In connected car news are Honda, BorgWarner, Bridgestone, Hyundai, Iteris, Ford, Lucid Motors, Vulog, Navistar, Greenplan, BMW, Infineon and ROHM.
Honda Pulls Social Ads
Honda is the first automaker to withdraw from buying ads on Facebook and Instagram due to pressure from civil rights activists and the social media outlets not moderating disinformation and hate posts.
BorgWarner Acquisition of Delphi Tech Finalized
Delphi Technologies PLC announced that at a special meeting of its shareholders held today, Delphi Technologies’ shareholders approved the Company’s previously announced transaction with BorgWarner Inc. An overwhelming majority of shareholders voted in favor of the transaction.
Bridgestone Buys iTrack Tech
Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) announced it has completed the purchase of the iTrack Solutions Business from UK-based Transense Technologies PLC (Transense).
iTrack is a globally-preferred provider of tire management solutions for the off-the-road (OTR) vehicle market. The business offers a comprehensive tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) specially designed for mining tires. In addition to tire temperature and pressure monitoring, the iTrack tire management platform provides customizable geofencing, speed alerts and more.
Hyundai Funds RSDI Design of Future
Hyundai Motor Group and Rhode Island School of Design announced a research collaboration to examine relationships among natural and built environments in order to propose new directions for the future of mobility.
The study expands on the smart mobility vision announced by Hyundai Motor Group at CES 2020. Hyundai’s vision, which aims to help vitalize human-centered future cities, focuses on three mobility solutions: Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Purpose Built Vehicle (PBV) and Hub. The joint research with RISD will help infuse these solutions with insights from RISD’s pioneering faculty and students. Through RISD’s Research & Strategic Partnerships program, the partnership with Hyundai elevates expertise of faculty with the experimental creativity of students to conceive our future realities.
For the research, Hyundai established a task force, including four designers from the Design Innovation Group. In turn, RISD developed a new collaborative research platform created solely for Hyundai. Four faculty members at the world-renowned design school leveraged their expertise to explore study areas supported by 16 students. Hyundai and RISD kept the participant size small, allowing for close collaboration, resulting in a distinctive study on the future of mobility.
Based on this vision, the study examined four distinctive areas of future mobility, including graphic design, industrial design, sound design, and textile design.
- Graphic Design – Posthuman Mobility: From Molecule to Machine
Faculty lead: Anastasiia Raina, Graphic Design
Responding to the evolving pandemic, this group explored the future of mobility in a microbe centric world by addressing the relationship between humans and microbes and our need to respond and adapt with agility to the new world around us. The research team developed models for collaboration with nature as an alternative to models inspired by nature. They focused on interspecies collaboration, cyborg nature, and designed nature, such as future mobility hubs and human identification methods utilizing augmented reality, virtual reality and machine-learning technologies.
- Industrial Design – From Anthropocene to Aerocene through Biocene
Faculty lead: Paolo Cardini, Industrial Design
In response to the increasing need for sustainable options, this research group explored alternative trajectories for the future of mobility guided by artistic, scientific, and philosophical provocations. In particular, this group utilized negative speculative narratives to explore the topic of future cities and environment in the era of UAM. Scenarios such as privacy intrusion and bird strikes were considered.
- Sound Design for Mobility
Faculty lead: Shawn Greenlee, Experimental & Foundation Studies
Drawing from the fields of bioacoustics and soundscape ecology, and experimentation in RISD’s Spatial Audio Studio, this group worked toward developing novel auditory displays and sonic experiences with embeddable computing platforms and procedural audio techniques under a common theme of “Making the Un-heard Heard” in response to the current COVID-19 environment. For example, the group studied alternative “noise” for soundless electric vehicles.
- Textile Design for Mobility
Faculty lead: Anna Gitelson-Kahn, Textiles
This research group drew from the fields of bionics and biomimicry in developing innovative textile solutions through speculative approaches and solutions gathered from a case study of the cockroach. The structure of cockroach provided insights into the safety of future mobility. Hyundai plans to further incorporate biomimicry methods into its study.
The partnership kicked off with a workshop at RISD’s Edna W. Lawrence Nature Lab in February 2020, with students and faculty who came together with a shared understanding that the real-world mobility challenges Hyundai faces present unique opportunities at the same time. Students were selected through a highly competitive pool of 108 applicants across 10 departments at RISD: Architecture, Digital + Media, Film/Animation/Video, Graphic Design, Industrial Design, Jewelry + Metalsmithing, Liberal Arts, Painting, Printmaking and Textiles.
The collaborative study moved forward despite the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to Hyundai’s unwavering commitment to explore the future and RISD’s technological resources that allow students and faculty members to collaborate in the virtual space.
Hyundai and RISD will continue their partnership starting with a six-week summer research program focusing on lightweight structures and hygiene, inspired by nature. The partners plan to deepen their collaboration and form a longer-term partnership with RISD’s Nature Lab providing a foundation for living systems research.
Hyundai Motor Group has been actively studying nature through various projects, including the recent Hyundai Nature Observation Project by Design Innovation Group.
Iteris Member Gets GDOT Contract
Iteris, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITI), the global leader in smart mobility infrastructure management, today announced that it is one of the core members of the Digital Traffic Systems, Inc. (DTS) team that has been awarded an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract for statewide intelligent transportation system (ITS) maintenance by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)
Under the terms of the five-year sub-contract, Iteris will implement a portion of the ITS Asset Management System (IAMS) for the GDOT project, with an estimated budget of approximately $2.4 million over the next five years.
GDOT will be able to utilize a suite of workflow improvement tools designed to reduce initial and ongoing costs to the program, including: a data collection and validation tool, an expedited service portal and an IAMS feedback tool.
Iteris’ deployment of the software solution to support the ITS Maintenance Program follows the prior successful delivery of the Iteris asset management services, part of the ClearMobility™ Platform, for city and state agencies nationwide.
Ford’s Corktown Adresses Macromobility Issues
Michigan Central, Ford Motor Company’s development in Corktown, and Newlab, home to over 800 engineers, entrepreneurs, and inventors applying transformative technologies to things that matter, today announced a collaboration to foster an innovation ecosystem committed to helping shape the future of mobility in a way that benefits everyone. Pairing Ford’s automotive industry leadership with Newlab’s successful studio model, the alliance aims to tackle complex transportation problems related to connectivity, autonomy and electrification.
Two years ago, Ford purchased 1.2 million square feet in Corktown, Detroit’s oldest neighborhood, including the historic Michigan Central Station, with plans to establish a new mobility innovation district. Called Michigan Central, the district will be an open platform for partnerships, drawing the best minds from Detroit and around the world to co-create and test mobility solutions on real-world streets, in real-world situations. The first work spaces within Michigan Central will open in 2022.
Michigan Central and Newlab will launch two new studios focused on mobility that will ultimately live within the district. A corporate studio sponsored by Ford will kick off this summer to address macro mobility issues, and as part of Ford’s commitment to the local community, a second civic studio will follow focusing on more immediate mobility issues in the neighborhoods around Michigan Central Station.
Lucid Motors to Unveil Production Vehicle on 9/9
Lucid Motors, which seeks to set new standards for sustainable transportation with its advanced luxury EVs, announced that it will unveil the production version of its groundbreaking luxury electric vehicle, the Lucid Air, in an online reveal on September 9, 2020. At the same time, the company shared updates on its growth and progress across a range of areas related to its workforce, its manufacturing infrastructure, and the ongoing development of the Lucid Air.
Vulog Intros B2B Suite
Vulog, the leading shared mobility technology provider, announced the release of its new offer, the B2B Suite. In the aftermath of Covid-19 companies are looking for more cost-effective, safe, and sustainable mobility solutions. MSPs stand to benefit, which is why Vulog developed the B2B Suite: a solution that enables MSPs to provide the most advanced B2B service available on the market today.
Navistar Breaks Grown in San Antonio
Navistar International Corporation, a leading maker of International® brand commercial trucks, proprietary diesel engines and IC Bus® brand school and commercial buses, joins the City of San Antonio, Bexar County and the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation (SAEDF) in a virtual groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate construction of Navistar’s new industry-leading manufacturing facility in San Antonio.
Greenplan Launches Algorithm
Greenplan, a DHL financed start-up company, is launching a powerful algorithm for optimizing delivery routes and stop sequences in logistics. The algorithm leverages the full potential of smart routing, using all information and data available to optimize transport routes in an entire delivery area, while existing solutions are dealing with smaller sub-areas to cope with complexity. In doing this, Greenplan sets a new benchmark. It bolsters the industry’s efficiency and sustainability efforts without making compromises on the quality of planning. The algorithm was developed by scientists from the University of Bonn in cooperation with DHL logistics experts. Greenplan supports customers with their road freight business and last-mile deliveries as well as field service providers with their service schedules.
BMW Opens Additive Manufacturing Campus
The BMW Group has officially opened its new Additive Manufacturing Campus. The new centre brings together production of prototype and series parts under one roof, along with research into new 3D printing technologies, and associate training for the global rollout of toolless production. The campus, which came at an investment of €15 million, will allow the BMW Group to develop its position as technology leader in the utilization of additive manufacturing in the automotive industry.
Infineon Tech’s New Battery Management
Infineon Technologies AG is expanding its product offering for battery management systems with a new sensing and balancing IC, the TLE9012AQU. The device is especially designed for batteries in hybrid and electric cars, but it is also suitable for other applications. It measures the voltage in up to twelve battery cells with an accuracy of ± 5.8 mV over the entire temperature and voltage range as well as the operating life cycle. Furthermore, it supports up to five external temperature sensors, provides an integrated cell balancing function and uses an iso-UART interface for communication.
Battery management systems (BMS) ensure, that the capacity of a battery is optimally utilized, i.e. that the longest possible range is achieved in an electric car, and that the battery does not age prematurely. In addition, they determine the battery’s state of charge and state of health in order to estimate the available range and remaining service life. The TLE9012AQU provides the necessary measurement data and ensures a balanced state of charge through cell balancing. Among other things, this prevents the weakest cell from determining the total usable capacity of the battery.
To minimize the influence of interfering signals on the measurement results, the new sensing and balancing IC from Infineon features a programmable noise filter. In addition, it performs the measurement in all cells simultaneously so that the results remain comparable even in the presence of temporary interference factors. A compensation algorithm with integrated stress sensor and extended temperature compensation ensures the long-term stability of the measurements.
Cell balancing is achieved via twelve balancing switches integrated on the chip – one per channel. They are designed for currents up to 150 mA. For higher balancing currents, the device also supports external switches. In addition, the cell balancing can be programmed to stop without a signal from the microcontroller after a defined time of up to 32 hours or when the cell has reached a defined voltage. This allows the microcontroller to switch to sleep mode and thus save energy.
With its twelve channels, the TLE9012AQU is particularly suitable for batteries that are partitioned with twelve cells per module. One device is then required per module. The iso-UART interface for data exchange between these modules and with the microcontroller allows easy voltage isolation and ensures data integrity. The communication supports more than 20 serially connected devices and a ring topology. This ensures that even if a single device fails, the communication chain is not broken and the rest of the system remains functional.
ROHM Intros Nano Cap Power Supply
ROHM announces the development of Nano Cap™ power supply technology that ensures stable control of power supply circuits in the automotive and industrial fields – even with ultra-small capacitances in the magnitude of nF (Nano: 10-9).
The growing awareness for sustainable energy consumption has led to greater electrification in a variety of applications. Especially in the automotive field, the number of electrical components continues to increase due to technological innovations spurred by advances in EVs and autonomous driving. Each of these electrical applications requires a variety of voltage sources, all of them stabilized by capacitors. This results in an increasing demand of external components, increasing PCB sizes and adding cost to the Bill of Material.
Following the development of ultra high-speed pulse control technology Nano Pulse Control™ and ultra-low current technology Nano Energy™, ROHM has added a third Nano power supply technology, Nano Cap™, that reduces the number of external capacitors required for linear regulators.
In a circuit, typically comprised of a linear regulator and MCU, a 1µF capacitor is usually required at the output of the linear regulator while 100nF is requested at the input of the MCU. However, leveraging ROHM’s linear regulator utilizing Nano Cap™ technology – developed by combining analog expertise covering circuit design, layout, and processes – eliminates the need for the capacitor at the regulator output and ensures stable operation with just the 100nF input capacitor. By decreasing both the number of capacitors along with the capacitance needed for power supply circuits in the automotive and other fields, ROHM can contribute to minimizing circuit design load.
Furthermore, Op amp samples utilizing Nano Cap™ technology have already been released in part, and linear regulators utilizing Nano Cap™ technology as well as LED drivers that built-in Nano Cap™ equipped regulators are scheduled to be released in 2020.
ROHM is committed to further enhancing the development of Nano CapTM technology to completely eliminate the need for capacitors while expanding the use of this technology not only to linear regulators, but Op amps, LED drivers, and other analog ICs as well, which contribute to society through the effective use of resources that minimizes environmental load.