Automotive Engineering

The Jury of the VI Accenture Awards for the Best Thesis at the University School of Engineering in Bilbao has awarded the prize to Estibaliz Medina Ugarte, graduate in industrial engineering, who has carried out the project entitled Aplicación de materiales inteligentes a piezas de automoción (Application of intelligent materials to automotive parts). She undertook the project in collaboration with Maier Technology Centre, part of the Maier S. Coop. company

The new system substitutes the

Communication between vehicles is the key to safer traffic in the future. A system where cars organize themselves into groups to exchange information has been developed at Linköping University in Sweden.

Today’s vehicles can be equipped with various passive and active safety systems like ABS brakes and collision alarms. But they can only react to dangers they themselves ‘sense’ or ‘see’ via the vehicle’s own sensors, radar, or camera.

A system for communication between c

MIT researchers are trying to unleash the promise of an old idea by converting light into electricity more efficiently than ever before. The research is applying new materials, new technologies and new ideas to radically improve an old concept — thermophotovoltaic (TPV) conversion of light into electricity. Rather than using the engine to turn a generator or alternator in a car, for example, the new TPV system would burn a little fuel to create super-bright light. Efficient photo

The prototype of a revolutionary new type of vehicle only one metre wide specially designed for cities has been developed by a team of European scientists. The vehicle combines the safety of a micro-car and the manoeuvrability of a motorbike, while being more fuel-efficient and less polluting than other vehicles.

The CLEVER (Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport) vehicle is a £1.5 million collaborative project which has involved nine European partners from industry and research,

EUREKA project E! 1493 ULTIMATE has led to the development of a highly sophisticated simulator to improve car design and increase road safety in Europe using novel mechanical, display and software technology.

Simulators can make a major contribution to vehicle design and the study of human driving factors. However, they have been of more limited value for road vehicles due to the large linear motion needed (for e.g. when turning corners or during braking). As a result, the cost o

Particulate emissions from diesel engines are currently measured by smoke darkness in motor vehicle inspections. This method is particularly unsuitable for measurement of the smallest particles, which are considered as being the most dangerous. There are over 100,000 vehicle inspection stations in Europe using smoke darkness to measure particulate emissions.

The authorities have noticed the shortcomings in measuring diesel smoke in this way and have been fervently seeking new met