Automotive engineers are constantly working and testing in their laboratories to introduce new advanced features and technologies to the automotive industry. Thanks to innovative developments, there are new options and interesting engineering solutions in today’s production cars. You may have noticed that the pace of automotive innovation has accelerated in recent years. Every year, more and more high-tech technologies appear in the auto industry. The most amazing thing is that new technologies have started to appear even on economy cars. For example, such things as navigation systems, blind-spot monitoring systems, automatic emergency braking systems, and even adaptive cruise control have become available even in the low-cost car segment today. Ten years ago, many of these technologies seemed like science fiction. Today, I will tell you what new automotive technologies have actually been invented.
Super Plastics
Now that carbon fiber composites are gaining traction, suppliers have begun researching other hybrid materials that can effectively absorb impact forces in collisions and help save weight. BASF, Bekaert, and Voestalpine are collaborating on a thermoplastic reinforced with steel cable. The result of their work is already being tested on portable models of future cars. The bumper beams, body parts, and interior trim of these cars are made of high-pressure molded reinforced plastic and will perfectly combine the characteristics of structural integrity and energy absorption, with a level of manufacturing complexity and cost that is minimal. So far, the appearance of this material leaves much to be desired, but I’m sure clever and savvy car manufacturers will give artificial appeal to this material – chrome or “wood-like”.
New Automotive Technology to Combat “Hybrid Snobs”
Plenty of car enthusiasts constantly find excuses not to buy a hybrid car. One of those excuses is the fear of running out of electric battery power, on the road. Improved infrastructure for electric cars will help reduce the range of such worries somewhat, but electric vehicles could also greatly benefit from the creation of onboard “mileage extenders.”
Employees of car brands such as Audi, BMW, Lotus, Mazda, and two European engineering companies, AVL and FEV, recently did some research into creating “mileage extenders,” which resulted in a compact, engine-driven generator that increases the car’s rolling power supply. The ultimate solution to increasing the amount of energy in a car hybrid battery, could be a portable hydrogen fuel cell, which would load in your trunk with your stuff and serve as an additional source of energy for the car, but unfortunately research in the field of hydrogen fuel for the car, standstill.
These days, turning off the engine at a stoplight to save fuel is becoming standard, no longer a new automotive technology, although it does require a special, prepared electrical system. The nickel-zinc battery, patented by Thomas Edison back in 1901, is the first candidate to replace conventional lead-acid batteries because it can handle aggressive start-stop cycles without losing performance or harming the battery itself. The manufacturer of Power Genix nickel-zinc batteries claims that, compared to lead-acid batteries, nickel-zinc batteries last twice as long, weigh 60 percent less, and are much easier to dispose of wi-fi car for pedestrian safety
Wireless Pedestrian Safety System
About three thousand motorists in Michigan, USA, are involved in a Department of Transportation study that uses wireless vehicle-to-car connectivity to avoid collisions. By developing this idea, GM wants to help drivers avoid collisions not only with each other but also with pedestrians. Their program is based on a new in-car technology called Wi-Fi Direct, which allows the smartphone of the person driving the car to communicate with the smartphone of the pedestrian through cell phone towers. Direct connection reduces the time it takes to identify a hazard from eight seconds to one.
3D Projections in Front of The Driver’s Face 3D Panel in The Car
These days, three-dimensional imaging is not a gimmick to anyone. It began its life on movie screens and has migrated into our living rooms on television screens. Now it’s time for 3D in automotive technology, too. Using thin-film transistor conductors, Johnson Controls has created an experimental 3D dashboard that displays important information in the foreground while the secondary data is deeper, but also in the driver’s field of view. This new high tech for the car can also add realism to navigation systems and an action feel to DVRs.
Free Fuel in The Parking Lot
Global retail giants Best Buy, IKEA, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and drugstore chain Walgreens have begun installing free charging stations for electric cars in their parking lots. After a successful start in California, USA, Walgreens has already installed 385 such stations across the country and plans to at least double their number. Government subsidies cover most of the costs, and the electricity, which is used to charge electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, costs a penny an hour. Hopefully, domestic retailers will also pick up on the Western experience, and if they don’t start handing out free gasoline, maybe at least wipe their windshields.
A New Technology in The Car Called Pulse Re-Cycle
A major contributor to hybrid efficiency is regenerative braking. But who says this trick should be exclusive to hybrid cars? Starting with the 2010 Gran Turismo 5-Series, BMW offers generators programmed to charge mostly during braking, a fuel-saving measure called brake energy regeneration. Mazda has its own version of this system called i-Eloop (intelligent energy loop or smart energy loop), which stores pulses in a capacitor. The climate control and infotainment system in the 2013 Mazda 6 model draw its energy entirely from the capacitor, rather than from an engine-driven generator.
Thus, the automotive industry is one of the most advanced industries, which accumulates almost all inventions in the field of technology, making vehicles safer and more comfortable. And when creating new systems and technologies, it is not uncommon for the longest-standing competitors to come together, and sometimes they come up with the same solution at the same time. Today we looked at the most popular automotive technologies of the future, and I hope this article was useful for you!