I was had planned to do a long post on self-driving cars a quite long time. I was planning to do one this spring, but I might not do that, because it seems that predictions that self-driving cars would be here in 2020 were far too rosy. Five years ago, several companies including Nissan and Toyota promised self-driving cars in 2020. So it may be wise to take any new forecasts with a grain of salt. Hare is a worth to check out article of the current status of self-driving cars:
Surprise! 2020 Is Not the Year for Self-Driving Cars
https://spectrum.ieee.org/transportation/self-driving/surprise-2020-is-not-the-year-for-selfdriving-cars
In March, because of the coronavirus, self-driving car companies, including Argo, Aurora, Cruise, Pony, and Waymo, suspended vehicle testing and operations that involved a human driver. Around the same time, Waymo and Ford released open data sets of information collected during autonomous-vehicle tests and challenged developers to use them to come up with faster and smarter self-driving algorithms.
It seems that the self-driving car industry still hopes to make meaningful progress on autonomous vehicles (AVs) this year, but the industry is slowed by the pandemic and facing a set of very hard problems that have gotten no easier to solve over the years.
1,911 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/e-e-architecture-considerations-for-av-development/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/breaking-down-amazon-aws-in-automotive-context/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/11954-renesasin-tulipalo-iso-isku-autoteollisuudelle
Kun Renesasin osuus autoelektroniikan piirien tuotannosta on noin kolmannes ja N3 on keskittynyt juuri esimerkiksi ADAS-järjestelmien siruihin, tulee tulipalo vaikuttamaan järjestelmien ja myös autojen tuotantoon.
Autoelektroniikka on valtava liiketoiminta. Esimerkiksi IHS-tutkimuslaitoksen mukaan autoihin myydään vuonna 2026 puolijohteita jo 67,6 miljardilla dollarilla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/03/30/kannykkavalmistaja-laajentaa-sahkoautoihin/
Kiinalainen kännyköitä ja muuta elektroniikkaa valmistava Xiaomi laajentaa toimintaansa älykkäiden sähköajoneuvojen markkinoille. Tänään yritys esitteli myös uuden taitettavan älypuhelinmallin, jollaisen ovat esitelleet aiemmin jo Samsung ja Huwawei.
Tomi Engdahl says:
ELECTRIC VEHICLES & My Tesla Model 3 Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFLopMOIjc8
So, let’s look at EV cars in general and see if this Tesla thing is any good.
Tomi Engdahl says:
What’s Next for Electric Vehicles?
https://www.eetimes.eu/whats-next-for-electric-vehicles/?utm_source=eeteurope&utm_medium=nl&utm_campaign=2021-04-01&utm_content=head
The automotive industry is undergoing a sea change from the internal combustion engine (ICE) to an all-electric power platform supported by wide-bandgap materials. The shift to power electronics based on gallium nitride or silicon carbide is occurring because the theoretical limits of silicon MOSFETs have been reached for many power systems. Battery charging is the first high-volume market to demonstrate GaN adoption, and SiC devices are increasingly used in high-voltage power converters with strict size, weight, and efficiency requirements.
CES 2021 showcased many updates to power electronics solutions and devices. Even in its new, all-virtual format, the event was an opportunity to engage with peers and explore the strides being made with GaN and SiC to accelerate our world’s electrification while reducing our CO2 footprint. The use of new materials will allow us to reduce energy losses with significant energy savings.
Tomi Engdahl says:
With ongoing disruptions and shortages on the horizon for supplies of microcontrollers (MCUs), automotive companies are now facing shortages leading to stalled production lines. Demand for electronic products is rising, including in electric vehicle production, which intensifies the problem. There are solutions to help avoid missing critical start-of-production deadlines though.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In ‘Race to Autonomy,’ It’s Time to Earn Trust
https://www.eetimes.com/in-race-to-autonomy-its-time-to-earn-trust/
In the race to autonomy, electronics and systems suppliers focused on the development of the best autonomous vehicle (AV) technology and exclusively pursued a single key audience: investors. In contrast, the race to AV safety has many stakeholders, making it an entirely different game that hardly anyone seems willing to play.
So far, while testing their vehicles on public roads, AV companies have kept disclosure of their cumulative data as opaque as possible. They have relied on such measures as miles driven and disengagements (when safety drivers had to intervene) to claim the safety of their self-driving vehicles. Painting a positive picture for investors is imperative for covering the enormous AV development costs.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NCAP, Radar & Autonomous Emergency Braking for L2+
https://www.eetimes.com/ncap-radar-autonomous-emergency-braking-for-l2/
Global New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) roadmaps continue to evolve in lockstep with growing consumer demand for sophisticated safety features previously reserved as premium features for high-end vehicles. Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) is a prime example. Formerly exclusive to luxury-class vehicles, AEB has since become a required feature for automotive OEMs seeking five-star safety ratings for their mass market-accessible vehicle models due to some government bodies’ mandated regulation.
In parallel to this market trend, AEB technology itself is evolving to meet stringent safety and reliability standards — and consumer expectations. With continued advancements in high-precision automotive radar sensors, AEB object detection capabilities are expanding to improve sensitivity to complex urban environments with obstructed pedestrians, cyclists, pets, and more. This is where previously AEB could only detect braking vehicles and other large, unobstructed objects directly ahead.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forgotten Tech — Self Driving Cars
https://hackaday.com/2021/04/06/forgotten-tech-self-driving-cars/
The notion of self driving cars isn’t new. You might be surprised at the number of such projects dating back to the 1920s. Many of these systems relied on external aids built into the roadways. It’s only recently that self driving cars on existing roadways are becoming closer to reality than fiction — increased computer processing power, smaller and power-efficient computers, compact Lidar and millimeter-wave Radar sensors are but a few enabling technologies. In South Korea, [Prof Min-hong Han] and his team of students took advantage of these technological advances and built an autonomous car which successfully navigated the streets of Seoul in several field trials. A second version subsequently drove itself along the 300 km journey from Seoul to the southern port city Busan. You might think this is boring news, until you realize this was accomplished back in the early 1990s using an Intel 386-powered desktop computer.
The project created a lot of buzz at the time, and was shown at the Daejeon Expo ’93 international exposition. Alas, the government eventually decided to cancel the research program, as it didn’t fit into their focus on heavy industries like ship building and steel production.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRIjYRQW6G9dMua40FjwjHQ/videos
Tomi Engdahl says:
Learn about the challenges facing autonomous vehicles with the help of two free, on-demand webinars from the IEEE Standards Association
How To Make Autonomous Cars Trustworthy and Free from Cybersecurity Threats
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-institute/ieee-products-services/how-to-make-autonomous-cars-trustworthy-and-free-from-cybersecurity-threats
Autonomous vehicles are becoming smarter because they are being powered by computerization and artificial intelligence. They eventually will be able to communicate with each other and the infrastructure, maneuver flexibly while sensing their surroundings, and allow drivers to go from being operators to passengers.
The rise of autonomous vehicles also brings about risks and vulnerabilities, however. Can smart cars be trusted? How can the cybersecurity of connected cars be ensured?
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2021/04/08/electric-vehicle-1900s-style-new-leases-on-old-tech/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Forget SUVs. These auto makers think tiny electric cars are the next big thing
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/04/08/success/small-electric-cars/index.html?utm_source=fbbusiness&utm_term=link&utm_medium=social&utm_content=2021-04-08T18%3A29%3A07
Americans have long had a love affair with big SUVs that can carry more people and stuff than they usually need to transport and go much further than most of us drive in a day. But now there’s a number of start ups that are betting they can sell car shoppers on vehicles that offer the exact opposite.
These companies are unveiling tiny electric cars that will carry just one or two people and, in many cases, go relatively short distances on a single charge.
It’s a trend-bucking idea that’s been tried — and failed — before. But better technology, allowing ranges of more than 100 miles with small battery packs, is making it possible.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/04/13/volvo-liittoutui-nvidian-kanssa-uusi-piirialusta-robottiautoihin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
ASIL Requirements Drive Memory Evaluations
https://www.eetimes.com/asil-requirements-drive-memory-evaluations/
It will be a while before DDR5 dominates the DRAM market, but when it comes to automotive applications, it makes sense to get a head start to qualify memory devices to meet reliability and functional safety requirements in the latest and greatest automotive systems.
Micron Technology recently began sampling its low-power DDR5 DRAM (LPDDR5) memory that is hardware-evaluated to meet the most stringent Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL), ASIL D. It’s one of many companies supplying semiconductor content to the automotive market that seeks external certification or review to meet the requirements of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 26262 standard that is widely applied automotive systems. The ISO 26262 standard covers automotive functional safety, including advanced-driver assistance system (ADAS) technologies that were once a premium feature, but now prevalent on all new vehicles.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huang Harangue Heralds AV ‘Trillions’
https://www.eetimes.com/huang-harangue-heralds-av-trillions/
Today, the autonomous vehicles (AV) market is more promising than potent. It still has a long way to go before growing into a volume business. But that uncertainty did not stop Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s CEO, from touting his company’s plan to corner what he describes as a “multi-trillion-dollar transportation ecosystem.”
Talking about AVs during a keynote speech at Nvidia’s Graphic Technology Conference (GTU) Monday, Huang said, “Twenty years ago, all of this was science fiction. 10 years ago, it was a dream. Today, we’re living it.”
Although all the speech seemed classic Huang bravado, a slew of Nvidia technology announcements Monday provided impressive substance.
Huang revealed DRIVE Atlan, scheduled for production in 2025 models. Nvidia’s next-generation DRIVE SoC will deliver 1,000 TOPS. The Atlan consists of a new CPU, GPU and deep learning accelerator (DLA) with the latest in networking and security necessary for next-generation AVs.
Also rolling out was DRIVE Hyperion 8, Nvidia’s AV platform designed for data collection, AV development and testing.
Huang also announced DRIVE Sim, Nvidia’s new simulation suite enabled by Nvidia Omniverse for digital twin — needed for running real-world scenarios for AV development and validation.
All in all, Nvidia claims to have an $8 billion automotive pipeline, including deals with companies such as Volvo Cars, Mercedes-Benz, NIO, SAIC, TuSimple, Zoox, Cruise, Faraday Future, VinFast and more.
Tomi Engdahl says:
A Breakdown of AV Software Platform ‘DesignWins’
https://www.eetimes.com/a-breakdown-of-av-software-platform-designwins/
There have been a lot of recent design wins for many of the autonomous vehicle software (AV) platform companies. “Design wins” means agreements between the AV platform developers and companies that will use the AV platform in a planned vehicle or service. Previously I wrote separate columns on autonomous trucks (Who Will Be Needing Autonomous Trucks? ) and robotaxis (Robotaxis: Where Are We?) with figures showing relationships between AV platforms and their potential and existing customers.
The pandemic impact has made it clear that many of the AV software platform developers are looking at multiple AV use-cases. Hence, I have made a single figure that combines the autonomous trucks, goods AV and robotaxi software platforms and their known design-wins. I was not able to get every AV software platform into the following figure, but it is a good overview of current status. At the bottom right of the next figure, I included a block of “other AV platforms” that covers most AV platform that are not detailed in the figure. Key fixed-route AV software platforms are also included.
The AV software platform companies are the red blocks; each has a two-letter code of which AV use-cases they are developing for. AT is for autonomous trucks, FR is for fixed route AVs, GAV is for goods AVs and RT is for robotaxis. The car or light truck OEMs are the black boxes while truck OEMs are in blue boxes. Logistics and fleet operators are the black boxes at the bottom of the figure. At the top in green boxes are the robotaxi companies. Note that I include several car OEMs and AV software platform players in the robotaxi category. I will primarily write about the AV software platform companies.
The AV software platform companies are in the red blocks with red arrows to their “design-win” customers and/or their name in red in the customer blocks.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Intel’s Mobileye says it will launch a fully driverless delivery service in 2023 and is working with Udelv to make 35,000 autonomous delivery vehicles by 2028
Intel’s Mobileye will launch a fully driverless delivery service in 2023
Mobileye is working with the startup Udelv to manufacture 35,000 delivery vehicles
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/12/22375759/intel-mobileye-udelv-autonomous-vehicle-delivery-2023?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Mobileye, the company that specializes in chips for vision-based autonomous vehicles, announced that it will launch a full-scale, fully driverless delivery service starting in 2023. The company, a subsidiary of Intel, is joining forces with self-driving delivery startup Udelv to run this new service.
Deliveries will be made using a new type of cabin-less vehicle called The Transporter. While manufacturing plans are still in flux, Mobileye and Udelv say they will produce 35,000 Transporters between 2023–2028 — a signal of their seriousness to launch a driverless delivery system at scale.
“This is a real commercial deployment,” Jack Weast, vice president of automated vehicle standards at Mobileye, told The Verge. “Thirty-five thousand units starting in 2023 that will fully integrate our self driving system for commercial use for automated goods delivery.”
Mobileye’s turn-key self-driving system features a full-sensor suite of 13 cameras, three long-range LiDARs, six short-range LiDARs, and six radar. It also includes the Israeli company’s EyeQ system-on-a-chip and a data crowdsourcing program called the Road Experience Management, or REM, which uses real-time data from Mobileye-equipped vehicles to build out a global 3D map.
The company is also testing autonomous vehicles in a variety of cities around the world for the eventual launch of a robotaxi service and has said it would bring its technology to personally owned consumer vehicles by 2025 as well.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/12/dominos-nuro-to-begin-autonomous-pizza-deliveries-in-houston/?tpcc=ECFB2021
Tomi Engdahl says:
An #EV whose top-of-the-line model costs $6,000? Not a typo. China’s Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV is now the nation’s most popular EV — outselling even the extremely popular #Tesla Model 3.
China’s Most Popular EV is No Longer a Tesla
https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-cars/chinas-most-popular-ev-no-longer-a-tesla
Tesla sales in China more than doubled in 2020, to nearly $6.6 billion, accounting for 21 percent of the company’s booming worldwide total. But Tesla no longer makes China’s most popular electric car: Meet the tiny Wuling Hong Guang Mini EV, whose equally microscopic price helped it find 36,700 buyers in January. That easily kneecapped the 21,500 sales of the Model 3 sedan, even as Tesla ramps up production at a new plant in Shanghai.
The four-passenger Wuling Mini went on sale last July, a joint project between Wuling, General Motors and Chinese state-owned automaker SAIC. The doorstop-shaped city car is just 2.9 meters long, about 0.7 meters shorter than the Chevrolet Spark subcompact that’s the smallest car sold in America.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/04/15/nokian-renkaat-testasi-tuotteitaan-robottibussissa/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12024-auto-paivittyy-pian-suoraan-pilvesta
Tomi Engdahl says:
Carmarkers and governments are embracing electric vehicles as a cleaner form of transportation, but regulators are calling for better guidance when emergencies arise.
Houston Tesla Crash Underscores How Little Is Known About The Nature Of Car Battery Fires – And Why They Can Burn For Hours
https://trib.al/7Y2WCVI
Two men were killed in Texas after a Tesla car with reportedly nobody driving crashed Saturday and triggered a battery fire authorities said repeatedly reignited after being put out, with the incident underscoring the need for better guidance on responding to relatively novel and rare car battery fires – here’s what experts say about dealing with such fires as more carmakers switch to electric vehicles.
Despite responders to electric vehicle incidents often reporting batteries reigniting, it is not peculiar for an electric vehicle battery—which is often a large-scale version of the lithium-ion batteries found in mobile phones—to catch fire again after being put out and serves to underscore how unprepared many responders are to deal with electric vehicle fires.
Batteries burn very differently to gasoline and can actually be expected to reignite after being put out due to the fact they still have stored energy, manufacturers say.
Tesla, in guidance for first responders, recommends firefighters allow the battery to “burn itself out” rather than continuously trying to put it out.
As it stands, electric vehicles make up less than 1% of cars on U.S. roads, according to the New York Times. President Joe Biden, in a bid to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, has made expanding this a policy goal and unveiled new funding for EVs as part of his $2 trillion infrastructure plan. Meanwhile, some of the world’s largest carmakers, including Volkswagen, Ford and Toyota, have pledged to boost their EV production to meet EU carbon emissions targets.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Huawei is not a carmaker. It wants to be the Bosch of China
https://techcrunch.com/2021/04/19/huawei-auto-strategy/?tpcc=ECFB2021
One after another, Chinese tech giants have announced their plans for the auto space over the last few months. Some internet companies, like search engine provider Baidu, decided to recruit help from a traditional carmaker to produce cars. Xiaomi, which makes its own smartphones but has stressed for years it’s a light-asset firm making money from software services, also jumped on the automaking bandwagon. Industry observers are now speculating who will be the next. Huawei naturally comes to their minds.
Huawei seems well-suited for building cars — at least more qualified than some of the pure internet firms — thanks to its history in manufacturing and supply chain management, brand recognition, and vast retail network. But the telecom equipment and smartphone maker repeatedly denied reports claiming it was launching a car brand. Instead, it says its role is to be a Tier 1 supplier for automakers or OEMs (original equipment manufacturers).
Huawei is not a carmaker, the company’s rotating chairman Eric Xu reiterated recently at the firm’s annual analyst conference in Shenzhen.
“Since 2012, I have personally engaged with the chairmen and CEOs of all major car OEMs in China as well as executives of German and Japanese automakers. During this process, I found that the automotive industry needs Huawei.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12053-autosi-kojelauta-on-pian-metrin-levyinen-kosketusnaytto
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/04/26/uudenkaupungin-autotehdas-seisoo-osapulan-takia/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Sähköauton akku täyteen parissa minuutissa 1000 kilowatin laturilla
https://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=11989&via=n&datum=2021-04-08_15:49:35&mottagare=30929
Lübeckin teknillisessä korkeakoulussa on kehitetty pikalataustekniikka, jolla esimerkiksi nykysähköautoista Nissan Leafin 40 kilowattitunnin akku voitaisiin ladata muutamassa minuutissa. Tutkijat pyrkivät jatkossa jopa 1000 kilowatin lataustehoon.
Käytännössä tämä tarkoittaisi, että isonkin ajoneuvon akun voisi ladata täyteen minuuteissa. Tämä poistaisi suurimman esteen sähköautoilun tieltä. Normaalista sähköpistokkeesta latauskapasiteetti on tyypillisesti 22 kW, kun taas tasavirtaisten pikalatausasemien teho on parhaimmillaan noin 350 kW.
Tiimi on jo kehittänyt täysin toimivan prototyypin. Se voi ladata testiajoneuvon – jollaisena toimii BMW i3 – 100 kilowatin teholla alle puolessa tunnissa. Clemens Kerssenin mukaan protolatauslaitteisto ei toimi vielä lähelläkään täyttä tehoaan.
Mikäli akut ja kaapelit suunnitellaan oikein, voidaan auton akustoa ladata jopa 1000 kilowatin teholla. Saavuttaakseen 1000 kW:n tehon ilman verkon ylikuormitusta tutkijat ovat kehittäneet sähköenergian puskurivarastointia. Jos liitetään 400 kilowatin laturi verkkoon, katulamput sammuvat. Tätä puskuriakkua kehitetään Fraunhofer-instituutin piiritekniikan tutkimuslaitoksessa.
Tällä hetkellä proton teho on 100 kilowattia. Tähän tutkijat eivät ole tyytyväisiä, vaan ensiksi tavoitellaan 400 kilowatin tehoa ja lopulta 1000 kilowatin latausta. Tarkoitus on myös pystyä lataamaan tällä teholla kymmentä sähköautoa samanaikaisesti ilman, että sähköverkko horjuu.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Jo sadan millisekunnin viive videokuvassa uhkaa etäohjausta
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12056-jo-sadan-millisekunnin-viive-videokuvassa-uhkaa-etaohjausta
Monet kriittiset käyttötapaukset, kuten teollisuuslaitteiden etäohjaus, edellyttävät pientä viivettä ja häviötöntä videokuvaa. Tiedonsiirron viive on käytön kannalta yksi hankalimmista, sillä se ei näy videokuvassa välttämättä millään tavalla. Jo sadan millisekunnin viive tekee esimerkiksi etäohjauksesta haastavaa ja muutaman sadan millisekunnin viive jo vaarallista. Verkkoyhteyden laadun tarkkailu tällä tasolla suoraan jonkin sovelluksen kannalta on tähän saakka ollut vaikeaa.
Etäohjauksessa videon laaduntarkkailun ohella myös ohjausyhteyden laatu on kriittinen. Sen monitorointi hoituu myös Qosiumilla samalla kertaa ja tätä onkin Kaitotekin asiakaskunnassa tehty jo useamman vuoden ajan. Qosium-mittauksiin voi yhdistää myös paikkatiedon, joten esimerkiksi liikkuvien käyttäjien tapauksessa saadaan toiminta-alueen verkoista reaaliaikainen laatukäsitys. Havaitut verkko-ongelmat paikannetaan ja niihin voidaan reagoida heti.
https://www.kaitotek.com/fi/qosium
Tomi Engdahl says:
Electric cars: What will happen to all the dead batteries?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56574779
“The rate at which we’re growing the industry is absolutely scary,” says Paul Anderson from Birmingham University.
By 2030, the EU hopes, there will be 30 million electric cars on European roads.
“It’s something that’s never really been done before at that rate of growth for a completely new product,” says Dr Anderson, who is also the co-director of the Birmingham Centre for Strategic Elements and Critical Materials.
While electric vehicles (EVs) may be carbon neutral during their working lifetime, he’s concerned about what happens when they run out of road – in particular what happens to the batteries.
“In 10 to 15 years when there are large numbers coming to the end of their life, it’s going to be very important that we have a recycling industry,” he points out.
While most EV components are much the same as those of conventional cars, the big difference is the battery. While traditional lead-acid batteries are widely recycled, the same can’t be said for the lithium-ion versions used in electric cars.
EV batteries are larger and heavier than those in regular cars and are made up of several hundred individual lithium-ion cells, all of which need dismantling. They contain hazardous materials, and have an inconvenient tendency to explode if disassembled incorrectly.
“Currently, globally, it’s very hard to get detailed figures for what percentage of lithium-ion batteries are recycled, but the value everyone quotes is about 5%,” says Dr Anderson. “In some parts of the world it’s considerably less.”
Recent proposals from the European Union would see EV suppliers responsible for making sure that their products aren’t simply dumped at the end of their life, and manufacturers are already starting to step up to the mark.
Nissan, for example, is now reusing old batteries from its Leaf cars in the automated guided vehicles that deliver parts to workers in its factories.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Self-driving cars get green light for use on motorways later this year
https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/self-driving-cars-green-light-use-britains-motorways-later-this-year-technology/
Self-driving cars that allow motorists to take their eyes off the road and hands off the steering wheel could be allowed on British motorways later this year.
Hands-free driving in vehicles with lane-keeping technology will be allowed on motorways where traffic is slow, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced on Wednesday.
The cars will be allowed to travel at speeds of up to 37mph, with motorways being chosen due to being “relatively straight roads” with “clear road markings”, an expert suggested.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12067-red-hat-kehittaa-autoihin-oman-linuxin
Red Hatin Summit-teknologiakonferenssi alkoi eilen illalla Suomen aikaa. Linux-talona jo pitkään tunnetun yrityksen pääjohtaja Paul Cormier hehkutti estottomasti Linuxin ja avoimen koodin merkitystä elektroniikan kehityksessä. Linus Torvalds sai osansa hehkusta. Seuraavaksi Linux valtaa autot.
Cormierin mukaan Linux on se kivijalka, jolle teknologinen kehitys perustuu paitsi pilvipalveluissa, elektroniikassa ylipäätään. Tänään Red Hat puhuu vankasti avoimen hybridipilven puolesta. Yrityksillä on keskimäärin käytössään kahdeksan erilaista pilvipalvelua ja ne kaikki toimivat Linuxilla.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How MEMS sensors are changing for automotive applications
Microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensor suppliers are responding to new opportunities created by electrified and automated vehicles by developing inertial measurement units (IMUs).
https://www.controleng.com/articles/how-mems-sensors-are-changing-for-automotive-applications/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/foxconns-ev-effort-likely-aimed-at-enticing-apple/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.eetimes.com/radar-safety-warning-dont-cross-the-streams/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/04/29/suomalaista-robottiautotekniikkaa-italialaisprojektiin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Thousands of best-selling pickup trucks sit along I-71 — and Wall Street is watching
https://eu.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2021/05/03/ford-gm-semiconductor-chip-super-duty-kentucky/4918434001/
“Ford will build and hold the vehicles for a number of weeks, then ship the vehicles to dealers once the modules are available and comprehensive quality checks are complete,” Kelli Felker, Ford global manufacturing and labor communications manager, told the Free Press in response to questions about the Kentucky stockpile on Monday.
When America’s bestselling F-Series is parked, Wall Street pays attention.
John Lawler, Ford chief financial officer, told industry analysts after first-quarter earnings April 28 that the company had approximately 22,000 vehicles parked and awaiting parts at the end of March.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/05/05/volkswagen-tuo-lidar-tutkatekniikat-pikkubussiin/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12096-sensible-4-robottiauto-vaatii-viela-tyota
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12100-sahkoautoihin-kiintean-elektrolyytin-akkuja-2024
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/05/05/oulussa-kehitetaan-yhteistyossa-tulevaisuuden-autoja/
Tomi Engdahl says:
There’s more than enough lithium to cover today’s lithium-ion battery needs for electronics, EVs and grid storage. Shortfalls are expected soon as 2028, though. With price shocks may come innovation, though. Or maybe just robust recycling.
EVs Will Drive A Lithium Supply Crunch
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/batteries-storage/evs-to-drive-a-lithium-supply-crunch
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12111-tutkimus-robottiauton-tekemia-virheita-ei-hyvaksyta
Tomi Engdahl says:
Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge:
Memo: California DMV says Tesla is at Level 2 currently after Tesla’s head of Autopilot admits that Elon Musk has been exaggerating about “full self-driving” — ‘Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality’ — Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been overstating the capabilities …
Tesla privately admits Elon Musk has been exaggerating about ‘full self-driving’
‘Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality’
https://www.theverge.com/2021/5/7/22424592/tesla-elon-musk-autopilot-dmv-fsd-exaggeration?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been overstating the capabilities of the company’s advanced driver assist system, the company’s director of Autopilot software told the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The comments came from a memo released by legal transparency group PlainSite, which obtained the documents from a public records request.
It was the latest revelation about the widening gap between what Musk says publicly about Autopilot and what Autopilot can actually do. And it coincides with Tesla coming under increased scrutiny after a Tesla vehicle without anyone in the driver’s seat crashed in Texas, killing two men.
“Elon’s tweet does not match engineering reality per CJ. Tesla is at Level 2 currently,” the California DMV said in the memo about its March 9th conference call with Tesla representatives, including the director of Autopilot software CJ Moore. Level 2 technology refers to a semi-automated driving system, which requires supervision by a human driver.
Last October, Tesla introduced a new product called “Full Self-Driving” (FSD) beta to vehicle owners in its Early Access Program. The update enabled drivers to access Autopilot’s partially automated driver assist system on city streets and local roads. The early access program is used as a testing platform to help iron out software bugs. In the DMV memo, Tesla said that as of March 9th there were 824 vehicles in the pilot program, including 753 employees and 71 non-employees.
Musk has said the company was handling the software update “very cautiously.” Drivers still are expected to keep their hands on the steering wheel and should be prepared to assume control of their Tesla at any time. But he has also offered lofty predictions about Tesla’s ability to achieve full autonomy that conflict with what his own engineers are saying to regulators.
Tesla is unlikely to achieve Level 5 (L5) autonomy, in which its cars can drive themselves anywhere, under any conditions, without any human supervision, by the end of 2021, Tesla representatives told the DMV.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/05/10/eu-raha-vauhditti-suomalaisen-robottiauton-kehitysta/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Tesla Makes More Money Trading Bitcoin Than Selling Cars
Bitcoin trading and regulatory credits, not auto sales, helped power Tesla to a record profit
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wsj.com/amp/articles/tesla-makes-more-money-trading-bitcoin-than-selling-cars-11619517615
Revenue of $10.4 billion and adjusted earnings of 93 cents a share both topped Wall Street expectations. Net income reached $438 million, a quarterly record for the company. What’s more, Tesla said it expects to increase vehicle deliveries by more than 50% this year from the 2020 total. That implies roughly 800,000 deliveries this year.
Tesla didn’t exactly earn its record profit from selling cars, however. The company said that it sold some of the $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin that it purchased in February, contributing $101 million to the bottom line. That is nearly a fourth of its total profit.
What is more, sales of regulatory credits to other auto makers to help them meet emissions mandates, which carry a 100% profit margin, reached $518 million. That accounts for nearly 100% of Tesla’s $533 million in pretax income. Those two helping hands helped avert red ink.
Tesla’s electric-car market share has eroded in established markets like Western Europe and the U.S. as larger car companies like Volkswagen, Ford, and General Motors have finally gotten serious about the electric market. Tesla has lately been setting sales records in China, but homegrown competitors are emerging there, too.
Tomi Engdahl says:
In Mahle’s Contact-Free Electric Motor, Power Reaches the Rotor Wirelessly
https://spectrum.ieee.org/cars-that-think/transportation/advanced-cars/mahles-electric-motor-says-look-ma-no-contacts
Automakers outside China are scrambling to develop electric motor designs that use no permanent magnets, partly because the magnets require rare earths, and mining rare earths causes pollution. It’s also partly because the mining is done in China, a formidable automotive competitor.
These alternative motors turn the rotor using electromagnetic force alone; we’ve covered more than one such motor recently. One problem: Designs that put copper windings in the rotor have to transmit electricity to a moving target, and the point of contact—the slip ring—is subject to wear and tear.
Today Mahle, a German auto parts company, unveiled a motor that’s free of both rare earths and of physical contact. Power is beamed into the rotor wirelessly, through induction, by a coil carrying alternating current. This induces a current in the receiving electrode, inside the rotor, which energizes the copper windings there to produce an electromagnetic field.
Berger says the new motor combines the best points of several motor designs, for instance by offering good efficiency at both low and high torque. Overall, the company asserts, the motor achieves at least 95 percent efficiency in typical EV use and tops 96 percent efficiency at many operating points. A release from Mahle says that no EV except for Formula E racing cars has done better.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The future of the automotive industry is electric, and the transition will take place during the remainder of this decade. You might want to think about it if you are considering a new car.
Within A Decade, We Will All Be Driving Electric Cars
https://trib.al/b4pFfcF
A BloombergNEF report commissioned by Transport & Environment forecasts 2027 as the year when electric vehicles will start to become cheaper to manufacture than their internal combustion equivalents across all segments, mainly due to a sharp drop in battery prices and the appearance of new models by more manufacturers.
Batteries, which have fallen in price by 88% over the past decade and are expected to plunge by a further 58% over the next 10 years, make up between one-quarter and two-fifths of the total price of a vehicle. The average pre-tax price of a mid-range electric vehicle is around €33,300, compared to €18,600 for its diesel or gasoline equivalent. In 2026, both are expected to cost around €19,000, while in 2030, the same electric car will cost €16,300 before tax, while its internal combustion equivalent will cost €19,900, and that’s without factoring in government incentives.
EVs will be cheaper than petrol cars in all segments by 2027, BNEF analysis finds
https://www.transportenvironment.org/press/evs-will-be-cheaper-petrol-cars-all-segments-2027-bnef-analysis-finds
Electric cars and vans will be cheaper to make than fossil-fuel vehicles in every light vehicle segment across Europe from 2027 at the latest, according to a new BloombergNEF study commissioned by Transport & Environment (T&E). The research found that battery electric vehicles could reach 100% of new sales across the EU by 2035, if lawmakers introduce measures like tighter vehicle CO2 targets and strong support for charging infrastructure. T&E called on the EU to tighten emissions targets in the 2020s and set 2035 as the end date for selling new polluting vehicles.
Electric sedans (C and D segments) and SUVs will be as cheap to produce as petrol vehicles from 2026, while small cars (B segment) will follow in 2027, BNEF projects. It finds that falling battery costs [1], new vehicle architectures, and dedicated production lines for electric vehicles will make them cheaper to buy, on average, even before subsidies.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Toyota’s Hydrogen-Burning Racecar Soon To Hit The Track
https://hackaday.com/2021/05/13/toyotas-hydrogen-burning-racecar-soon-to-hit-the-track/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Cybertruck RV Attachment Sells $50 Million in Preorders
https://futurism.com/the-byte/cybertruck-rv-attachment
Tesla’s much-hyped Cybertruck hasn’t even rolled off the lot yet — but enthusiasts are already flocking to pre-order accessories in an effort to build out their electric pickups into truly off-the-grid homes away from home.
Case in point, Las Vegas-based company Stream It has created an RV add-on called CyberLandr for the Cybertruck, cashing in on more than $50 million in future revenue, as Insider reports.
The expandable kit comes with built-in shower, kitchen, and even a bed, and starts at $40,000.
“We conservatively estimate demand for CyberLandr at more than 10,000 units in 2022,” Stream It CEO Lance King told Insider.
TransformerTruck
The add on tucks away in the sizeable bed of the pickup, expanding upwards into a tall structure when stationary.
“Now you can take your kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, and office anywhere and everywhere you go for the ultimate wilderness and urban adventures,” the company promises on its website.
https://www.cyberlandr.com/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12151-suomessa-ostettiin-viidenneksi-eniten-sahkoautoja