Cars Of Tomorrow: 3 Technological Advances That Will Change Driving

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

The cost of gasoline has steadily risen since the economic crash of 2008, and car manufacturers have responded by making more fuel efficient vehicles. Toyota and BMW formally agreed to collaborate on perfecting hydrogen fuel technology in 2013, while Ford, Nissan, and Daimler said they would team up to completely revolutionize fuel cells in their vehicles by 2017, according to the Economist. 

New car technology is usually dictated by economic conditions or public demand. The 1973 oil embargo by several OPEC member nations caused long lines at the pump, while a barrel of oil quadrupled in price within a 12 month period. The following year GM, Ford and Chrysler all made cruise control a mainstream option for their vehicles to help drivers save gas, while lawmakers pushed conservation and domestic energy efforts, including the enactment of the national 55 mph speed limit in 1973. 

The technology of tomorrow will continue to make cars more efficient and safe, and will bring more comfort and convenience to the driver. These three features are the next big advances that will soon be just as common as rear-view mirrors in most U.S.-made vehicles:

Forward Collision Avoidance Systems

Most DMV practice tests online will advise drivers to keep a safe following distance of about 3 seconds between your car and the one ahead of you. But new technology will soon remove human judgment from the driving equation altogether.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimates forward-collision avoidance systems reduce crashes by up to 7 percent, and up to 14 percent if they include auto-braking features. An alarm will sound when the system senses the speed and trajectory of a vehicle is likely to lead to some type of collision. The IIHS rates all manufacturer system, from basic to superior, based on its capabilities.

A basic rating, for instance, is given to vehicles that meet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's criteria on at least 5 of 7 test runs. There are 74 vehicles with forward-collision avoidance systems, including the 2014 models of the Cadillac ATS, Mercedes C-Class Sedan and Subaru Legacy, that have earned the organization's advanced rating. The 2014 Acura MDX SUV and 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee Cherokee are among the models with superior ratings.

David Zuby, the chief research officer for IIHS, said auto-braking features will help inattentive and older drivers avoid fender benders, and ultimately lower insurance costs.

Camless Engines

A typical four-stroke piston engine utilizes camshafts to run the followers and open the valves that regulate gasoline flow. But if Christian von Koenigsegg of Sweden's Koenigsegg Automotive has his way, camshafts will be a thing of the past by 2020. He told Jalopnik at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show that his company has been working on a camless engine for several years and believes it will be the rule rather than the exception for automobiles in the near future.

All the valves in a camless engine will function independently, translating to better fuel efficiency and horse power. Several manufacturers, including BMW, GM, and Ford have been tinkering with the idea, but it appears the technology may still be a few years away from being available to the masses.

Cargines and LaunchPoint Technologies are currently the leaders in camless engines. Brian Paden, the lead designer for the LaunchPoint, told Car-Engineer.com that this type of valve timing technology will increase fuel efficiency by 20 percent, reduce emissions by 10 percent, and improve torque by up to 13 percent.

Hands-Free Driving

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers predicts 60 percent of cars will be connected to the Internet by 2025. This first step is essential to the organization's other major prediction: that 75 percent of vehicles will be self-driving by 2040.

Autonomous cars not only have to be able to communicate with one another, but also with the satellites that safely route them. These vehicles will enable blind individuals, along with the handicapped and elderly, to drive to the grocery store and even take cross-country road trips. Google announced in April that its driverless technology completed over 700,000 miles of driving without an accident.

The National Highway and Safety Administration estimates car accidents cost the country nearly $900 billion a year. The International Organsation for Road Accident Prevention estimates more than 90 percent of accidents are caused by human error. Driverless technology can eliminate most accidents, the need for traffic lights, and lower insurance premiums for all drivers.

Driverless vehicles are currently only being tested in the states of California, Nevada, Michigan, and Florida.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Best Cars of 2014 Under $60K

Be sure to leave your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback on this kind of research!

*by andreascy*

Invisible Mercedes Car

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

When Mercedes wanted to promote its new fuel cell vehicle, instead of placing it squarely in front of everyone in the world, the company decided to make the car invisible by covering it with LEDs.

Enjoy the video!

ARTICLE OF THE DAY: Self-Driving Cars of the Imminent and Distant Future

Whatya think? 😎

*by andreascy*

Apple Submits Mobile Hydrogen Fuel Cell Patent

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

Apple has submitted a patent request to the US Patent and Trademark Office that aim to replace lithium batteries in handheld computers with hydrogen fuel cells.

Until now we’ve only thought of hydrogen fuel cells in cars, but there is no reason why they couldn’t work in any device. The replacement cells would in fact be smaller and provide power for days or weeks! Microprocessor manufacturers like ARM are constantly battling to not only create faster chips, but also ones which use less power. A better power source could potentially allow them to drastically increase the speed of mobile devices.

Apple justifies the new technology saying that the United States is required to maintain relationships with corrupt governments which supply the chemicals in lithium batteries. They’ve obviously also sparked by the recent oil spill of which an oil rig, subcontracted by BP, caused massive damage to the US coastline. 

According to two published Apple patent applications, called "Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device" and "Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device," Apple is looking to build lighter and smaller mobile devices like MacBooks (Air, Pro) by replacing current batteries with a fuel cell system.

This may not come as a surprise to many, since Apple has filed other patent applications for lighter hydrogen fuel cells. Those patents, which were brought to light this past October, described a building process where multiple fuel cells are connected by a power bus in a parallel pattern, and a voltage-multiplying circuit is added for additional voltage to the stack. 

Now, Apple hopes to utilize these lighter, more efficient fuel cells in its mobile products in an effort to promote renewable energy sources and offer devices with the ability to run for days or even weeks without refueling, according to the patent applications. The devices will also be lighter and less bulky due to the lack of traditional batteries.

The first patent application, "Fuel Cell System to Power a Portable Computing Device," states Apple's case for wanting to use fuel cell technology in their devices. While current fuel cell technology for mobile products requires the user to carry a fuel cartridge for recharging purposes, Apple wants to integrate fuel cells right into their electronics.

The second patent application, "Fuel Cell System Coupled to a Portable Computing Device," describes how the fuel cell system would work with a rechargeable battery where one would power the other when necessary, and vice versa.

"This eliminates the need for a bulky and heavy battery within the fuel system, which can significantly reduce the size, weight, and cost of the fuel system," said the second patent application. "This fuel system includes a fuel stack cell which converts fuel into electrical power. It also includes a controller which controls operation of the fuel cell system."

One challenge will be creating a hydrogen fuel cell system that is cost-effective, according to Apple. 

Sources : CNET, Apple Insider

*by andreascy*

Hybrid system : Produce Hydrogen from Sunlight and Water

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

An interesting twist on the Hydrogen production system using sunlight and water to react with copper and aluminium oxide that when heated to 200 Degrees Celsius and combined with “catalytic nanoparticles” initiate a chemical reaction to quickly release the stored hydrogen. The Hydrogen is then fed into a Fuel cell battery to provide a constant source of power to a household.

The idea basically being that all the hydrogen for one day can be created quickly from the chemical reaction and then temporarily stored in holding containers reliving the necessity to permanently store hydrogen which is a major obstacle for a Hydrogen based economy. 

If the demonstration system can confirm the suggested results from the preliminary modelling this would be a handy way to provide a constant source of energy to a household without having to worry about battery replacements every few years and could be built into every house. 

The hybrid device contains series of copper tubes coated with a thin layer of aluminum and aluminum oxide and partly filled with catalytic nanoparticles. A combination of water and methanol flows through the vacuum-sealed tubes. 

“This set-up allows up to 95% of the sunlight to be absorbed with very little being lost as heat to the surroundings,” Hotz said (Nico Hotz, Engineer on Duke University). “This is crucial because it permits us to achieve temperatures of well over 200 ºC within the tubes. By comparison, a standard solar collector can only heat water between 60 and 7 ºC.”. 

Once the evaporated liquid achieves a high enough temperature, tiny amounts of a catalyst are added. The combination of high temperature and catalysts produces hydrogen very efficiently, Hotz said. The hydrogen can be immediately directed to a fuel cell to provide electricity to a building during the day, or compressed and stored in a tank to provide power later.  Read more about this system on Solar Novus Today. 

Have you read this? 

Remaining as one of our most popular articles. Please leave your thoughts and share with others. Stay tuned!

*by andreascy*

Fuel Cell Battery and Charger Combo (Portable)

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description : 

While cars are making a shift to electricity in place of gasoline, engineers are actively looking for technologies that free consumers from the need to plug into electrical outlets when charging electronic and mobile devices.

This just in from myFC, a Swedish Fuel cell manufacturer is the new PowerTrekk fuel cell and battery combo, that provides enough power to charge a phone via usb. 

The energy is obtained from water via the fuel pack. By filling the PowerTrekk with water and connecting it to any USB mobile charger, whether a USB lamp, GPS or phone, charging begins automatically and shuts down once it has finished. The device has a lighted display on one side that indicates the level of power delivered. It also contains an internal battery. 

“This is a green product, because the only waste from it is water,” Westerholm points out. “When you are on the go you can always find water. It doesn’t matter if you have fresh water or salt, any type is good. It is green even in terms of construction, because we don’t need to use very much material to create sufficient power.” 

Specifications : 

Rated output : 5V, 1000 mA 

Rated input : 5V, 500 mA 

Internal buffer : Li-ion, 1600 mAh 

Fuel cell : PEM 4 cell unit 1000 mAh 

Charging input port : Micro USB 

Charging output port : USB-A

What i want to see are less expensive fuel cells. As we lower our energy consumption, the power companies just raise the rates, to protect their cash flows. Give us more "off the grid" options at reasonable cost. Actually the problem was never the availability of power. It's the abusive pricing structure imposed by the production/distribution syndicates. 

Let us know what you think.

*by andreascy*

Nocera’s Solar Leaf Revisited

Posted by Andreas Christodoulou

Description :

MIT scientist Daniel Nocera has released new publicity around his solar leaf concept. The basic idea is that instead of converting sunlight to electricity and storing it in a battery, use the electricity to split hydrogen from water allowing the hydrogen to be used in a hydrogen fuel cell. An inherently lossy process which will require a system to keep hydrogen and oxygen separated until it can be directed into the fuel cell for conversion back to electricity. Theoretically it could provide an almost permanent supply of electricity and stored energy if combined with a rain water capture system. However due to the lossiness of the conversion process it does seem to be running at a significant disadvantage to normal electricity storage in the form of a Lithium Ion battery. However as it is using a fuel cell that probably requires at least some rare earth elements during the manufacturing process which will of course contribute greatly to the amount of energy consumed to completely make the system.

In the meantime a Japanese company has already taken the process to it’s inevitable conclusion and produced a full scale home sized hydrogen conversion system. They claim that with a solar panel, 1500 cc of water and their hydrogen conversion and storage system they can provide 5000 KwH of electricity which is around that amount that an average home would use during a night. 5000 KwH is approx enough stored energy to provide 16 hours of electricity to an average home PC with a 300 watt power supply. However if you add a refrigerator or washing machine into the mix you start to see some significant decreases in energy supply time. The main benefit of this system is that it can be run simply on water and solar. Once the investment is made it will provide around 50 years of constant supply of energy as long as you don’t need to use more than 5000 KwH of energy between charges. If connected to a rain water capture system it is theoretically a 50 year life cycle version of a perpetual mobile. It will no doubt be very useful as a replacement for fossil fuels in low energy consuming households. Combined with a larger solar hot water and electricity storage system and you would be able to live with a degree of energy security.

If Nocera has a better and cheaper more energy efficient system up his sleeve he is keeping the details to himself at the moment. No doubt he is still waiting for approval from MIT to do something actually useful for a change. The general rule of thumb with anything from MIT is that it never actually gets anywhere other than securing more funding for the scientists involved in the projects.

*by andreascy*