The technological revolution in the auto industry began over a century ago. Any technology is recognized to make life easier for people (us). Since the appearance of the first cars, our life has become more diverse and interesting. After all, with the help of a motor vehicle, we can cover long distances. The advent of the automatic transmission made it easier for us to change gears. Cruise control allows our feet to rest. There are many other technologies that make driving a real pleasure.
We invite our readers to familiarize themselves with six new auto technologies in the automotive industry, which traditionally and, as is customary, continue to simplify the operation of a modern car for the driver. Unfortunately for us, most of the cars are still missing these latest developments presented by us in this list. In order for this or that technology to take root specifically in the automotive industry, it is necessary that some time has passed, during which this (any) development would prove its necessity and would become cheaper at cost.
Despite the fact that the technologies presented by us are installed today on a few other car brands, anyway, at least this list gives our readers an opportunity to look with us into the future, where it is possible, someday, all these technologies will become commonplace. factor and will be applied on almost all machines without exception.
1) Automatic parking assistant.
For many of us, weekends or holidays are associated with trips to various shopping centers and shops, where, as you know, some kind of quiet horror is going on at the car park. Finding a place to park your car often turns into a headache. Even if you have found a place to park, then you spend a lot of time on it, which is usually always lacking. Do you know this friends? We have no doubts. For this today there is the latest modern technology from the company "Audi", which offers the motorist its own.
How it works? Let's take a closer look. Having driven up to a shopping center or store, you get out of the car near the entrance, and the car, using a special system, will independently find a parking space and park without your participation and even in your absence. When, after shopping or visiting a store using a smartphone and special software, you are going to inform or inform your car that you have left the shopping center in order for it to independently drive up to the place of your drop-off, the program using this system will instantly execute your command ... Fantastic, isn't it? But no. Not so long ago, the representative of the company "Audi" officially announced that this development has been completed and will soon begin to be installed on some car models.
For orientation in space, the car uses laser rangefinders (LIDAR), high-sensitivity video cameras for correct navigation in the parking lot and a satellite navigation system that determines the location of the vehicle in space. The only but that we consider essential. In order for this system to fully function and not get lost, the following is necessary so that such a parking lot has external sensors that will inform the car of the coordinates of a free parking space.
Over time, when such systems become widespread, the owners of most shopping centers will most likely equip their parking lots with such electronic sensors.
Let us remind our readers that in many modern cars a similar system is already used, although it works in the presence of a driver who needs to press the gas and brake pedal himself. For semi-automatic parking, you need to drive up to a free parking space, turn on the parking assistant, and then pressing the brake or gas pedal, if necessary, wait until the car parks itself (the steering wheel will turn automatically). This parking aid is installed on cars and.
2) WiFi hotspot in the car.
A few years ago, the Internet played a not so important role in our life. Today everything has changed. We cannot imagine life without an Internet network, whether we are at work or at home. True, we still have such moments in life when we very rarely use the Internet. For example, in a car. Of course, we can log into the network from our smartphone and then check our e-mail or go to some site, for example, "Odnoklassniki". But what if you want to access the Internet for a specific purpose for which you access the network from your desktop computer, or laptop, or tablet? Then how to be?
For such purposes, the company "has a specific module - 3G / 4G, which can distribute WiFi to several electronic gadgets at a distance of 150 meters.
This initiative (know-how) has already been taken up by many automakers. For example, the company began to equip its cars with cellular modules that distribute WiFi. This WiFi module is also available in the car today.
General Motors plans to equip most of its cars with the same 4G LTE cellular modules and high-speed WiFi distribution system during 2014-2015.
3) Airless tires.
So for 80% of all motorists, the pressure in the wheels does not meet their established standards. The reason is simple, it is simple laziness or not knowing how to check the pressure in the wheels or how to inflate the wheel. In addition to increasing fuel consumption, improperly inflated wheels pose a safety hazard on the road. Also, tire pressure often changes due to certain temperature changes on the street. If tires are not sufficiently inflated, then this leads to premature wear. How can you solve the problem so as not to constantly pump the wheels?
Today there is a solution for this, which is directly related to the latest development of the Bridgestone company. After years of research, a rubber manufacturer has created. Instead of air, these tires have a micro mesh made of hard rubber. which, in fact, retains its shape and shape of the wheel even under extreme loads. Since the tire does not need air, when a wheel (tire) is punctured, the car can freely continue on its way without any danger. The thermoplastic material used in the manufacture of airless tires (including the tread) is made from recycled materials, making these concept tires environmentally friendly and meaningful compared to conventional rubber.
So far, Bridgestone has not announced an exact date for mass production of these innovative tires. But there is a chance that such environmentally friendly tires will be installed on many brands of cars in the next 5-10 years.
4) Air filling indication system.
While we dream of airless tires, the company has developed a new tire (wheel) filling notification system. For example, a new system has appeared on the Altima 2014 (2015 Nissan Teana) car, which shows the driver when the tires are inflated, their internal pressure, or when this pressure reaches the norm. How does it work? Nothing complicated. If you decide to pump up a wheel near your house, or work, or at a gas station, then by connecting the pump directly to the wheel, you will immediately see how the front fog lights or turn signals (depending on the modification) began to blink.
While the wheel is inflating, the fog lamp (s) will flash and inform you that the wheel (tire) is inflating. As soon as the pressure in the wheel reaches the required rate in accordance with the set parameters from the manufacturer, the car itself will give a signal with a horn and the flashing of the bulb in the fog lamp (s) will stop. That's the whole secret.
5) Smart headlights.
Driving a car at night in the rain or when it snows is difficult and very stressful, as the visibility on the road under such conditions is very poor and should be poor. And the thing is that our car headlights illuminate not only the road itself, but also raindrops or snow particles, which creates a big significant obstacle to our eyes for a clear view (overview) of the road. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a specific headlight system that will improve your visibility in bad weather conditions. This system consists of: - a video camera, a projector, a laser beam splitter and a computer unit based on an Intel processor.
In order for snow or rain not to create large obstacles for your visibility in the headlights, the camera itself determines in the upper field of your view where a drop of rain or snow will fall and then independently projects a completely discolored interference in front of your eyes in the form these precipitates. The whole process takes 13 milliseconds. (!) As the developers themselves declare, the speed of such projection can be increased.
Headlight technologies are not developing as fast as electronics, for example. , which the maximum they can do is turn the headlight lenses when turning left and right and automatically turn off the high beam when an oncoming car approaches you. Unfortunately friends, but the fact remains that in order for the headlights to become truly "smart" some significant leap in technology is needed. And who knows, maybe it is the development of scientists from Carnegie Mellon University that will be this anticipated breakthrough in car headlight technology. Let's wait and see.
6) Hydrophobic coating of car windows.
For the first time, some of the new Cadenza models of 2014 were equipped with hydrophobic side windows. What it is? Ordinary glass of a car is covered with a special hydrophobic coating, which protects the glass from chips or damage, that is, it prevents the glass from getting dirty and dirty with the same drops of water. The coating repels water and any condensation that collects. This coating sufficiently improves visibility in rainy weather and makes it easier to dry the glass after washing.
Unfortunately for us, we do not know anything else which automakers are equipping their cars with these hydrophobic windows today.
You are probably surprised friends that it was on a Korean car that the technology of hydrophobic windows was first applied? Or not really? But this is just not surprising. Automotive technologies, which have been developing at a doubled pace of late, often began to appear completely on inexpensive makes and models of cars. And this is primarily due to the fact that many new technologies at their cost today are not so expensive and do not require multi-billion dollar investments from manufacturers.
Do you want the trunk release button in your car to be moved from an uncomfortable place under the arm, and the seat moved forward a couple of centimeters?
Previously, this was impossible - car factories reacted to the wishes of buyers for a very long time. And even they did not pay attention to the requests, since in order to fulfill them, they would have to rebuild the entire workflow.
However, the design of machines for the individual needs of customers is no longer yesterday, but today. In the automotive industry, computer modeling and virtual testing are increasingly used instead of paper design and physical prototyping, everything - from an individual part to the whole car - is created on a monitor screen.
The correspondent of "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" was convinced from his own experience that the future belongs to new technologies for product life cycle management. And it is already here. The production of racing cars for Formula 1 is one of the prime examples of the use of digital technology in the automotive industry.
The headquarters of Red Bull Racing is located in the small English town of Milton Keynes, where a project office, test benches and production of parts for cars are concentrated in several buildings.
By the way, it was impossible to shoot at the factory - many technologies are secret and even during the tour are hidden behind the mirrored windows of the office premises. Even doors are opened with a fingerprint scanner. But you could ask!
And find out, for example, that the team employs 700 people. That this season almost every two weeks about 60 people and 40 tons of cargo are sent to the race. Every year, in fact, a new car is created. It consists of 7,000 unique parts, while up to 30,000 design changes are developed and introduced per season, and only 5 months pass from idea to working copy.
The question immediately arises - how is such efficiency achieved? And this is where the time comes to talk about digital manufacturing. For example, painting. Did you know that writing on the body of a car causes it to become less streamlined, micro-vortices in the air, which slow down and increase fuel consumption? So - there are technologies that allow you to make an inscription and "polish" it so that even an extra gram of gasoline will not be used up. And one more nuance associated with painting - Red Bull Racing specialists using Siemens software, for example, found out that matte or glossy painting of a car, as they say, does not affect speed.
“Legacy production processes are not efficient enough to cope with the increasing complexity of the product and its personalization to the individual requirements of the customer,” says Jan Larsson, director of industry and product marketing at Siemens PLM Software. And he continues: for this, you first need to create a digital model of the product - from the bolt to the final product - the machine. It is necessary to organize the process of collecting customer reviews and prompt feedback from them.
And in general, using digital production software products is not that expensive. "For a small business, the cost will not exceed several thousand dollars. Of course, the introduction of digital technologies in large production will cost more, but the gain is in increasing its efficiency, responding to necessary changes will cover all the costs," said Jan Larsson.
In a conversation with an RG correspondent, he concretized: many Russian enterprises producing complex science-intensive products are actively using digital technologies. Among them are aircraft manufacturing, power engineering, and automotive enterprises.
At the same time, the parallel collective work of designers and technologists in a virtual environment makes it possible to develop control programs simultaneously with the design of the part. This minimizes the production time.
And it allows you to quickly introduce completely new technologies that still work in motorsport, but it is quite possible - they will soon find themselves in classic automobile industries.
It became known that the new generation of Nissan Qashqai can get an electric version of the car. Automotive engineers regularly introduce new technologies and devices to provide greater safety, comfort, or at least entertainment for drivers. We talk about future developments that are being tested on the roads today.
Cars
with autopilot function
For the past 5 years, all of the world's leading automakers have been developing autonomous vehicles. Ford self-parking concept car. Audi, BMW, Nissan, Honda, GM and Mercedes regularly report that their prototype self-driving cars are doing thousands of miles in testing. Volvo showed its model in Gothenburg, which, thanks to sensors, GPS and other technologies, practically eliminates the possibility of getting into an accident. Recently, Toyota announced its entry into the ranks of the developers of self-driving cars, and Tesla Motors has made that it will show its first "drone" in three years.
"Googlemobil"
in action
Google is considered one of the industry leaders. The company's system uses information collected by Google Street View, video cameras, a LIDAR sensor mounted on the roof, radars in the front of the car, and a sensor connected to one of the rear wheels.
demonstration of lidar sensor operation,
which is used in google car system
Most companies say that for car enthusiasts, such cars will become available by 2020. What will change with their appearance? First of all, robotic machines will save lives. A computer that has replaced a person at the wheel will be able to simultaneously track all objects on the road and instantly respond to emergency situations. But are people ready to completely entrust control to the machine?
Brian Raymer
Transportation Expert from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“People can put up with and deal with people who make mistakes, but we don’t know how to put up with robot errors,” said transportation expert Brian Reimer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "How many people would agree to get on a plane without a pilot, even if it is known that half the time the pilots are sitting in the cockpit, idle, just watching the automation?"
That a computer driver is safer than a human driver must be proven in thousands of authorities before lawmakers give complete freedom to autopilot vehicles. At the moment, such cars are allowed to be tested on public roads by the laws of Japan and three US states ( California, Florida and Nevada)... The UK is expected to be on the list by the end of the year.
Energy-storing body panels
Exxon Mobil predicts that by 2040, half of all new vehicles coming off the assembly line will be hybrid. There is one problem with hybrid cars, however: the batteries that power the electric motor are very bulky and heavy, even with the current development of lithium-ion batteries.
In Europe, a group of nine automakers are currently testing body panels that can store energy and charge faster than conventional batteries. They are made from polymer carbon fiber and resin, and they are durable yet flexible. Thanks to the development, the weight of vehicles can be reduced by 15%.
Smart watch Nissan
MODERN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE SPHERE
In our time, we can no longer imagine our life without information technology. They have firmly entered our life. They are used in various fields of activity, including the automotive industry. It is almost impossible to imagine the modern automotive industry without numerous computer innovations. Until recently, the on-board computer was considered a luxury, now it is considered as important a part as the engine or highway.
Cars have long been able to brake and accelerate without human intervention, as well as determine the distance to objects and determine their location. Vehicles are equipped with various driver assistance systems such as radar, cameras, ultrasound, GPS systems, etc. They have successfully found their application.
But what can we expect in the coming years? How will the automotive industry develop and what innovations are currently being applied and will be applied in the future?
Internet and car
The car is increasingly interacting with the Internet. Some believe that this connection will further affect road safety, such as increasing driver distraction. But there are also some advantages. You can expect services such as a car service reminder with a variety of informational support, the ability to automatically record and refer to the nearest service center, as well as entertainment.
Synchronization with devices
In addition to Internet access, cars have the ability to interact more closely with computers and mobile devices. Nowadays, you won't be surprised by the presence of a USB port in the car. It will be possible to remotely update the software of various systems in the car without using the services of specialists, and also, if a malfunction occurs in the car, the dealer will be able to remotely find the cause of the malfunction and indicate ways to solve the problem, or fix the breakdown if the failure was in the computer system.
Holographic information display
Its task is to display information directly on the windshield. At the moment, there are models that can display information about speed, direction of movement, and others. Such a system will be very useful in adverse weather conditions, such as rain.
Interaction of your car with infrastructure
Soon all cars will be linked together and the road structure into a single whole. The idea is to make it possible for your car to interact with the infrastructure of the city, for example with webcams at intersections, road signs and traffic lights. Knowing about traffic congestion or road conditions, the driver will be able to change the route, saving time and money. The car can even reserve a parking space. If the car is involved in an accident, it will be able to inform the surrounding cars about it, and the driver will be able to slow down in time and be more attentive.
Motion Monitoring or "Dead Zones"
An equally useful technology that can improve road safety is the monitoring of the so-called "blind spots" and the warning system for road markings. The system will warn the driver if he starts changing lanes without a turn signal, and will also prevent changing lanes if the lane is occupied by another car. The lane crossing system will use small cameras that will read the markings on the road, and if the driver crosses it, without turning on the turn signal, the system gives a light or sound signal. For example, Infiniti applies automatic braking to one side of the vehicle to prevent the vehicle from leaving the lane.
Parking
Several automakers are already installing automated parking assistance systems. The system works as follows: using the radar, the car determines if there is enough space for it to park. Then he helps the driver to choose the correct steering angle and practically puts the car in the parking space by himself. Such a system is extremely useful for novice drivers.
Driver status tracking
Equally useful is a vehicle tracking system that will recognize signs of fatigue in the driver's behavior on the road and warn about the need to rest. Volvo cars have a similar system, only it works differently. The system evaluates the vehicle's movement on the road, not the driver's behavior. If something goes wrong, the system alerts the driver.
Night vision cameras
Night vision cameras may be used in cars. Their use can reduce the incidence of road traffic accidents at night. The system will help the driver to see road markings, signs, as well as pedestrians and animals at night. BMW uses an infrared camera that displays images on the screen in black and white. The camera recognizes objects at a distance of up to 300 meters. And Toyota is working to improve night vision systems so that the driver can feel more confident at night. A prototype camera was presented, the actions of which are based on algorithms and principles of imaging, which were discovered during the study of the functioning of the eyes of night beetles, bees and moths, which see in a wider range of colors, and also capture light at night. This digital image processing algorithm will capture quality footage in poor visibility conditions and at high vehicle speeds. Also, the camera can adapt to changing lighting conditions.
It is possible to remotely slow down vehicles, preventing the hijackers from escaping from the police when chasing. Now there is a new feature that will help recover stolen cars in a short time. This technology is called Remote Ignition Block - remote ignition blocking. The OnStar operator has the ability to send a signal to the computer in the stolen car that will lock the ignition system, preventing it from restarting. This technology will allow not only returning stolen cars to their owners, but also preventing dangerous chases.
Hybrid cars
Lately, many automakers have been trying to achieve greater efficiency from their powertrains, relying on new fuels and engines, trying to reduce fuel consumption and increase mileage on a single charge or refueling. There are a lot of electric cars produced today, and almost every automaker has a hybrid car in its portfolio. Every year there will be more and more of them.
As the number of electric cars only grows, the question arises about their quick and trouble-free recharging. One solution is induction chargers. The technology is already being actively used on small devices such as iPods and mobile phones. These chargers can be built into parking spaces in large stores.
Today, information technology is rapidly developing in a variety of areas, including automotive. They are undoubtedly very important and useful for any car enthusiast. Information technologies help the driver in driving, inform about his condition, help make decisions, play an important role in the safety of the driver himself and those around him. With their help, the driver feels more comfortable and calm on the road, which means he is more attentive on it.
In this article, I have considered far from all the innovations in the automotive industry. Every year they become more and more perfect. Perhaps in the near future, electronics will replace all mechanical parts of the car and it will be able to do without a driver at all.
Introducing you new technologies in the automotive industry, which in the near future may become an integral part in the automotive industry. Superplastics are the product of a new era.
Superplastics.
When it became possible to weave carbon filaments into various materials, it became possible to create ultra-strong plastics. Such materials are able to withstand a large impact force, while their weight is significantly lower than conventional shockproof parts. in collisions and help save weight.
Some Western companies are working on the development of a hybrid material - plastic with braided steel cable. This inexpensive material will be used to create body elements, interior trim, bumpers. Such super-strong, reinforced superplastics do have high strength, but so far they do not look very beautiful. Surely this flaw will soon be corrected.
Charging by rolling the car.
Hybrid cars are still not as popular as they deserve. And all because there are such harmful snobs in the world who constantly ask for help, that the battery charge is not enough for a full trip. The developing infrastructure and the increasing volume of batteries should plug such skeptics into the belt. A number of foremost workers in the auto industry, such as Audi, BMW and Mazda, are working on an interesting development - a generator to generate electricity for a battery, which is driven by the rolling of the car while driving.
Electric motors in the hubs.
In the "shaggy" years, Ferdinand Porsche already thought that the electric engine of the car should be located in the hubs, which would significantly expand the space in the car for passengers and the battery. Until now, this idea is in the air, but manufacturers are afraid to position motors this way, because an increase in unsprung mass can affect handling and smoothness when driving on dusty and gravel roads. However, Protean Electric and Lotus Engineering are conducting research in which two identical Lotus cars are tested by the company's employees for agility and handling.
One of them is equipped with hub motors. According to the test results, it turns out that the difference is not noticeable for the average driver. Small flaws in handling are eliminated by small adjustments to the suspension. the average driver will not notice the performance degradation associated with the extra unsprung mass, and the proper tuning will help overcome most of the handling side effects.
Nickel-zinc batteries.
Modern urban heavy traffic requires fuel economy. A common thing today is to turn off the engine in a traffic jam or at a traffic light so as not to “smoke the sky”. The trouble is that the lead-acid battery under the hood is not able to withstand several aggressive stop-start cycles - it quickly discharges if you did not have time to train, but started several times in a row. This problem was solved back in 1901, when Thomas Edison invented nickel-zinc.
Such a battery does not lose discharge so quickly if you have to turn off and start the engine several times in a row. In addition, these batteries have a longer service life. Modern company Power Genix claims that nickel-zinc batteries weigh half the weight for twice the runtime. In addition, they are more environmentally friendly in terms of disposal.
