Post(s) tagged with "automotive"


How To Get Around The Peak Car Conundrum BY DR. PETER GRAF AND GIL PEREZ, fastcoexist.com
We have tons of cars—and tons of congestion. But new breakthroughs in connecting cars to the cloud (and eliminating the need for car ownership) show what a better future for cars might look like.
By all accounts, the glob­al auto­mo­tive indus­…

The talk about Peak Car is picking up speed. Maybe the discussion in itself will enforce the phenomenon further…mo

How To Get Around The Peak Car Conundrum
BY DR. PETER GRAF AND GIL PEREZ, fastcoexist.com

We have tons of cars—and tons of congestion. But new breakthroughs in connecting cars to the cloud (and eliminating the need for car ownership) show what a better future for cars might look like.

By all accounts, the glob­al auto­mo­tive indus­…

The talk about Peak Car is picking up speed. Maybe the discussion in itself will enforce the phenomenon further…mo

emergentfutures:

Google: Self-driving cars in 3-5 years. Feds: Not so fast


The self-driving car could be available to consumers in 3-5 years, the head of Google’s autonomous driving project says. That’s the most optimistic timeframe yet. Other projections have been for 2020 and beyond,
 
Full Story: ExtremeTech

It is an interesting time frame target in the slow moving automotive/traffic legislation world… Can we predict some tension coming up here? What will states or cities who wish to be seen as progressive do?

emergentfutures:

Google: Self-driving cars in 3-5 years. Feds: Not so fast

The self-driving car could be available to consumers in 3-5 years, the head of Google’s autonomous driving project says. That’s the most optimistic timeframe yet. Other projections have been for 2020 and beyond,

 

Full Story: ExtremeTech

It is an interesting time frame target in the slow moving automotive/traffic legislation world… Can we predict some tension coming up here? What will states or cities who wish to be seen as progressive do?

Here come the 3D printed cars, courtesy of Canada ⇢

There might have been a time when I would have been surprised to hear that someone was using 3D printers to make a car. But, well, this is 2013.

The car in this case is the Urbee, a tiny three-wheeled economy car with an electric motor, internal combustion engine, and 3D-printed frame. Designed by the Manitoba-based Kor EcoLogic, the Urbee was manufactured using a Stratasys Fortus printer, which is able to cut down on parts by printing the Urbee in roughly 50 large blocks.

stoweboyd:


Air-powered hybrid car unveiled.
Peugeot Citroen have shown off a hybrid car which can run on petrol or compressed air, or a combination of both.
The ‘Hybrid Air’ system uses a petrol engine for travelling at ‘cruising’ speeds, where the makers say petrol is still the most efficient power source. At slower speeds or when the vehicle needs extra power to climb a hill, the car uses a combination of compressed air and petrol. At slower speeds below 43mph the car runs solely on compressed air until the supply runs out.
The air tanks are refilled during all modes of driving, by re-using energy normally lost during slowing down and braking, instead using that energy to run an air compressor. The makers claim an average fuel saving of 45 percent, and when driving solely around cities at slower speeds that figure could rise to 80 percent.
The car is expected to be available by 2016.

(h/t 8bitfuture)

stoweboyd:


Air-powered hybrid car unveiled.

Peugeot Citroen have shown off a hybrid car which can run on petrol or compressed air, or a combination of both.

The ‘Hybrid Air’ system uses a petrol engine for travelling at ‘cruising’ speeds, where the makers say petrol is still the most efficient power source. At slower speeds or when the vehicle needs extra power to climb a hill, the car uses a combination of compressed air and petrol. At slower speeds below 43mph the car runs solely on compressed air until the supply runs out.

The air tanks are refilled during all modes of driving, by re-using energy normally lost during slowing down and braking, instead using that energy to run an air compressor. The makers claim an average fuel saving of 45 percent, and when driving solely around cities at slower speeds that figure could rise to 80 percent.

The car is expected to be available by 2016.

(h/t 8bitfuture)

Daily Mail

Ford, GM Open Their Dashboards to Outside Developers | Autopia | Wired.com

LAS VEGAS — Automakers, hoping to get ahead of the technology curve for once, are opening their dashboards and APIs to outside developers in a bid to ramp up the number of apps you can use behind the wheel.
Ford and General Motors rolled into CES saying they want to make it easier than ever for developers to create apps that will make their infotainment systems more entertaining, more engaging and more useful.
The moves are desperately needed, because developers have been slow to code for cars.

I still don’t understand why any one would like to write apps for the car when we everybody have the iPhone, iPad or Android based devices in our pocket. If Apple and Google et al are working on good eye glass interface you don’t even have to fiddle with the device in your lap…

Ford, GM Open Their Dashboards to Outside Developers | Autopia | Wired.com

LAS VEGAS — Automakers, hoping to get ahead of the technology curve for once, are opening their dashboards and APIs to outside developers in a bid to ramp up the number of apps you can use behind the wheel.

Ford and General Motors rolled into CES saying they want to make it easier than ever for developers to create apps that will make their infotainment systems more entertaining, more engaging and more useful.

The moves are desperately needed, because developers have been slow to code for cars.

I still don’t understand why any one would like to write apps for the car when we everybody have the iPhone, iPad or Android based devices in our pocket. If Apple and Google et al are working on good eye glass interface you don’t even have to fiddle with the device in your lap…

Wired

Toyota Unveils an Autonomous Car, but Says It’ll Keep Drivers in Control ⇢

technologyreview.com

The carmaker discusses research that could make cars autonomous and eliminate traffic fatalities.Toyota, the Japanese auto giant, hopes to sell more of its cars to people while giving them less of a role in piloting those vehicles. At a press…

DealBook: Avis to Buy Zipcar for $500 Million ⇢

By DEALBOOK, nytimes.com

The deal represents a new direction for Avis in the fiercely competitive car rental market. Rivals Hertz Global and Enterprise each have hourly rental operations that compete with Zipcar.

The fight for the urban population mobility is picking up… Manufacturers, beware! Your sale will go down when car utilization is going up…

Areion: The 3D printed racer which reaches 88mph | SmartPlanet

Areion: The 3D printed racer which reaches 88mph | SmartPlanet

Source: smartplanet.com

emergentfutures:

Robot cars could increase highway efficiency 273 percent: Study


Cooperative self-driving cars could nearly triple the capacity of our highways, says a new study on the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles. By working together, cars can travel far more efficiently than if they act on their own.

Full Story: NBC

Another argument, beside safety concerns, which politicians might adopt.

emergentfutures:

Robot cars could increase highway efficiency 273 percent: Study

Cooperative self-driving cars could nearly triple the capacity of our highways, says a new study on the potential benefits of autonomous vehicles. By working together, cars can travel far more efficiently than if they act on their own.


Full Story: NBC

Another argument, beside safety concerns, which politicians might adopt.

America's Generation Y not driven to drive - Yahoo! News ⇢

From 2001 to 2009, the average annual number of vehicle-miles traveled by people ages 16-34 dropped 23 percent, from 10,300 to 7,900, the survey found. Gen Y-ers, also known as Millennials, tend to ride bicycles, take public transit and rely on virtual media.

More than a quarter of Millennials - 26 percent - lacked a driver’s license in 2010, up 5 percentage points from 2000, the Federal Highway Administration reported.

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P A Martin Börjesson

To be able to see the future emerge we have to throw a wide net to catch the weak signals. In this tumble I collect things I find valuable for my work as scenario planner, strategist and futurist - for more info about me go to www.futuramb.se.


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