly complex. And the patent path may seem daunting. But...

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News
Robotics, Automation & Control

When Will AVs Become Reality? Answer: When Safety Science Catches Up.

Over the last 70 years, computing solutions have fundamentally shifted major parts of the world economy. The first wave optimized centralized G&A functions through...

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News
Imaging

Xcelerating Innovation, Honda-Style

For the past five years, Honda Innovations, part of the automaker’s R&D enterprise, has been quietly running a collaborative, open-innovation program at six locations around the world. Known as the...

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News
Software

How ZF Is Engineering Working from Home

Cheri Sczepanski is one of 2,700 members of ZF’s Foundation Brakes Engineering group who are coping with the COVID-19 shutdowns by finding humor where they can. When teams now working from homes in...

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News
Design

GM and Honda to Jointly Develop Honda’s Electric Vehicles

General Motors and Honda announced on April 2, 2020 that Honda’s next generation of electric vehicles (EVs) will be jointly developed by the two companies, but will be “based...

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News
Energy

Inside GM’s Expanded Electric-Vehicle Battery Lab

General Motors aims to sell more than one million electric vehicles (EVs) annually in North America and China by mid-decade. The pathway to success leads directly through the company’s...

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Articles
Transportation

The Man From APPA-E

Engineers and scientists working in mobility R&D have described Dr. Chris Atkinson as a guiding light in their efforts to make future vehicle propulsion technologies more efficient— and commercially viable. One...

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Q&A
Energy

Toyota Focuses Its Advanced-Mobility R&D

With a growing number of R&D activities centered on advanced mobility, defining and aligning the efforts are the goals of a newly created position at Toyota Motor North America: Group VP of...

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Road Ready
Power

All-Wheel-Drive Returns to Chrysler Pacifica for 2021

The refresh of the 2021 model-year Chrysler Pacifica minivan premiers a top-of-the-line luxury trim, the debut of a next-generation infotainment system, and the return of...

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News
Design

New Ultium Battery System Underpins GM’s EV Future

General Motors on March 4 gave media, investors and key dealers the first look at the electric-vehicle (EV) onslaught it is readying for production, along with related propulsion,...

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Articles
Automotive

Meet The 2020 SAE Prez

Todd Zarfos aims to help SAE navigate the disruption occurring across industry sectors.

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Q&A
Green Design & Manufacturing

Tula Turns Its Tech Toward EV Motor Control

San Jose-based Tula Technology is best known for its innovative Dynamic Skip Fire technology. Editor-in-chief Lindsay Brooke caught up with Scott Bailey, the company’s president and CEO, to find out. Read on for highlights of their conversation.

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Technology Report
Sensors/Data Acquisition

JLR Tackles Weight with Structural Electronics

Ashutosh Tomar, electrical research technical manager at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said he has absolute confidence in the game-changing potential of structural electronics (SE) now being...

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