Auto IQ weekly news update, including BorgWarner, Porsche and MIT
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This week, among other things, Automotive IQ has been taking a look at the future of tire pressure monitoring systems.
Seemingly no element of the car, no matter how taken for granted, is exempt from being given an AI-powered reinvention. Find out more here.
We’ve also been looking into the real impact of shared mobility. First we examined the industry as a whole, to discover whether shared mobility is really viable, then we case-studied Uber, amongst others, to see how the industry pin-up is really faring.
And don’t forget to check out our latest infographic – a timeline of when certain autonomous technologies are likely to arrive and which OEMs are spearheading the charge. Download it here for free.
Here’s some other stories that we’ve been musing on this week:
BorgWarner’s Ariel Nomad EV on video
Over a six month period, engineers from BorgWarner replaced the Honda-sourced powertrain of an Ariel Nomad with a collection of its latest EV hardware. And now you can see it in action.
Built as a test bed for BorgWarner’s EV tech – hence the choice of the Nomad for ease of access – the car currently features two BorgWarner High-voltage Hairpin 250 electric motors and eGearDrive gear sets, one for each rear wheel.
The Nomad also uses BorgWarner’s thermal-management system to cool its 350V 30kWh battery pack, which delivers peak power of 200kW. However, the firm is planning to try a host of different battery configurations as part of what looks like a very fun project.
Porsche gets Tactile
Porsche has announced that it’s participating in the latest funding round currently being held by Israeli sensor start-up Tactile Mobility. The Haifa-based company is a specialist in tactile data that uses algorithmic processing of sensor data to simulate the sense of touch.
The technology allows advanced monitoring of road and vehicle conditions over time. In its next generation, it will be able to assess the friction coefficient between tires and the road surfaces on the move, adjusting vehicle systems to suit, while also warning other vehicles using car-to-X communication.
It can also monitor wear over a longer period improve accuracy of servicing and maintenance schedules. Porsches already use some interesting sensor tech, including microphones in the wheel wells of the current 911 that can hear when the car is driving in wet conditions, and advise the driver to switch to a wet weather driving mode. According to Porsche, the new tech detailed here will feature in the next decade.
MIT plays with shadows
MIT has released details of research it’s doing into using shadow detection to help autonomous cars avoid collisions. Funded by the Toyota Research Institute, the MIT system uses a specially developed ShadowCam to detect tiny changes in shadows when a vehicle is approaching a blind corner.
By taking the shadows into account, MIT has found that its system can react fractions of a second faster than conventional LiDAR, significantly reducing the potential for an accident.
Currently, the system is being tested in a parking garage, with the ShadowCam tuned specifically for the light to deliver responses 0.72 seconds faster than LiDAR. However, the next step is to get the system working even faster in both indoor and outdoor environments.
