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In modern internal combustion engines a greater reduction of CO₂ emissions is required in order to significantly reduce fuel consumption and minimize the emissions of polluting gases, allowing them to fall within the strict limits set by current regulations. In a conventional engine control system, it is not possible to optimize the efficiency of the alternator in terms of emissions and fuel consumption, due to a constant voltage which is imposed and is not modifiable. On the contrary, in a system capable of controlling the voltage of the alternator, referring to such an alternator as "smart" hereafter, it would be possible to optimize its efficiency as a function of the vehicle/engine working points. This system requires first and foremost a communication protocol between the alternator and engine control unit, and a special sensor that gets data on the charging status of the battery.

The knowledge explosion in all areas is both an opportunity and a risk. In order to shape the effects as positively as possible and create sustainable added value, the amount of information must be processed in a targeted manner and important content must be separated from ignorable content. In the automotive industry and especially in the development of new components, it is possible to look back on many past projects and thus knowledge. However, the decisive factor is whether this information is available in a suitably processed form or the knowledge is even held by just a single expert. A new and intelligent method is therefore required to analyze existing data appropriately and at the same time prepare it ideally for further applications, such as use within forecast models based on Artificial Intelligence (AI). To achieve this, several steps need to be taken. Firstly, it is possible to perform a suitable segmentation of the component.

An intelligent amplifier has been developed which delivers output power to either a two or four speaker audio system. The amplifier determines the number of speakers present during the start-up sequence and configures itself either as two BTL amplifiers or four single ended amplifiers. The system does not require any wiring modifications to operate in either mode and will reconfigure itself on each start-up cycle allowing system modifications, such as adding speakers, without additional wiring or hardware modifications. Difficulties arise when determining the presence of speakers in an automotive environment. Extraneous noise sources such as door slams, hatch slams and engine cranking can cause erroneous measurements thus inappropriate configurations. The presented circuit was determined to be immune to these noise sources and is based upon: 1. Integration of measurements over a fixed period of time 2.

The paper will introduce the concept of intelligent automotive system services as an essential pattern for forthcoming Electric/Electronic (E/E) architectures. System services are infrastructure-related, having vehicle-wide functionalities with one central part (master) and optionally several peripheral parts (clients) as counterparts in every ECU. System services support the reliable operation, efficient administration and maintenance of car functions over the entire life cycle. System services constitute vehicle-wide, distributed functionalities. Therefore, a consistent, interoperable and scalable implementation and integration strategy is outlined. In addition, synergies to the standard core as well as to the AUTOSAR concept will be described.

The paper introduces an integrated view on the emerging domain of system services as important part of an automotive IT infrastructure. System services are essential to allow an adequate administration and reliable operation of complex automotive IT systems during production, operation or maintenance of a vehicle. System services are vehicle-wide services. They range from software installation and configuration services, safety and security services, system diagnosis services, communication, connectivity and network services, up to vehicle status or engergy management services. The paper will discuss requirements, architecture and implementation issues as well as organisational implications, based on lessons learned from a prototypical implementation at BMW Car IT GmbH.

As vehicles are getting electrified and more intelligent, the energy consumption of the auxiliary system increases rapidly. The auxiliary battery acts as the backbone of the system to support the proper operation of the vehicle. It is important to ensure the auxiliary battery has enough energy to meet the basic loads regardless the vehicle is in park or running. However, the existing methods only focus on auxiliary energy management when the vehicle is in a dynamic event. To fulfill the gap, we propose an intelligent strategy that detects the low state of charge (SOC) condition, temporarily turns down the auxiliary loads based on their priorities and charges the auxiliary battery at the maximum efficiency of the auxiliary power unit. In addition, the proposed strategy allows the vehicle to get the park duration update and make intelligent decisions on charging the auxiliary battery.

The development of electronic intelligence and the continually increasing intensive knowledge of driving dynamics make it possible nowadays to conceive intelligent vehicle systems and to make such systems available for series production, which are capable of substantially enhancing the active safety of commercial vehicles. Through the implementation of advanced subsystems, which can be integrated as software packages into the basic electronic braking system, it will be possible to expand the possibilities of introducing assistance systems, which are capable of both, helping and relieving the driver from stress in critical situations. The driver will be relieved of all duties which could divert his attention or cause severe stress. As a consequence, the active safety of commercial vehicles will be considerably increased.

The development of intelligent driver assistance mechanism ensures safety and comfort of passengers, the intelligent braking and maneuvering mechanism is proposed by transforming the anti-lock braking technology for a four wheeled vehicle. This paper presents an active safety mechanism which incorporates both steering and braking assistance system in a maneuvering vehicle. The algorithm of collision avoidance mechanism is featured and interfaced in an intelligent vehicle with short range radar to assist driving system of host vehicle based on predicted motion of sensed obstacles. The developed system will be activated for obstacles in front of the host vehicle within critical risk level. The intelligent braking mechanism plays a pivotal role at the time of emergency situation depending on the predicted collision time and relative velocity between host and target, it also provides assistance to avoid panic situation for driver.

Orbiting EDM introduces additional electrode motion to enhance debris removal mechanism during machining process. This method offers superior machining quality towards static EDM due to advancement of debris removal and subsequently becomes a common process to produce precise and complex parts. However, designers often encounter difficulties to design electrode used for orbiting purposes. Aside from adjusting the electrode for machining overcut, the electrode also has to consider for the chosen orbit motion into geometry design, otherwise the final product will not meet design requirements due to deviated product dimension. These two factors have to be adjusted concurrently, following the characteristic of spark machining influenced by orbital motion. There is no CAD package that currently supports geometry adjustment for orbiting motion of EDM process in the market. Therefore, designers always perform manual electrode compensation for both orbit motion as well machining overcut.

The primary function of an automotive horn is to alert pedestrians and other nearby vehicles to their safe passage on the road. Most of the human population is subjected to a certain amount of horn sound dosage daily. The study of automotive horn sound quality is equally important as their sound generation mechanism in passenger cars. The sound quality of automotive horns can be studied through subjective and objective test methods. In the present study, a subjective jury test and objective analysis using psychoacoustic parameters are conducted to classify car horn sound samples according to pleasantness. Twenty-two car horns, consisting of a disc and shell, are chosen for binaural sound recording. The recorded sound samples are used for subjective and objective analysis. Thirty members participated in the jury test, and a semantic differential method was used to collect the user response. The Tukey range test is used to classify the subjective test data.

Indirect rotary transducer for an automotive screen interface is an innovative solution for the smart cockpit. The primary objective of this study is to design an indirect rotary transducer system, and study its feasibility in the smart cockpit. The working theory of this designed system is that the magnetic induction hall electronic chip can detect changes in the magnetic field. Several tests have been conducted, which show that the hypothesis of dangling operating system achieves the same effect as a hard-wired operating system. The results of the experiment indicate that the magnetic induction hall sensor can meet the specification of traditional hard-wired operating system. This system is a good concept for intelligent cab driving, which can fully meet the needs of the current market.

This paper presents the design of an intelligent combat maneuvering system capable of aiding operators of unmanned vehicles in critical situations to defend themselves from attack and destruction from either manned or unmanned air threats. The system consists of an intelligent associate system which monitors environmental constraints and interacts with the operator to maintain situational awareness. The architecture uses pre-computed maneuvers based upon the dynamics of the vehicle. The goal of the system design is to provide on-board reactive behaviors and variable levels of autonomy that allow the operator and the vehicle to collaborate in the execution of aggressive combat maneuvers.

In order to facilitate the decision-making activities in engineering design, formal computation of imprecise information is necessary. This study shows a method to formally compute the imprecision associated with both design-relevant (graphical) information and design requirements for facilitating the decision making activities in design. The proposed method uses a compliance analysis based approach. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by using a case study. The implications of this study (i.e., collaborative design decision systems) are also outlined.

Humanity has been interested in magnetism for over 300 years. Many authors have studied the use of applied magnetism to change the properties of products and expand the use of magnetic processing in ship repair production [1, 2]. Experience shows that magnetic pulse processing (MPP) is a simple and economical way to increase the durability of metal-cutting tools, increase the resource of the most worn parts of machines and mechanisms, and increase the durability of friction units, assembly units, and structures during their repair and manufacture. MPP has a number of advantages: simplicity of electromagnetic energy concentration on the product, its rapid accumulation by the material of the working elements of the part, and the efficiency of improving the operational characteristics (processing time is 0.3 ... 2.0 s with insignificant energy consumption).

The demands imposed on a braking system of passenger cars, under wide range of operating conditions, are high and manifold. Improvement of automotive braking systems' performance, under different operating conditions, is complicated by the fact that braking process has stochastic nature. The automotive brake's performance primarily affected the braking system's performance because their performance results from the complex interrelated phenomena occurring in the contact of the friction pair. These complex braking phenomena are mostly affected by the physicochemical properties of friction materials ingredients, its manufacturing conditions, and brake's operation regimes. Analytical models of brakes performance are difficult, even impossible to obtain due to complex and highly nonlinear phenomena involved during braking. That is why, in this paper all relevant influences on the disc brake operation of a passenger car have been integrated by means of artificial neural networks.

Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) are projected as one of the solutions to the world's need for cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles. The efficacy of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle lies in its control strategy. The diligent use of the two power sources, namely the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the electric motor (EM) determines the fuel consumption, the emissions output, and the charge-sustaining behavior of the vehicle, while still maintaining drivability. In this paper, a tunable control structure is developed that enables one to determine the torque split between the IC engine and the electric motor based on efficiency and emissions. Traffic and elevation information from Global Positioning Systems (GPS) over an entire trip is assumed to be known and is used in an adaptive fuzzy logic controller (FLC). An instantaneous control strategy for a parallel HEV is continuously modified based on future driving conditions.

This paper discusses the use of intelligent control techniques for the control of a parallel hybrid electric vehicle powertrain. Artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic are used to implement a load leveling strategy. The resulting vehicle control unit, a supervisory controller, coordinates the powertrain components. The presented controller has the ability to adapt to different drivers and driving cycles. This allows a control strategy which includes both fuel-economy and performance modes. The strategy was implemented on the Ohio State University FutureCar.

Operating level of a metal-belt CVT mainly rest with the ECU. Conventional control strategies which were obtained from tests or PID controller can not correspond to the driver’s intention or provide various driving environments. It is considered that control targets of metal-belt CVT could be distinguished by a speed ratio, line pressure and starting element till now. Running performance of automobile with a CVT mainly depends on the speed ratio control. An adapted fuzzy logic ratio control algorithm is suggested and optimized. A throttle position and its changing rate will be inputs of the FLC to meet the driver’s intention and make the intelligent control come true. A fuzzy logic line pressure control algorithm is also suggested and optimized corresponding to the complicated high line pressure control.

During the Phase III test of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project, wheat was used to supplement air revitalization for a crew habitat. Carbon dioxide from the crew was transferred to a plant growth chamber containing wheat. Oxygen from the wheat was stored for crew respiration and waste incineration. The Three Tier (3T) control architecture was used to automate the transfer of gases between the plant and crew chambers. 3T automatically managed limited resources (oxygen) and selected among alternative control strategies. It easily integrated with heterogeneous data systems. Using 3T significantly reduced test engineer workload. This paper describes using 3T for air revitalization.