Apple Getting Deeper Into Auto Equipment Supply Market

Apple has toyed with bringing its mobile devices to cars for several years, but generally automakers have had to create their own solutions to adding iPod support to their cars. However, Apple has finally realized that people want access to their music, apps and contacts in their cars. Apple announced in June that it is partnering with Honda, Mercedes, Jaguar Land Rover, Ferrari,Nissan, General Motors, Volvo, Hyundai and Kia, and the first of these cars will be on sale later this fall. 

“It’s something that people want, and I think that Apple can do this in a unique way and better than anyone else. It’s a key focus for us," said Aplle CEO Tim Cook.

The cars with Apple's infotainment system will use Apple's iOS 6 operating system incorporated into the dashboard head unit. Most of the controls will be through Apple's Siri voice recognition system. Users will be able to control navigation, text messages, e-mails and music with voice controls. It will also introduce Apple's new iTunes Radio music streaming service.

“Just like the App Store is a key part of the ecosystem and iTunes and all of our content are key, and the services we provide from messaging to Siri and so forth, having something in the automobile is very, very important,” said Cook.

Apple's biggest competitor will be the automakers themselves. Several, including Ford and Cadillac, have said that they have no intent to use Apple's system because they have already invested to much to create their own infotainment systems. They claim that their systems are tuned to each car and will work better than Apple's one-for-all solution.

Apple is already working on an update for their system that will use the latest iOS 7 software.

Separately, Apple is offering just the Siri voice recognition system to automakers who want to use it for their current systems.BMW, Volkswagen Group, Toyota and Chrysler, all of which are not using the full Apple infotainment suite, say that they will incorporate the Siri system on their new cars this fall. 

“Our environment to deliver apps is a controlled environment. We place a big priority on quality. We place a big priority on safety. We really want to curate that environment, and we don’t want to open it up to just anybody," said Sandy Lobenstein, Toyota's head of connected technology in the US.  

Source: Automotive News

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TRW revisite la ceinture de sécurité

Aux côtés des nouveautés des constructeurs automobiles, les visiteurs du salon de Genève découvriront une nouvelle génération de ceinture de sécurité. Ainsi, à la place de la languette et de la boucle de ceinture, le procédé utilise un "attrape sangle",  qui permet un bouclage et débouclage semi-automatique. Ce système est exposé sur la navette concept-car microMAX, conçue pour effectuer de courts trajets en milieu urbain, avec des places debout non conventionnelles.

Selon Swen Schaub, Senior Manager, Engineering Strategy and Communication de TRW, "le concept est basé sur des fonctionnalités de ceintures de sécurité éprouvées. Le bouclage semi-automatique pratique et facile pour entrer et sortir du véhicule pourrait être appliqué sur des concepts de véhicules conventionnels, augmentant ainsi le taux d’utilisation de la ceinture de sécurité pour des courtes distances".

via journalauto.com

Scientists Create Sideview Mirror Without Distortion

Three scientists working in South Korea and the US have developed a new lens for side view mirrors that provide a wider view and less distortion than current mirrors. Multi-focal eyeglasses inspired the design. The scientists believe that it eliminates blind spots while driving. Unlike current mirrors it eliminates the problem of objects in the mirror being farther away than they appear.
For decades, North American cars have used two types of side view mirrors. The mirror closer to the driver is flat and gives an undistorted view of the side of the car. The passenger mirror is convex, which widens the field of view but distorts images. Objects look smaller and farther away than they actually are.
European cars have tried to solve this by using mirrors with two separate areas. The inner area has less distortion than the outer area but provides a wider field of view.
Hocheol Lee and Dohyun Kim from Hanbat National University in South Korea and Sung Yi from Portland State University in Oregon took inspiration from multi-focal eyeglasses.
"Like multifocal glasses that give the wearer a range of focusing abilities from near to far and everything in between, our progressive mirror consists of three resolution zones: one for distance vision, one for close-up viewing and a middle zone making the transition between the two," said Lee.
With their design, the images on the inside and outside are undistorted, but the section in the middle would still distort the image somewhat. However, the design provides a viewing angle more than twice as wide as a conventional mirror.
The design would not be much more expensive than current mirrors. It can be made using conventional glass molding techniques.
Because of safety implications, automotive mirror designs are regulated in the United States. For the mirrors to be used in cars, it would need approved.
The other problem with this research is that it is rapidly becoming outdated. Higher trim levels of the Honda Accord already shows the view from the rearview camera on the center display when changing lanes, and the Volkswagen XL1 is slated to use a similar system. We are rapidly entering a world where cars may not have side view mirrors.
Source: The Optical Society

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Ants would help us to reduce traffic jams???

Many insects travel using simple, logical rules that determine where they go and why, but these rules are often implemented to create very complicated behaviors. A traffic researcher at Carnegie Mellon University has applied this knowledge to human traffic and has created a smart traffic light. 

Ozan Tonguz's solution hinges on vehicle-to-vehicle communication that sends road data among the cars on the road. This technology is already in real world tests in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

With Tonguz's system, the traffic light would receive data from oncoming traffic. It would decide, which direction had the largest amount of traffic, and change the light to green in that direction. When the traffic decreased so that the other direction had more oncoming cars, the light would change to let those cars go. 

Tonguz claims that in computer simulations, the system allows 40% to 60% to move through an intersection than a current traffic light. His plan also already received $2 million in research funding to test in the real world.

In the real word, Tonguz's traffic light might need some adjustments. If the intersecting streets did not have roughly equal amounts of cross-traffic, some drivers could be waiting longer than current systems until enough drivers are available to offset the more popular route. 

It is also going to be a decade or more before new cars are equipped with vehicle-to-vehicle communication. 

Source: Gizmag

via autoviva.com