nine Cool Future-Tech Ideas: A Wind Buffet Eliminator, Lost Key Replacement, and More
Innovations are piling up like autumn leaves
No Obligation, Rapid & Plain Free Fresh Car Quote
Inbetween “Tech Day” events, SEMA intros, and random email story pitches, interesting innovations promising a better automotive tomorrow have been piling up in my inbox of late, and here are some of the coolest ideas recently introduced to me:
Magna Wind Buffet Eliminator
You know how when someone opens just one rear window you all of a sudden get bombarded by rhythmic pressure swings? Evidently that’s the result of turbulent airflow tumbling into the car. Well, just as those ubiquitous pop-up wind deflectors have been solving that problem on sunroofs for decades, Magna proposes a similar solution for side windows. The concept features a tall, narrow disrobe of plastic that pops out of the B-pillar trim or leading edge of the door framework when a rear window goes down to encourage laminar flow past the window opening. The dimensions of this pop-out element and the amount by which it protrudes varies depending on the size and form of the window, but it typically ranges from 0.5-0.8 inch. No production plans have been announced yet.
KeyMe Kiosk Cloud Keys
Are you forever losing your car keys and then paying through the nose to substitute them at the dealer? Well, KeyMe aims to take the bite out of such periodic misadventures with an automated kiosk that robotically scans and stores the metal part of your key (car, house, locks, whatever), saving a copy to the cloud along with photographic and fingerprint data for the person who ordered the key for security reasons. Then in the future, if you lose another one, you can order a replacement via fingerprint ID at any kiosk. Hold the fob up to the reader and press the various buttons while it learns your codes, and the same goes for the remote keyless entry function. Car key replacement is priced at $Sixty nine.99. To prevent criminals from duplicating keys at the kiosk, replacements get mailed to an address that is then scrubbed from the cloud record. Kiosks are rolling out nationwide embarking with fourteen states as we write this. They’re primarily found inwards Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kmart, and larger grocery store chains. Visit www.key.me/kiosk for locations.
Magna Fuel Filler Display
Lots of cars warn us of forthcoming service requirements, low oil, or tire pressure levels, using icons on the dash, but Magna reckons it might be more helpful to get such reminders while you’re standing outside the vehicle refueling it. So it’s proposing a petite display in the side window nearest the fuel filler that echoes these reminder icons. By varying the icons’ color, the car could indicate, for example, when the windshield washer fluid level is well below half but not yet low enough to light the dash warning light, thereby potentially preventing running dry on a highway drive through continuous salt mist. No production plans have been announced yet.
Magna Clearview outside mirror
We’ve seen a zillion concepts for substituting the outside mirror with a low-drag, no-wind-noise camera, but the sad fact is that our government won’t actually let automakers ditch the outside mirrors. So Magna envisions a little mirror sized to meet the very naked minimum standard (perhaps with a convex surface to achieve the coverage area), and augmenting it with a self-cleaning camera. Just inwards the window would be a screen that can provide numerous different views. A 15-degree field of view mimics a normal vapid mirror picture, a 45-degree view covers the blind spot, and a hybrid view shows the plane view for most of the pic, with a compressed view of the blind spot on the outboard edge. (This mimics some European mirrors with convex outboard edges.) The views can also be enhanced with yellow and crimson shading of the blind-spot area to help indicate when it is safe to switch lanes. Pricing is said to be only slightly more than a current full-function heated/auto-dimming mirror. No production plans have been announced.
Magna Smarter Hands-Free Access
Slew of cars let you do the hokey-pokey with your foot to open a rear hatch, but Magna proposes an upgrade. Very first, the company suggests moving the access point to one of the corners of the bumper, so you’re not placed to get hit by the opening gate (and so you can use the same system to close it without being in the way). Then, the company proposes fitting a light-up icon that blinks quickly to confirm recognition of a foot requesting open or close, then switches to slow blinks while executing the request. And why restrict the technology to just opening hatches and motorized sliding side doors? With numerous icons blinking their confirmation, a foot could also be used to lock and unlock the car by a driver carrying the passive keyless entry key.
Ecoservice Ecowaterless Car Wash System
We’ve seen waterless car wash products before, but this one, hailing from a Vancouver mobility management and fleet services company has both earth-friendliness and paint-finish-friendliness going for it. Not only does it save the numerous gallons of water typically expended on washing a car, but the nano-technological basis for the Ecowaterless car wash product is plant-based. Sploog it on and the product infuses into the mud layers, emulsifying and encapsulating them. Then, when it is wiped away with the special microfiber cloths provided, the natural mineral oil left behind shines and wax-protects the paint. Ecoservice has been keeping Vancouver’s Zipcar fleet shiny using this product for some time, and the company has been entrusted with all of Tesla Vancouver’s pre-delivery new-car detailing duties. Retail availability is expected by mid-November.
Continental MK C1 Brake System
This compact fresh electrohydraulic system does away with the vacuum booster, the vacuum pump that is increasingly required with today’s high-efficiency engines, and the anti-lock brake module—three items that used to be splashed about the engine compartment. The result is a compact, almost silent, much lighter-weight unit that mounts to the firewall and treats all braking needs. The fast-acting screw-jack ram can build hydraulic brake pressure much more quickly than a vacuum system can, and this reduces braking distances when collision mitigation or pedestrian-protection braking events are ordered by the advance driver-assistance systems. It can also be programmed to augment regenerative braking in electrified cars. The system will hit the market very first in the Alfa Romeo Giulia.
GKN Petite Car eDrive System
Slew of experts are predicting a steep rise in vehicle electrification, and suppliers like GKN Driveline are hoping to cash in on some of that business with plug-n-play devices like this fresh electrified rear-axle optimized for fitment to petite plug-in hybrid vehicles. The compact unit measures just 11.8 inches tall by 12.8 inches broad, and weighs just one hundred nineteen pounds—that’s about 0.8 inch narrower and Five.Five pounds lighter than comparable systems. It contributes eighty seven hp and up to 1,475 lb-ft of torque (but it’s hard to imagine a compact PHEV’s battery being capable of fire-hosing the electrons at it quick enough to support that sort of “Insane/Ludicrous” torque). This unit is destined for production in a two thousand nineteen model from a European manufacturer.
Magna/Ford/DOE Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle
Build a Fusion with the weight of a Concentrate. That was the design brief and, as we’re eyeing more often these days, the objective was achieved by using many different materials (as is the case with the fresh Cadillac CT6). Aluminum extrusions form the rocker panels and a few other parts, high-pressure vacuum die-casting is used in a number of areas where it also reduces parts count: shock towers, knots joining the A-pillar, door hinge pole, and cross-car slat, toe boxes, and the rear chassis structure to which the suspension bolts. Most of the rest of the structure is high-strength and boron alloy hot-stamped steel. Self-piercing rivets and adhesives typically join the dissimilar metals, but flow-drill screws and break-stem rivets are also employed. The mass reduction relative to a two thousand thirteen Fusion was 23.Five percent, or one hundred sixty eight pounds. The structure passed all of Ford’s corrosion, durability, and crash-testing standards.
9 Cool Future-Tech Ideas: A Wind Buffet Eliminator, Lost Key Replacement, and More – Motor Trend
nine Cool Future-Tech Ideas: A Wind Buffet Eliminator, Lost Key Replacement, and More
Innovations are piling up like autumn leaves
No Obligation, Quick & Elementary Free Fresh Car Quote
Inbetween “Tech Day” events, SEMA intros, and random email story pitches, interesting innovations promising a better automotive tomorrow have been piling up in my inbox of late, and here are some of the coolest ideas recently introduced to me:
Magna Wind Buffet Eliminator
You know how when someone opens just one rear window you abruptly get bombarded by rhythmic pressure sways? Evidently that’s the result of turbulent airflow tumbling into the car. Well, just as those ubiquitous pop-up wind deflectors have been solving that problem on sunroofs for decades, Magna proposes a similar solution for side windows. The concept features a tall, narrow unclothe of plastic that pops out of the B-pillar trim or leading edge of the door framework when a rear window goes down to encourage laminar flow past the window opening. The dimensions of this pop-out element and the amount by which it protrudes varies depending on the size and form of the window, but it typically ranges from 0.5-0.8 inch. No production plans have been announced yet.
KeyMe Kiosk Cloud Keys
Are you forever losing your car keys and then paying through the nose to substitute them at the dealer? Well, KeyMe aims to take the nibble out of such periodic misadventures with an automated kiosk that robotically scans and stores the metal part of your key (car, house, locks, whatever), saving a copy to the cloud along with photographic and fingerprint data for the person who ordered the key for security reasons. Then in the future, if you lose another one, you can order a replacement via fingerprint ID at any kiosk. Hold the fob up to the reader and press the various buttons while it learns your codes, and the same goes for the remote keyless entry function. Car key replacement is priced at $Sixty-nine.99. To prevent criminals from duplicating keys at the kiosk, replacements get mailed to an address that is then scrubbed from the cloud record. Kiosks are rolling out nationwide commencing with fourteen states as we write this. They’re primarily found inwards Bed, Bath & Beyond, Kmart, and larger grocery store chains. Visit www.key.me/kiosk for locations.
Magna Fuel Filler Display
Lots of cars warn us of forthcoming service requirements, low oil, or tire pressure levels, using icons on the dash, but Magna reckons it might be more helpful to get such reminders while you’re standing outside the vehicle refueling it. So it’s proposing a puny display in the side window nearest the fuel filler that echoes these reminder icons. By varying the icons’ color, the car could indicate, for example, when the windshield washer fluid level is well below half but not yet low enough to light the dash warning light, thereby potentially preventing running dry on a highway drive through continuous salt mist. No production plans have been announced yet.
Magna Clearview outside mirror
We’ve seen a zillion concepts for substituting the outside mirror with a low-drag, no-wind-noise camera, but the sad fact is that our government won’t actually let automakers ditch the outside mirrors. So Magna envisions a lil’ mirror sized to meet the very naked minimum standard (perhaps with a convex surface to achieve the coverage area), and augmenting it with a self-cleaning camera. Just inwards the window would be a screen that can provide numerous different views. A 15-degree field of view mimics a normal plane mirror photo, a 45-degree view covers the blind spot, and a hybrid view shows the plane view for most of the pic, with a compressed view of the blind spot on the outboard edge. (This mimics some European mirrors with convex outboard edges.) The views can also be enhanced with yellow and crimson shading of the blind-spot area to help indicate when it is safe to switch lanes. Pricing is said to be only slightly more than a current full-function heated/auto-dimming mirror. No production plans have been announced.
Magna Smarter Hands-Free Access
Slew of cars let you do the hokey-pokey with your foot to open a rear hatch, but Magna proposes an upgrade. Very first, the company suggests moving the access point to one of the corners of the bumper, so you’re not placed to get hit by the opening gate (and so you can use the same system to close it without being in the way). Then, the company proposes fitting a light-up icon that blinks quickly to confirm recognition of a foot requesting open or close, then switches to slow blinks while executing the request. And why restrict the technology to just opening hatches and motorized sliding side doors? With numerous icons blinking their confirmation, a foot could also be used to lock and unlock the car by a driver carrying the passive keyless entry key.
Ecoservice Ecowaterless Car Wash System
We’ve seen waterless car wash products before, but this one, hailing from a Vancouver mobility management and fleet services company has both earth-friendliness and paint-finish-friendliness going for it. Not only does it save the numerous gallons of water typically expended on washing a car, but the nano-technological basis for the Ecowaterless car wash product is plant-based. Drizzle it on and the product infuses into the mud layers, emulsifying and encapsulating them. Then, when it is wiped away with the special microfiber cloths provided, the natural mineral oil left behind shines and wax-protects the paint. Ecoservice has been keeping Vancouver’s Zipcar fleet shiny using this product for some time, and the company has been entrusted with all of Tesla Vancouver’s pre-delivery new-car detailing duties. Retail availability is expected by mid-November.
Continental MK C1 Brake System
This compact fresh electrohydraulic system does away with the vacuum booster, the vacuum pump that is increasingly required with today’s high-efficiency engines, and the anti-lock brake module—three items that used to be splashed about the engine compartment. The result is a compact, almost silent, much lighter-weight unit that mounts to the firewall and treats all braking needs. The fast-acting screw-jack ram can build hydraulic brake pressure much more quickly than a vacuum system can, and this reduces braking distances when collision mitigation or pedestrian-protection braking events are ordered by the advance driver-assistance systems. It can also be programmed to augment regenerative braking in electrified cars. The system will hit the market very first in the Alfa Romeo Giulia.
GKN Puny Car eDrive System
Slew of experts are predicting a steep rise in vehicle electrification, and suppliers like GKN Driveline are hoping to cash in on some of that business with plug-n-play devices like this fresh electrical rear-axle optimized for fitment to puny plug-in hybrid vehicles. The compact unit measures just 11.8 inches tall by 12.8 inches broad, and weighs just one hundred nineteen pounds—that’s about 0.8 inch narrower and Five.Five pounds lighter than comparable systems. It contributes eighty seven hp and up to 1,475 lb-ft of torque (but it’s hard to imagine a compact PHEV’s battery being capable of fire-hosing the electrons at it swift enough to support that sort of “Insane/Ludicrous” torque). This unit is destined for production in a two thousand nineteen model from a European manufacturer.
Magna/Ford/DOE Multi-Material Lightweight Vehicle
Build a Fusion with the weight of a Concentrate. That was the design brief and, as we’re watching more often these days, the objective was achieved by using many different materials (as is the case with the fresh Cadillac CT6). Aluminum extrusions form the rocker panels and a few other parts, high-pressure vacuum die-casting is used in a number of areas where it also reduces parts count: shock towers, knots joining the A-pillar, door hinge pile, and cross-car rafter, toe boxes, and the rear chassis structure to which the suspension bolts. Most of the rest of the structure is high-strength and boron alloy hot-stamped steel. Self-piercing rivets and adhesives typically join the dissimilar metals, but flow-drill screws and break-stem rivets are also employed. The mass reduction relative to a two thousand thirteen Fusion was 23.Five percent, or one hundred sixty eight pounds. The structure passed all of Ford’s corrosion, durability, and crash-testing standards.