Chevrolet Launches "OnStar Proactive Alerts" Predictive Technology

Chevrolet is introducing the industry’s first predictive technology, enabling your vehicle to warn you about a potential maintenance need before it occurs.

Our cars have gotten pretty smart over the last 30 years. Carburetors are long gone, being replaced by computer-controlled fuel injection, and just about every car made comes with a built-in diagnostic system to help pinpoint errors in the event of an unexpected failure. Now, Chevy is looking to make our four-wheeled companions a little bit smarter by introducing the industry’s first predictive technology, dubbed Proactive Alerts.

In short, Chevy has developed a set of algorithms that allow a car’s computer to monitor certain systems and determine if a failure of that system is imminent. If so, Chevy’s OnStar system will alert the owner via e-mail or text message so that maintenance can be performed before a failure actually occurs. For now, the system only monitors the starter motor, fuel pump, and battery.

According to Chevy, the system is even smart enough to know the difference between a battery in a low state of charge and a high electric resistance – something that could point to a failing battery. Proactive Alerts is available with all OnStar plans, including the five-year basic plan that comes standard with new Chevy vehicles.

Pothole detection Technology

This connected car technology will allow a vehicle to gather data about the location and severity of potholes, broken drains and manhole covers. It will also allow vehicles to send and receive warnings allowing the driver to slow down or the car adjust its suspension settings to reduce the impact and smooth the ride, with the aim of reducing the potential for punctures, wheel and vehicle damage.

Dr Mike Bell, Global Connected Car Director, Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Our MagneRide equipped Range Rover Evoque and Discovery Sport vehicles feature sophisticated sensors that allow the vehicle to profile the road surface under the wheels and identify potholes, raised manholes and broken drain covers. By monitoring the motion of the vehicle and changes in the height of the suspension, the car is able to continuously adjust the vehicle’s suspension characteristics, giving passengers a more comfortable ride over uneven and damaged road surfaces.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s research team will be working with innovation partner Coventry City Council to understand how road profile information gathered by this technology could be shared with road authorities, and exactly what data would be most useful for their roads maintenance teams to identify and prioritise repairs.

USA today reported that Ford spokesman Aaron Miller explained the mechanism and said the car’s computer senses approaching potholes, and the computer immediately sends signals to shock absorbers which adjust themselves and prevent the car’s tire from falling in.

Pothole-Detection technology is already part of some of Ford’s other models, including the Lincoln luxury cars, and Ford's famous SUV, Expedition. Among Sedans, Ford Fusion Sport will be first to add this technology. The automaker demonstrated this technology in a video that recently trended on the internet. In the video, Ford’s new sedan is seen rolling over potholes filled with Ping-Pong balls without crushing them.

Transformation through motion

Driving into the future

It's that time of the year when auto aficionados rush to the capital to catch a glimpse of the future of automobile technology. The Delhi Auto Expo 2016 witnessed many new models and more importantly, many new transformative technologies in the world of automotive motion. Leading the show, Maruti Suzuki showcased its next league of revolutionary engines that resonate with its core philosophy of 'Transformotion – transformation through Motion', which stands for the company’s constant drive to innovate and affect a dynamic change in the existing order, whether within the company or across the Indian automotive industry.

As a result of Maruti Sukuzi's constant drive to innovate, the automobile organisation brought forth four transformative engines that are set cater to consumers who strive for better. Unveiled at the Auto Expo, these new engines include – DDiS 320 Diesel Engine, DDiS 200 Diesel Engine, SHVS – Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki and RS Jet Boosterjet.
The DDiS 320 Diesel Engine with a displacement of 1.6l is the biggest by Maruti Suzuki in its segment. The highlight of this engine is a massive torque of 320Nm @ 1750rpm. With the Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT) this engine helps low fuel consumption and low emissions. While the DDiS 200 Diesel Engine comes with the combination of common rail fuel injection with an inter-cooled turbocharger delivers dynamic torque for excellent acceleration and all-round performance. But it’s highlight is the best in class fuel efficiency, along with an excellent torque of 200Nm @ 1750rpm
The SHVS brings a revolutionary smart hybrid technology with an innovation system that incorporates an Integrated Starter Generator fitted to DDiS 200 diesel engine. The motor provides engine power assistance and helps it achieve efficient power regeneration and fuel efficiency. And the RS Jet Booster is a newly developed direct-injection turbo engine. The new engine delivers amazing power and road speed, for those who look for that additional zip in their drive, by performing superbly across all conditions from city rides to sporty driving.

M&M The Future to be showcased in auto expo 2016

Mahindra GenZe has partnered with AT&T to create an internet-powered scooter, possibly the first of its kind globally

After having created a loud buzz at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2016 at Las Vegas, America, the electric scooter Mahindra GenZe 2.0 is now all set to enthral Indian audiences at the Delhi Auto Show next month.

Mahindra GenZe, a subsidiary of Mahindra, has partnered with cellular network and data carrier AT&T to create an internet-powered scooter, possibly the first of its kind in the world.

The rechargeable scooter that is expected to debut in India weighs around 105 kg and can attain top speeds of a shade under 50 kmph. A full charge can take around 3.5 hours which sounds decent, and allows a travel of nearly 50 kms. The battery is removable and can be charged anywhere through normal plug points. The regenerative braking feature facilitates lower power consumption for longer trips while a 7-inch display up front houses the standard indicators.

The internet-powered app on the smartphone can give information about the trip, pre and post. Such information can be helpful to the rider to make sure of the places to go through during the trip, weather condition, traffic etc. The infotainment on the scooter is apparently redundant, unless you are stranded on lengthy red lights.

As the user uses the scooter, the data is transmitted and recollected later on to provide information on the route, maps etc. Riders’ patterns are also noted and produced whenever necessary. The scooter houses a GenZe Cruise–Connect System which brings together the data from various parts of the scooter and connects to the cloud based system.

Priced at $2,999 in America, the scooter could be available in India at around Rs 60,000. With smart-car engineering and other mechatronic automobile technology taking forward leaps in 2015, the Mahindra GenZe 2.0 may well set the tone for smart two-wheelers in 2016. 

UpSides

New Technology

user friendly technology

Better Design

DownSides

Mileage against Charging

Amazing innovations in automobile industry till 2015

1. Google Driverless Cars 

On the onset of winter break, on December 23, Google announced its first fully functionaldriverless car, which is ready for testing on public roads. Prior to this, the Internet giant developed various prototypes that lacked on different fundamental and functional aspects.
The latest prototype has all the important elements like headlights, steering and brakes. The company have also created a self-driving system with sensors and computers that can be fitted to SUVs like Lexus. This new technology will not only be a breakthrough in tough traffic congestion but sensing technology can also increase road safety. Countries such as the UK and US are working on laws to allow driverless cars.

2. Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) 
In the 2014 Delhi Auto Expo, where more than 70 vehicles were launched, one that pundits hailed as the most important was Maruti Suzuki's Celerio, the first affordable mass segment gearless hatchback. Celerio comes with AMT (automate manual transmission) sourced from Magneti Marelli, component arm of Fiat. AMT is an electro-hydraulic mechanism for automating manual transmission, which derives from Formula 1.
 It has a hydraulic system and an electronic system. The electronic transmission control unit helps in engaging and disengaging the clutch and gear through an electronic actuator. It also has a sports mode, which enables drivers to move to the manual shifting of gear to increase and decrease the gear ratios with plus and minus either through gear knob /joystick or the steering. In India, AMT is currently available in three cars — Celerio, Alto K10 and Tata Zest.

3. V2V Communications 
In February, US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced that it will begin taking steps to enable vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication technology for light vehicles. This technology would allow vehicles to "talk" to each other and ultimately avoid many crashes altogether by exchanging basic safety data, such as speed and position, ten times per second, to improve safety.
It uses 'ad hoc network', where every car is free to associate with any other car available in the network and share equal status. V2V, which is also known as VANET (vehicular ad hoc network), is a variation of MANET (mobile ad hoc network). Many automobile manufacturers including are BMW, Audi, Honda, General Motors, Volvo and Daimler working and developing this technology to improve safety, overcome blind spots and avoid accidents.

4. Pre-Collision Technology 

Top carmakers such as Ford and Hyundai have developed a pre-collision assist and pedestrian detection technology. Besides helping the driver detect blind spots, this technology also alerts the driver when he/she is not paying attention on the road. And if the driver falls asleep and does not respond to the warning, then the system applies the brakes on its own. The driver assist system has two types of sensors.
One is millimetre-wave radar located inside the front grille, and the other is a monocular camera mounted on the upper, inside part of the windshield. Its collision mitigation braking system delivers an audio and visual warning when there is a risk of a head-on collision.
If the driver fails to react, the car will automatically begin breaking itself to prevent or reduce the severity of a crash. This technology will debut in 2015 with Ford Mondeo in Europe. Hyundai would introduce it in the new Genesis sedan.

5. Smart Cars After smartphones, we will soon have smart cars around. In June 2014, Google launched its 'Android Auto', a telematics software that can be connected to car dash board for infotainment. It also enables the driver to access GPS, maps, streaming music, weather, and a host of other applications. A slew of carmakers including Abarth, Acura, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Infiniti, Jeep, Kia, Maserati and Volvo will offer Android Auto in their cars

6. Start- Stop Technology Hero MotoCorp introduced its first bike with start-stop technology, Splendor iSmart, in March 2014.
The company calls it i3s technology which is also known as Idle Start and Stop System. i3s is a green technology that automatically shuts the engine when idling and turns it on, when needed, with a simple press of the clutch, giving more mileage in congested cities.

Shape Optimization Leads to Improved Electric Motor

Engineers at Hanning Elektro-Werke in Germany have improved the efficiency of electric motors by using shape optimization, an algorithm also known as topology optimization.

In a paper published in the SIAM Journal on Scientific Computing, Ulrich Langer, Antoine Laurain, Houcine Meftahi and Kevin Sturm described a new mathematical method for obtaining peak performance from an electric motor.

Motors in general can be fairly complex machines, as anyone who’s ever looked under the hood to examine a modern internal combustion engine can tell you. Even for a relatively simple design, a motor has several moving parts that can be subject to energy loss through friction, noise and vibration. For electrical motors, such as those found in computers, washing machines and assembly tools, many of the same physics apply.

For Langer and his group, the key to designing a more efficient motor involves refining the mechanical rotation at the motor’s interior core to reduce or eliminate perturbations that contribute to efficiency losses. Echoing the sentiment of his colleagues, Langer stated, "A smoother rotation of the rotor can increase the energy efficiency of the motor and, at the same time, reduce unwanted side effects such as noise and vibrations."

To begin their redesign, the Hanning team identified a region within the core of an interior permanent magnet brushless electric motor. Within that design scope, the team began using the shape optimization computer algorithms they had developed to explore how different boundary geometries would affect the rotational mechanics of the motor.

After several design iterations driven by use of the algorithm, the researchers began to realize an improvement in motor efficiency that eventually reached 27 percent.

"By means of shape optimization methods, optimal motor geometries that could not be imagined beforehand can now be determined," said Langer.

Buoyed by their most recent shape optimization success, Langer and his group have plans to continue their work on increasing motor efficiency and refining their optimization algorithms to produce even better results. With this optimization methodology, who knows, one day we might have motors so efficient that they challenge preconceptions about what’s possible in power generation. 

TOYOTA SAFETY SENSE

The biggest car maker of the world, Toyota wants to be acknowledged for its sincerity and commitment towards vehicle and passenger safety. The fact becomes more evident with the recent announcement from the Japanese auto giant about its advanced range of active safety technologies that is slated to debut next year. Design with the main intent to keep collisions and crashes at bay, the Toyota Safety Sense packages will be embracing all its models soon. The company has divided these packages into 2 parts that will vary as per pricing which is supposed to be an encouraging factor for buyers. Designated by alphabets “C” and “P”, both the packages are meant for compact and premium cars respectively.

The “C” package will be acting as an active line of safety for compact cars while the “P” package will be doing the same for mid-size and higher-end vehicles. The release will start since 2015 with the European markets; and by the end of 2017, it will be made available in Japan as well as North American markets. The “C” package sports mainly 3 active safety technologies. It begins with the Pre-collision System (PCS) that employs laser radar and camera for detecting objects falling right in front of tyres. If it senses any possibilities of crash it will alert the driver through visual and audio messages. And in case, the driver doesn’t abide to warnings, it will automatically slow down the car to lowest speed by application of brakes. PCS works at those speeds that are mostly susceptible to rear-end crashes.

The second system in the Toyota Active Safety technology package for compact cars is the Lane Departure Alert. It will use a camera to watch the yellow and white road markings. When the system detects departure of car from lane, it will alert the driver through audio-visual alerts. The third automobile technology in Toyota “C” package is an Automatic High Beam that will detect the upcoming vehicle headlights through camera. It will switch from one mode to another mode of beam as per safety requirements.

The “P” Toyota Safety Sense includes all above mentioned technologies along with 2 extra systems. The Pre-collision System for pedestrians will use millimeter-wave radar along with a camera to watch for pedestrians over the road. It will offer brake assist to the driver to avoid any kind of collisions. And just like the previous systems, if the driver does not heed to the warnings, it will reduce the speed of the vehicle to lowest possible point. The last Toyota automobile technology is the Radar Cruise Control that uses millimeter-wave radar to know speed of nearby vehicles. It will adjust the vehicle’s speed according to those vehicles in order to avoid accidents.

The existing Toyota cars like the Corolla, Yaris, Camry, and Avalon are expected to be laced with these systems in coming years. Also, the new range of vehicles that will be debuting on behalf of the brand will be fortunate enough to be bestowed with such systems.