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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
Energy

Mazda3 Compact Car Spawns 2020 Mazda CX-30 CUV

Mazda’s new-for-2020 CX-30, a two-row, 5-door compact SUV, is based on the Mazda3 sedan/hatchback platform and shares its 2.5-L naturally aspirated “Skyactiv-G” gasoline four-cylinder...

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News
Manned Systems

Executive Insights: BorgWarner VP and CTO Hakan Yilmaz

The automotive sector is in a time of enormous flux. As the foundational aspects of the industry shift, longstanding Tier-1 suppliers such as BorgWarner must continue to drive...

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News
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Hyundai Reveals Compact Electric Excavator Prototype

Hyundai Construction Equipment Americas (HCEA) demonstrated a working prototype of its electric-powered compact excavator at ConExpo-Con/Agg 2020 in Las Vegas, March 10-14. The R18E...

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Original Equipment
Manufacturing & Prototyping

Case Unveils Fully-Electric Backhoe Loader, Begins Delivery This Year

Case Construction Equipment’s move toward alternative propulsion took another step forward at March’s ConExpo-Con/Agg Show when it revealed “Project Zeus,” also...

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News
Unmanned Systems

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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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...

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Articles
AR/AI

CES 2020: Toyota to Build a City of the Future

There’s hardly a region on Earth that Toyota doesn’t reach. At the 2020 CES conference, the company announced a visionary project of similar scope, saying it intends to build a...

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Briefs
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Calculating Electrical Requirements for Direct Current Electric Actuators

When designing electro-mechanically actuated systems, there are several electrical design requirements that must be determined.

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Articles
Propulsion

Engine Developers Increase Efforts to Decrease Fuel Usage

Engineers are leaving no stone unturned in their unceasing drive to improve fuel economy, leveraging electronics, monitoring airflow and using data from outside the vehicle....

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News
Test & Measurement

ConExpo & IFPE 2020: Go Big or Go Home

My inbox has been inundated with notifications of press conferences and exciting new construction equipment, power systems, and other advanced technologies to be revealed at the rapidly approaching...

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News
Motion Control

Volvo CE Showcases 100-Ton EC950F Excavator, New Hybrid Assist That Cuts Fuel Use by 15%

The entrance to Volvo Construction Equipment’s ConExpo-Con/Agg exhibit (F3432), through what the company has dubbed “excavator alley,” will lead...

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Technical Innovation
Unmanned Systems

Self-Driving Trucks Cut Fuel Consumption by 10%

Enhancing safety and helping combat driver shortages are two benefits that heavy-duty autonomous-truck proponents have preached during development. You can now add significant fuel savings to...

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Briefs
Photonics/Optics

Energy Harvesting for Soft-Matter Machines and Electronics

A new class of soft multifunctional materials could be used to convert mechanical deformation from vibrations and stretching into electrical energy.

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Articles
Test & Measurement

Engineering the World’s Fastest Tractor

For farmers in a hurry, JCB’s Fastrac series agricultural tractors are capable of speeds up to 43 mph (69 km/h) in stock form. But the British company believes in challenging its engineers to...

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Q&A
Sensors/Data Acquisition

Parker Takes Electro-Hydrostatic Approach for Electric Machines

Off-highway industrial machines require multi-function implement operation with dynamic duty cycles. In many cases, machine implements demand short bursts of full engine power...

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News
Connectivity

CES 2020: Cartica AI’s Simpler Solution for Autonomous Vision

The wide rollout of autonomous vehicles (AVs) will require advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and significant computing horsepower. The efficiency and effectiveness of the...

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News
Energy

Isuzu Simplifies Fuel Changeovers

Isuzu is making it easier for equipment owners to switch fuels from natural gas to liquid propane, letting users switch by merely sending a signal to the engine. Released in October 2019, the dual-fuel...

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Articles
Power

Autonomy’s ‘Pirouetting’ Future

Designing and engineering a 360-degree steering capability for a production electric autonomous road vehicle’s four wheels is no mean achievement. But Protean Electric also combines this pirouetting capability with an in-wheel electric motor, “innovative” suspension and pneumatic ride height control.

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Road Ready
Power

Volvo’s Polestar Powerhouse Plug-In Hybrid

You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. That’s why Polestar, Volvo’s new electric performance subsidiary, used its first vehicle as a rolling showcase of the brand’s...

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News
Energy

‘Laxatives’ May Ease Challenge of Lithium-Ion Alternative

The R&D dimension of the automotive industry often reveals novel solutions and cross-linking between materials, but a team of international scientists has come up with...

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What We’re Driving
Energy

What We’re Driving: 2020 Range Rover Sport HST

JLR (Jaguar Land Rover) goes straight to the point: it's new inline six-cylinder gasoline engine is “more responsive and better balanced” than a V6, the company said. That’s what...

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News
Power

Proving Grounds Are the Hush-Hush Heroes of the Latest Automotive Test Technology

The world’s independent vehicle test-track operators often are the unsung heroes of new-vehicle development. They work in an atmosphere of secrecy that...

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News
Energy

New IAAPS Powertrain R&D Center to Accelerate Development of Propulsion Systems

The auto industry needs new areas of expertise, new development tools, and new ways of facilitating collaboration and innovation to keep pace with technologies...

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Technical Innovation
Energy

Mahle and Partners Develop Super-Efficient Engine for Stationary Power

Mahle Powertrain, with partners Oak Ridge National Laboratories, Kohler Co., Louthan Engineering and Intellichoice Energy, has developed a prototype single-cylinder...

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News
Power

Narrower Focus, Bigger Payoff for Commercial EVs

Government regulations are prompting a changeover to electric powertrains, with early growth coming in commercial vehicle applications where range and recharging are more easily managed....

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Original Equipment
Regulations/Standards

Caterpillar Launches Next-Gen Mini Hydraulic Excavator, Skid Steer and Compact Track Loaders

Covering about 2.5 million ft2 and including roughly 2,800 exhibitors, the triennial ConExpo-Con/Agg event boasts an even-larger footprint for...

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News
Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Insights into Heavy-Duty Engine Design

Engine developers face numerous challenges in their work. When building the new clean-sheet design C3.6 engine, Caterpillar Industrial Power Systems considered several factors including customer...

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Articles
Automotive

ACeDrive Consortium Plans More Efficient EV Powertrain

It’s called ACeDrive, which may sound innocuous for an auto-industry project, but the consortium that formed it has announced that it seeks to develop the world’s lightest and most...

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