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LED signs may brighten ad revenue for buses The LEDs that are transforming vehicle lighting are expanding into a new area: bus advertising. Lighted displays installed on buses can change messages often, even linking to GPS systems to pinpoint ads as buses travel into different neighborhoods. Read full story

Alcoa fastener a lightning-strike fighter The Alcoa fastener conforms to machine-induced micro texture inherent in fastener holes drilled in composite material, reducing the likelihood of electrical arcing in a lightning strike. A paper describing Alcoa’s solution, and the testing that led to it, will be presented at the SAE 2009 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition Nov. 10-12 in Seattle. Read full story

Brötje develops flexible, modular automated drilling and fastening cell At the heart of the company’s MPAC solution is a 10-axis positioning unit that consists of an inner and outer system and that provides a work envelope unlimited in the X-axis and with a 180° A-axis. A paper describing this technology will be presented at the SAE 2009 AeroTech Congress & Exhibition Nov. 10-12 in Seattle. Read full story

Sunny days ahead for plastic solar modules Solar modules in vehicles are still very much niche products. One reason is glass-based module manufacturing limits the use of photovoltaic cells in size and weight, according to Proof Design and Innovation Management. The German company presented a plastic-based solution, the Composite Solar Module, at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Read full story