Apply Now to Attend the CAAT's 2022 Professional Development Course on Electric-Drive Vehicles Technology | |
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The CAAT's 2022 Professional Development Course on Electric Drive Vehicle Technology will be held at Suffolk County Community College in Seldon, NY, June 21-22, 2022. The course will explore state-of-the-art advanced automotive technology including electric-drive vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, connected and autonomous vehicles, energy storage systems, power electronics and traction motors.
The course will focus on 4 specific topics:
- Overview of HEV/PHEV/EV/FCV
- Motor Drives and Electronics for Electric-Drive Vehicles
- Advanced Battery Systems for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
- Connected and Automated/Autonomous Vehicles
This workshop is designed for:
- Community college instructors
- 4-year college/university engineering and technology faculty
- High school science and technology teachers
- Automotive industry professionals
The course will be taught by Dr. Gene Liao, Graduate Program Director of Electric-drive Vehicle Engineering & Alternative Energy Technology, and Professor of Engineering Technology at Wayne State University. Dr. Liao is experienced in the areas of hybrid drivetrains, vehicle dynamics, and computer-aided engineering in manufacturing. He is also a CAAT co-principal investigator.
Those attending this workshop will receive a certificate of completion accredited by Wayne State University, course materials, and a $150 stipend.
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CAAT to Offer Session on Connected, Automated and Intelligent Vehicles at the 2022 NACAT Conference and Expo | |
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The 2022 North American Council of Automotive Teachers (NACAT) Conference will be held August 7-11 in Covington, Kentucky. Each year, this conference draws hundreds of instructors and trainers of automotive technology from all over the United States and Canada. The event provides quality training sessions and opportunities to learn from some of the best trainers and educators in the automotive industry.
CAAT assistant director, Nelson Kelly, will be there to teach a course on Connected, Automated and Intelligent Vehicles. One of the major megatrends affecting the automotive industry is the increasing ability of a vehicle to sense and communicate with its surroundings and to use that information to control important vehicle functions. Using cameras, radar, wireless technology, and powerful computers that can combine the input data to control steering, braking, and acceleration, the vehicle can assist the driver or even drive itself. The impetus for this initiative is increased safety, although some of the initial systems are more focused on driver convenience.
Topics of discussion for this session will include:
- How sensors, such as cameras, radar, and lidar (experimental at present), along with computer controlled electromechanical devices, can assist the driver at different levels of automation.
- How adding wireless connectivity to other vehicles, the infrastructure along with precision global positioning information can increase the level of automation such that, under certain circumstances, the vehicle can drive itself.
- The need for cybersecurity as vehicles that use wireless technology will become increasingly connected to the outside world, so much so that they become increasingly vulnerable to hackers.
View the full conference agenda, the complete list of course descriptions and register today to attend this important auto industry training event!
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NHTSA, Auto-ISAC and GRIMM Collaborate to Develop First of Its Kind Automotive Cybersecurity Training Program | |
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A partnership among the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC) and GRIMM are launching an automotive cybersecurity training program designed to lay the foundation for global workforce education. The training will be held at the American Center for Mobility in southeast Michigan.
The training will include issues, strategies, and updated technical information. Students will learn about UDS design and implementation bugs, code update design flaws, inter-ECU communications weaknesses, and the basics of reverse engineering of hardware and software issues.
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In-Cabin Sensors May Help Prevent Deaths When Children are Accidentally Left in Hot Vehicles | |
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Gentex Corporation, based in Holland, MI, is giving a boost to sensor technology that may help prevent heatstroke fatalities for children accidentally left in a vehicle. Gentex is an industry-leading global automotive supplier of innovative, advanced technology that optimizes driver vision and enhances driving safety and convenience. “Holistic driver and cabin monitoring” is a core focus of the Gentex brand. The term describes the intersection of two technologies.
The first technology is discrete driver monitoring which focuses on driver distraction, weariness, drowsiness, and sudden sickness. The second is full-cabin monitoring which uses wide field-of-view imaging and sensing of tactile surfaces and air quality. Combined, these technologies will help detect an occupant in the rear seating area. The technology is so precise, in fact, that it will be able to detect the breathing of a blanket-covered baby in a rear seat. The technology will be packaged in the vehicle’s rear-view mirror.
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Overview and Implications of New CAFE Standards and Penalties | |
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The US Transportation Secretary unveiled new CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) standards in April for 2024-2026 model year vehicles. New vehicles sold in the US for these model years must average at least 40 miles per gallon, a nearly 43% increase from the previous standard of 28 mpg. The recent announcement comes at a time when US consumers are paying record-high prices for gas.
The NHTSA press release notes that under the new standards, fuel consumption will decrease fuel use by over 250 billion gallons through the year 2050. Less reliance on foreign oil, consumer savings on gas, and reduced emissions were noted as an advantage of these higher standards. In addition, it was noted that carbon emissions would be reduced by 2.5 billion metric tons and estimated that consumers could save almost $1,400 in fuel expenses over the lifetime of a 2029 model vehicle under the new rules. However, the new regulations will likely increase the cost of new vehicles by nearly the same amount.
It was also announced that, for the first time since 1997, there will be bigger fines for automakers not meeting the CAFE standards for model years 2019-2022.
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GM Increases Cruise Investment by Nearly $3.5 Billion | |
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GM recently announced that it will acquire SoftBank Vision Fund 1’s equity ownership in the Cruise autonomous driving company at a cost of $2.1bn, as well as plans to invest an additional $1.35bn in the company. GM chair and CEO Mary Barra advised that the acquisition “will advance GM’s integrated autonomous vehicle strategy” and provide GM and Cruise with maximum flexibility to pursue the most value-accretive path to commercializing and unlocking the full potential of automated vehicle (AV) technology.” GM originally gained a majority ownership stake in Cruise in 2016, and just last month, Cruise became the first company to offer fully driverless rides to the public in a major US city (San Francisco).
Cruise's mission is to drive change by building the world's most advanced self-driving, all-electric, shared vehicles that safely connect people to the places, things, and experiences they care about. Cruise vehicles are all seeing, smart thinking, fast acting, and always learning. And they have fun names like Poppy and Burrito. Click the link below to learn more about this fascinating company!
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Monitoring Electric Power
This whitepaper presents a real-life example of tests that monitored an electric vehicle for five days to determine why the motor had been failing. The test engineers utilized HBK power analyzer and perception software to acquire data that was used to identify the problem and determine the cause of the motor failure.
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Occupant Protection for Vehicles with Automated Driving Systems
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration issued a first-of-its-kind final rule to ensure occupant safety in automated vehicles. It updates the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) to account for vehicles that do not have the traditional manual controls.
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The CAAT’s Outreach Coordinator, Saleta McMurray instructs middle school students on robotics software and coding during the DAPCEP STEM Week 2022 | |
CAAT Director, Ben Cruz, worked with the robot Pit crews during the FIRST® in Michigan District Championship and the state finals. Winning teams advanced to the FIRST® Championship in Houston, TX. | |
The all-electric Ford F-150 Lightning vehicle will be used to create backup power and energy management solutions in new Pulte Model homes. | |
GM's autonomous driving instructor is designed to measure and train new drivers. It may also lower the cost of teaching and increase trainer availability. | |
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… FedEx Express plans to test autonomous drone cargo delivery with Elroy Air?
The two companies are teaming up to build the first end-to-end autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial cargo system.
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… The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) platform educates drivers about semi-autonomous driving technology?
NHTSA has teamed up with Engineering Explained to offer a series of videos that are designed to help consumers better understand the six levels of automation as well as the benefits and limitations of semi-autonomous driving technology.
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… The base version of the Ford F-150 Lightning, the highly anticipated electric pickup truck, has a starting price of $40,000 and received an EPA rating with an estimated range of 230 miles and 68 miles per gallon on a single charge?
A larger battery pack is available which increases the range to 300 miles, but it comes with an optional package that increases the price up to $74,000.
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