Electronics - Tech Blog
Global sales of electrified vehicles to approach 4 million annually by 2020, says Pike Research
Annual global sales of electrified vehicles will reach 3.8 million by 2020, Pike Research forecasts in a new report. The company, part of Navigant's Energy Practice, projects the compound annual growth rate for hybrid vehicles at 6% for the remainder of the decade. The growth rate for PEVs—which include full electric vehicles (also called battery electric vehicles, or BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs—is projected at nearly 40%. That compares to a growth rate for the overall auto industry of about 2%, according to Pike. It believes PHEVs will outsell EVs in North America and Latin America, while the reverse will be the case in most other regions.
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Ford says the 2013 Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid electric vehicle will deliver more than 100 mpg-equivalent.
Continental is first supplier to receive Nevada license for autonomous-vehicle testing
Continental on Dec. 19 became the first automotive supplier to be granted a license from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to test autonomous vehicles on the state’s public roads. Continental’s testing license is for the company’s highly automated vehicle equipped with an integrated vehicle-control and safety system consisting of four short-range radar sensors, one long-range radar, a stereo camera, and a Motion Domain Controller interfacing with the vehicle’s engine, brakes, and steering. The testing license followed approval of Continental's safety plans, employee training, system functions, and accident reporting protocols by the Nevada DMV’s Autonomous Review Committee. The actual vehicle license plate is red and includes an “infinity” symbol so it can be easily recognized by law enforcement and the public. Continental officials noted in a release that public-roads testing will enable the company to launch series production of partially automated driving systems by 2016, with the goal of fully automated systems ready for production by 2020-25.
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The modified VW Passat used by Continental for highly automated vehicle development has racked up more than 15,000 mi (24,140 km) of testing thus far. It is shown here at the Nevada DMV without its official red license plate.
Toyota Technical Center promotes two engineers
Toyota Technical Center (TTC) on Dec. 19 announced the promotion of engineers Andrew Lund and Kristen Tabar. Lund moves from Executive Program Manager to Chief Engineer for the Toyota Sienna. He came to TTC in 1992 and joined the Sienna team in 2000 as Program Manager before being promoted to Executive Program Manager for the model. Tabar steps up from General Manager, Electrical Systems-2 to Vice President, Electrical Systems Engineering. She was promoted to her current position in 2010 and in that position was responsible for the design and development of multimedia and telematics, including component, systems, and vehicle applications for Lexus and Toyota models. Both earned engineering bachelor's degrees from the University of Michigan and are members of SAE International. The promotions are effective Jan. 7. 2013.
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Andrew Lund and Kristen Tabar.
IAV Automotive Engineering looks to hire engineers in 2013
IAV Automotive Engineering expects to continue experiencing strong growth in U.S. next year and will hire an additional 40 engineers to do so. The company recently announced that sales have increased by more than 50% every year since 2009, when it opened its new headquarters in Northville, MI. For 2013, it expects revenues to have quadrupled since 2010. Part of the global IAV Group, IAV Automotive Engineering is an engineering consultancy serving the automotive industry. It received an AEI Tech Award (click here to see article) earlier this year for its work in hybrid powertrain research.
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Schematic of a parallel hybrid architecture with two electrical axles.
Nissan charges up its new EV battery plant in Tennesee
Nissan recently began operations of its new advanced-battery plant in Tennessee that will supply the energy-storage devices for the Nissan Leafs to be produced at an adjoining vehicle-assembly plant. Regular North American production of the Leaf is to start at the automaker's Smyrna plant early in 2013. To date, the Leaf and its lithium-ion battery pack currently are made in Japan only. The first batteries produced in Smyrna for the 2013 Leaf have completed the required aging process and are ready to receive their first charge, the company said in a recent announcement. The plant is fully integrated, with raw battery cell materials coming in one end and finished battery packs going out the other (see accompanying image). Nissan has not yet released specifications for the 2013 Leaf and its battery pack. The Leaf will be assembled alongside the Nissan Altima and Maxima.
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The production process at Nissan's new U.S. battery plant begins with formation of electrode sheets.
ATK supplying missile warning systems for U.S. and allied military aircraft
The U.S. Navy awarded ATK a $48-million production contract for the manufacture of the AAR-47 Missile Warning System. The award encompasses production of new assemblies, including optical sensor converters and computer processors, as well as options for retrofitting weapon replaceable assembly upgrades and delivery of ATK's Countermeasures Signal Simulator (CSS) to test the systems operability. The AAR-47 missile warning system, believed to be the only system in use today that integrates missile, laser, and hostile fire threat warning into a single system, is installed on fixed and rotary-wing aircraft flown by the U.S. and its allies in more than 16 countries. The systems are installed on aircraft such as the A-10, C-5, C-17, C-130, MC-12W, P-3, CH-53, CH-46, HH/SH-60, AH-1W/Z, UH-1N/Y, and MV-22.
Raytheon to design new military imaging satellites
Raytheon Co. was awarded a $1.5 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract for phase one of the agency's Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements (SeeMe) program. During the next nine months, the company will complete the design for small satellites to enhance warfighter situational awareness in the battlespace. The SeeMe program will provide useful on-demand imagery information directly to the warfighter in the field from a low-cost satellite constellation launched on a schedule that conforms to U.S. Department of Defense operational tempos. For this contract, Raytheon has teamed with Sierra Nevada Corp., University of Arizona, and SRI International to assist with design work and eventually production. Next year, in phase two of the SeeMe program, the Raytheon team would build six satellites for ground testing.
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DARPA’s SeeMe program aims to give mobile individual U.S. warfighters access to on-demand, space-based tactical information in remote and beyond- line-of-sight conditions.
Wireless EV charging advances with Evatran testing program
The City of Raleigh is the first municipality nationwide to join a special program to test wireless electric vehicle charging technology. It joins six other participants to date in the second phase of Evatran's so-called Apollo Program launching early in 2013 to further demonstrate the company's technology, which it brands Plugless Power. Its second-generation "production-intent" model will be used in this phase, with three of the 20-30 total units to be installed in Raleigh municipal parking lots. Evatran will retrofit two Nissan Leafs and one Chevrolet Volt in the city's fleet for use with the charging system. Five prototype wireless charging units were used in the first phase of the Apollo Program, which involved six partners (among them Google and Hertz, which are also participating in the second phase). In a separate matter, the company said it will begin distributing its Plugless Power units in the spring; they will be the first wireless charging units available to individual Leaf and Volt owners.
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Two prototype wireless charging stations are located at Evatran's technology center in Morrisville, NC.
All passenger vehicles to be equipped with black boxes under NHTSA rule
Although about 96% of today's passenger vehicles already are equipped with black boxes (formally called event data recorders, or EDRs), NHTSA (U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is proposing to require their fitment to all new light passenger vehicles of less than 8500 lb. The rule would take effect Sept. 1, 2014. Information collected would pertain to vehicle speed, braking, crash force, engine throttle, airbag deployment, and seatbelt usage. The proposal includes the same standardized data-collection requirements established by NHTSA in 2006 for EDRs that are voluntarily installed by automakers and mandates that automakers provide a commercially available tool for copying the data. In keeping with NHTSA's current policies on EDR data, the EDR data would be treated by NHTSA as the property of the vehicle owner and would not be used or accessed by the agency without owner consent. The agency expects the rule, if adopted, to cost automakers $20 per vehicle. It will accept public feedback on its proposal for the next two months at http://www.regulations.gov.
U.S. Air Force selects Raytheon to develop future Protected SATCOM System
The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon Co. $8.7 million to participate in development of the future protected tactical military satellite communication system. The USAF's objective is to identify cost-effective architectures and component development paths for the future SATCOM system that will follow the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system. Raytheon will design and demonstrate affordable terminal components as well as support the waveform development for the USAF. Raytheon will leverage its long history and deep understanding of protected SATCOM developed from AEHF programs such as the U.S. Navy Multiband Terminal, the U.S. Army's Secure Mobile Anti-jam Reliable Tactical Terminal and the USAF's Minuteman Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network Program Upgrade to meet the government's objectives. All three of Raytheon's AEHF terminals have passed production acquisition milestone decisions and have successfully tested with the on-orbit AEHF satellite.
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