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TECH NEWS

DECEMBER 2001

Crash ‘n’ learn
Collision avoidance systems - which use radar, video cameras and drive-by-wire to steer a car out of trouble - are some way off. But field trials will be carried out in the US this year by GM and Delphi to see how members of the public will cope with ‘intelligent’ cars equipped with collision warning systems. Drivers’ responses to different types of warning systems will be evaluated and the information eventually used to develop a production version.

Raising key issues
Ford research engineers and scientists have incorporated military technology into a key fob that can warn you whether a child or pet has been left in a car. The project, called SecureCar and based on a Volvo S80, is designed to prevent parents unintentionally leaving children in their car, or even warn them that a child has become locked in the boot while playing. Sensors measure tiny vibrations in the car’s structure and match them against the known pattern of a human heart beat. The new technology also works for pets.

Cutting SUV thirst
Ford is testing infinitely variable transmissions (IVTs) on SUVs in a bid to reduce fuel consumption by a tenth. Unlike continuously variable transmission, where a steel belt transmits the drive, IVTs transmit power through a series of discs; metal-to-metal contact being prevented by a special fluid. A prototype Expedition demonstrated the same unpleasant wailing note of a CVT - and insiders believe it to be too heavy and expensive to bring into production.

NOVEMBER 2001

Green spark
Saab’s Combustion Control retains exhaust in its cylinders, reducing emissions of NOx by excluding unwanted air. The project stalled at the research stage because the special air-assisted injection system it needs, designed by Orbital Engine Corporation, was not yet in production. But Delphi will make Orbital’s system for use in conventional direct injection engines, so Saab’s SCC could become reality.

New ali-cats
The aluminium intensive technology planned for next-generation XJ saloons indicates how Jaguar expects to build future performance cars in the face of soaring fuel costs and tougher emissions laws.

“A degree of intensiveness will be applied to the body and key components,” says Jaguar MD, Jonathan Browning. Larger, powerful cars will still be in demand in the future, he says, but only if they become more fuel efficient by losing weight.

Moving music
Dolby surround sound has moved from cinemas and living rooms to cars. The system, which debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, uses existing speaker installations in cars but with five channels of sound. The system works best when used with built-in DVD and games consoles in multimedia-equipped MPVs. It can also work through headphones so rear-seat passengers get the full effect without distracting the driver.

Source

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