PathPartner, in collaboration with Quectel, announces a reliable and cost-effective Driver Monitoring Solution that utilizes Quectel’s SC600 smart module. Leveraging Quectel’s SC600 smart module’s power, the solution meets the need for computation, intelligence on the edge, connectivity and other functional requirements for next-generation driver monitoring and in-cabin occupancy applications, all packed in an extremely small…
After 40 years, Sandia’s Combustion Research Facility still driving toward the future
By Michael Langley, Sandia National Laboratory The weather on March 6, 1981, was nothing too remarkable for the San Francisco Bay Area — a little drizzle with temperatures in the 50s and fairly calm wind. The remarkable event that day was taking place on Sandia National Laboratories’ California campus, but even those who participated in…
ORNL licenses revolutionary AI system to General Motors for automotive use
By Coury Turczyn The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has licensed its award-winning artificial intelligence software system, the Multinode Evolutionary Neural Networks for Deep Learning, to General Motors for use in vehicle technology and design. The AI system, known as MENNDL, uses evolution to design optimal convolutional neural networks – algorithms used by…
SwRI receives $5.25 million DOE award for NEXTCAR technology
By Rob Leibold The U.S. Department of Energy awarded a three-year, $5.25 million contract to Southwest Research Institute to continue developing its cutting-edge connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies to help passenger vehicles operate more efficiently and reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions. The project is the second phase of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy’s (ARPA-E’s)…
R&D 100 winner of the day: Overspray free paint application
The EcoPaintJet overspray-free paint applicator, invented by plant-engineering firm Dürr, plus novel decorcoat paint from PPG (the second color applied), represents the world’s first implementation of precision application of automotive coatings. The innovative overspray-free paint application process eliminates all overspray from the paint application process, maintains crisp edges after being applied and meets all automotive…
R&D 100 winner of the day: Cobalt-free laser-clad valve seat in fuel-flexible hybrid electric vehicles
Toyota Central R&D Labs and Toyota Motor Corporation have co-developed a new cobalt-free Cu alloy, a new angled LMD process and a dedicated inline quality inspection method for a laser-clad valve seat (LCVS). These three technologies have enabled the world’s first full-scale mass production of a LCVS with unprecedented new functions, including corrosion and wear…
R&D 100 winner of the day: Lower Power Loss RC-IGBT for Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Environmentally conscious hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), which are driven partly by an electric motor controlled by a power control unit (PCU), are currently increasing in popularity. Toyota’s research efforts have led to downsizing the power cards and reducing the power loss of the PCU. On the power card, an insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) and…
FLIR Systems and VSI Labs fuse thermal, radar, visible sensors and AI to improve AEB systems
FLIR Systems (NASDAQ: FLIR) today announced the results from recent automatic emergency braking (AEB) tests that examined how adding a thermal sensor and fusing the data with a radar, a visible sensor and a trained neural network can improve pedestrian detection from current AEB systems. Following positive proof-of-concept test results announced earlier this year, FLIR…
Dow launches MobilityScience platform, tailoring technologies to the transportation industry
Dow (NYSE: DOW) today announced its MobilityScience platform designed to enhance the customer experience by tailoring technologies, products and services from across Dow businesses to the transportation industry. The platform is pursuing accelerated growth by addressing mobility mega-trends with material science innovation and enabling a seamless experience for Dow’s customers and partners. Dow MobilityScience is…
System trains driverless cars in simulation before they hit the road
By: Rob Matheson | MIT News Office A simulation system invented at MIT to train driverless cars creates a photorealistic world with infinite steering possibilities, helping the cars learn to navigate a host of worse-case scenarios before cruising down real streets. Control systems, or “controllers,” for autonomous vehicles largely rely on real-world datasets of driving…
SwRI’s motion prediction algorithms enhance safety features for automated vehicles
Southwest Research Institute, a leading innovator of machine learning technologies, has developed a motion prediction system that enhances pedestrian detection for automated vehicles. The computer vision tool uses a novel deep-learning algorithm to predict motion by observing real-time biomechanical movements with the pelvic area being a key indicator for changes. “For instance, if a pedestrian…
EPA awards SwRI $25 million contract for emissions testing, analytical services
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has received a five-year, $25 million contract from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide testing and analytical services related to vehicle emissions and fuel efficiency. SwRI will conduct emissions characterization and technology assessment under the “Testing and Analytical Services for Regulation of Motor Vehicles, Engines, and Fuels and Fuel…
SwRI has created a new test for internal diesel injector deposits
Southwest Research Institute has created a new test that significantly reduces the time and fuel needed to evaluate the formation of internal deposits on diesel engine fuel injectors. The test utilizes a custom-built injector rig. Any deposits formed in the injector are measured with a variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometer (VASE), which is a tool typically…
Autonomous Boats can Target and Latch Onto Each Other
The city of Amsterdam envisions a future where fleets of autonomous boats cruise its many canals to transport goods and people, collect trash, or self-assemble into floating stages and bridges. To further that vision, MIT researchers have given new capabilities to their fleet of robotic boats—which are being developed as part of an ongoing project—that…
SwRI’s ActiveVision Enables Transportation Agencies to Automate Traffic Monitoring
Driverless Cars Working Together can Speed Up Traffic by 35 Percent
Simulation Technique Optimizes Car Part Design
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…
Clean Fuel Cells Could be Cheap Enough to Replace Gas Engines in Vehicles
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…
Filling in the Gaps of Connected Car Data Helps Transportation Planners
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…
New Way to ‘See’ Objects Accelerates the Future of Self-Driving Cars
Electric Vehicle Adoption Improves Air Quality and Climate Outlook
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…
Engineers Develop Concept For Hybrid Heavy-Duty Trucks
Hydrogen Fuel Cells: With a Database of 500,000 Materials, Researchers Zero in on Best Bets
Virtual Tests For Autonomous Driving Systems
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…
New Autonomous Vehicle System Builds on Past Experiences
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…