EPN Automotive Electronics Blog

The car train

One of the real interesting things about electric cars is that they don’t necessarily have to conform to traditional car construction principles. Unfortunately, electric cars usually are produced by traditional car manufacturers who tend not to think out of their boxes. Independent research institutes aren’t that limited.

Great pics of a tiny car

... and a video that shows how Austrians fabricate a nano racer:

http://amt.tuwien.ac.at/fileadmin/t/amt/research/2012-02-03_High_Speed_Presseaussendung_v2_Zeitlupe.mpg

 

 

Backpack car

The concept of adding a trailer to a car is not exactly new but traditional solutions require a fixed coupling, extended mirrors and in many countries a special license. A Swiss car designer changes the game with a plug-in solution.

World Solar Challenge 2011 wrap-up

»Outback racers« makes it clear that European technology can compete successfully, even in Australia. And it keeps getting better!

Joystick for delivery

Delivery cars are everywhere and they are, at least in Germany, one of the major hazards for traffic safety and the environment. A think tank on future transport and mobility issues has just projected a new type of vehicle.

Volks-qìchē 人民 汽车

When Homer J. Simpson met his half-brother for the first time in ‘Oh Brother Where Art Thou’, he was given the opportunity to design a car for the everyday person. This resulted in lots of laughter, a bankruptcy and the brothers falling apart. Volkswagen is trying something similar in the People’s Republic of China, obviously called the »People’s Car Project«.

Capacitors for Student Racer

It’s time for a new edition of the Formula Student Electric Competition. Due to some problems with the application forms the deadline has just been extended, and the all-time favourite from Munich won’t have supply problems regarding passives.

Sensitive for crash situations

More safety – less dead victims: Freescale Semiconductor expands its Xtrinsic sensing portfolio with “intelligent” radar technology. Using Silicon Germanium (SiGe) instead of Gallium Arsenid (GaAs), the 77 GHz chipset enables vehicles to sense potential crash situations, claims the company.

The muffled truck

Particularly in metropolitan and urban areas, the noise produced by delivery trucks, buses, coaches and urban municipal vehicles constitutes a form of environmental pollution. A special ant-sound-technology might prove helpful.

The speed of electricity

One of the really exciting opportunities of electrically powered cars is that they won’t have to look like cars used to. Small motors, no exhaust pipes, gear boxes and fuel tanks, but flexibly configurable batteries. At ‘normal’ speeds, not even aerodynamic is an issue. It is, however, when the vehicle is powered with 340 horsepowers.