Automotive

Researchers in Japan have developed a new simulation technique that may improve how car doors and other automotive parts are made. A team from Kanazawa University have simulated the industrial process for stamping features into metal sheets without causing the sheets to tear, twist or bend, while optimizing the stamping press and reducing the costs…

Advancements in zero-emission fuel cells could make the technology cheap enough to replace traditional gasoline engines in vehicles, according to researchers at the University of Waterloo. The researchers have developed a new fuel cell that lasts at least 10 times longer than current technology, an improvement that would make them economically practical, if mass-produced, to…

If you have a new or late model car, most likely it’s connected: GPS navigation, that infotainment panel, the wireless network your car creates—they’re all ways for your car to provide information, whether it’s to give you directions, ping other vehicles, or to check in with infrastructure like traffic signals, signs or bridges. All of…

If you have ever wondered how much electric vehicle (EV) adoption actually matters for the environment, a new study provides evidence that making this switch would improve overall air quality and lower carbon emissions. The Northwestern University study quantified the differences in air pollution generated from battery-powered electric vehicles versus internal combustion engines. The researchers…

Sensors in autonomous vehicles have to be extremely reliable, since in the future motorists will no longer constantly monitor traffic while underway. In the past these sensors were subjected to arduous road tests. The new ATRIUM testing device from Fraunhofer Institute for High Frequency Physics and Radar Techniques FHR now makes it possible to move…

One of the biggest concerns regarding the future of self-driving vehicles is how they will handle different and unexpected conditions. Stanford University researchers have created a new technique to control autonomous cars by integrating prior driving experiences that enable the vehicle to perform better in extreme and unknown conditions. The researchers tested their new system…

Vehicles could be affordably produced for a wide variety of specialized purposes using a sophisticated wheel unit developed by researchers at the University of Waterloo. The self-contained unit combines a wheel and an electric motor with braking, suspension, steering and a control system in a single module designed to be bolted to any vehicle frame.…

It’s dark on the backroad as a motorist speeds toward the intersection. Up ahead, the stop sign blends with the night and in seconds a deadly crash occurs. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than half of all roadway fatalities occur on rural roads. Now engineers at The University of Texas at San…

For an automobile designer, one of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of creating a new vehicle is having to sketch in 2D sketch while thinking in 3D. Gravity Sketch, a UK-based virtual reality (VR) software firm, is working to provide car companies, including Ford Motor Company, with VR tools that will allow designers to…

 Boeing [NYSE: BA] yesterday successfully completed the first test flight of its autonomous passenger air vehicle (PAV) prototype in Manassas, Virginia. Boeing NeXt, which leads the company’s urban air mobility efforts, utilized Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences to design and develop the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and will continue testing to advance…

One of your car’s oldest features has been put to a new, high-tech use by University of Michigan researchers. Utilizing a test fleet in the city of Ann Arbor, engineers tracked when wipers were being used and matched it with video from onboard cameras to document rainfall. They found that tracking windshield wiper activity can…

Idling in a long highway line of slowed or stopped traffic on a busy highway can be more than an inconvenience for drivers and highway safety officers. It is one of the most vulnerable times for “secondary accidents,” which often can be worse than an original source of the slowdown, according to the U.S. Department…

Electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive has spent the first nine years of its existence in stealth mode working to design vehicles around what it believes are future trends in mobility, such as electrification, subscription-based ownership, and autonomy. This week the company is finally revealing what it’s been up to, dropping the curtains on its first…

Nearly eight months after one of its autonomous test vehicles hit and killed an Arizona pedestrian, Uber wants to resume testing on public roads. The company has filed an application with the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to test in Pittsburgh, and it has issued a lengthy safety report pledging to put two human backup drivers…

Imagine a daily commute that’s orderly instead of chaotic. Connected and automated vehicles could provide that relief by adjusting to driving conditions with little to no input from drivers. When the car in front of you speeds up, yours would accelerate, and when the car in front of you screeches to a halt, your car…

A new camera could allow autonomous vehicles to detect hazards, other cars and people three times farther away than the color cameras currently being used. A team of researchers, inspired by the vision system of the mantis shrimp, has developed a low-cost camera that could help improve the ability of autonomous vehicles to identify possible…