Technology

Coming to a Car Near You: Auto Technology at CES

Published

10 years ago

January 9, 2015

The OpenAir I1.3 infotainment system is on display in a car at the Visteon booth Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015, at the International CES in Las Vegas. The technology allows you to to access your smart phone and its apps from the touch screen in your car. (AP Photo/John Locher)

KIMBERLY PIERCEALL, Associated Press

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Self-driving cars garner much of the attention, but in reality, we’re years away from tooling around in something like Knight Rider’s KITT. Coming sooner to a car near you: smartphone apps on dash displays, cruise control that adapts to cars around it, remote engine starting and more.

At International CES in Las Vegas this week, 10 automakers and numerous suppliers unveiled technological features that will find their way into cars in the distant and not-so-distant future. Here’s a look at some of their wares.

Your car will think. It will react. It will learn.

“This car will take responsibility,” said Dieter Zetsche, leader of Mercedes-Benz, as he introduced the company’s luxury self-driving concept car of the future.

If that sounds a bit scary, like the prologue to a film in which machines overtake mankind, companies supplying the brains and eyes for these robocars say it’s for our own good. Cars already do some of these things, really. Anti-lock brake systems, cruise control and parallel parking assistance are steps toward taking our hands completely off the wheel.

There are 1.2 million traffic-related deaths globally each year, according to the World Health Organization; 32,719 of them were in the U.S. in 2013. As automakers point out, your self-driving car won’t get drunk, tired or distracted. And they could return something many other gadgets have taken away: time.

First, “the car has to become self-aware. It has to be able to see and understand what’s happening around it,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, which introduced a super-fast processor at the show and has been working with Audi to develop piloted systems and in-car digital displays.

Audi touted a road trip that its A7 piloted prototype — piloted because there still needs to be a driver behind the wheel to assure nothing goes awry — took from Silicon Valley to Las Vegas for the show, without incident, “driven” by chosen journalists sitting behind the wheel.

“We are ready for piloted driving on public streets,” said Ulrich Hackenberg from Audi’s board of management.

But laws that would allow such autonomy aren’t quite ready; neither are answers to questions such as: Can someone sue a driverless car if it’s in a crash? If it can’t avoid a crash, how will it decide what or whom to crash into? Can a car be hacked and if so, how can it be protected?

Carmakers and suppliers admit there’s still quite a bit they and their cars are learning. Mercedes-Benz says their ultimate vision of the future — a sleek carriage that will ferry us to our destinations — exists beyond 2030, at least.

For now, though, your car might be able to know:

—Where you’re shopping

Ask Chevrolet’s OnStar system for directions to the nearest Dunkin Donuts, and you might receive a coupon. The carmaker has partnered with the doughnut chain, Priceline.com and the Speedway brand of gas stations for opt-in promotions.

The service can mine data in the car to offer advice on systems that might be close to failing, like a near-dead battery or a fuel system malfunction. Pass along your real-time driving habits to your insurer, and you might earn rewards for good driving.

—What’s on your smartphone:

Being able to plug one’s smartphone into a dash display seems obvious with so many plug-and-play options elsewhere, but it hasn’t been easy in cars until now. Apple’s Car Play and eventually Android’s version will let a driver can plug in their devices and view their songs, apps and maps on the in-car display.

That’s a huge improvement, said Ron Montoya of car research site Edmunds.com.

“People are responding to texts on their own inside the car. They’re playing their music, they’re playing their Pandora,” he said. Now, rather than fumble with a device, often taking their eyes off the road, the information they’re looking for will be within their line of sight on the dash display. Carmakers from Hyundai (Apple Car Play will be available in 2015 models of the Sonata and more widely available in 2016) to Audi (it’ll be available in the Q7) all talked about phone integration.

—How to talk to your smartphone, or smartwatch:

Hyundai’s Blue Link system now includes a smartphone app that lets car owners start the car remotely, lock or unlock it, find their car within a mile using GPS tracking (such as in a big parking lot), send a destination to the car’s navigation system and send alerts. Have a teenage driver in the house who’s borrowing the car? Your car, via your phone, will tell you if the car was started after curfew or if it was traveling above a certain speed limit.

—What’s happening around it:

That red light? That slow car up ahead? Adaptive cruise control available in cars soon will be so advanced that the machines will sense when a car ahead is slowing down and safely change lanes to zoom around (on the driver’s signal.) If a car up ahead stops or there’s a red light, the car will come to a halt. Inside a Volkswagen Golf being tested by Valeo and IAV, who are developing automated software and hardware for cars, self-driving mode brought the car slowly to a stop behind a school bus on a Las Vegas street, the driver’s hands off the wheel and feet off the pedals.

“I’m not worried,” said driver Lars Eggenstein of IAV.

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Advanced Conductors Provide Path for Grid Expansion

Utility companies in the United States could double electric transmission capacity by 2035 by replacing existing transmission lines with those made from advanced materials, according to a new study published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Published

1 week ago

October 29, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo courtesy UC Berkeley News.

By Matthew Burciaga

UC Berkeley News

Led by Duncan Callaway, professor and chair of the Energy and Resources Group (ERG), and Amol Phadke, an affiliate and senior scientist at the Goldman School of Public Policy, the first-of-its-kind study details a faster and more cost-effective way to expand the grid and connect the more than 1,200 gigawatts of renewable energy projects awaiting approval. The analysis was first published last December as a working paper by the Energy Institute at Haas and has been covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, Heatmap News, and other news outlets.

“Expanding transmission capacity is critical to decarbonization, and we sought to study ways to build it faster and cheaper,” said Callaway.

It currently takes 10 to 15 years to build a new power line and the U.S. is building transmission lines at a lower rate than it was in the past decade. Without sufficient capacity, renewable energy projects often sit in limbo for years as transmission operators study what upgrades—if any—are needed to accommodate the increased loads.

The authors modeled various scenarios to determine if replacing existing transmission conductors with those made with advanced composite-core materials—a process known as reconductoring—could provide a pathway to faster grid expansion.

Several reconductoring projects have been initiated in Belgium and the Netherlands, and utility companies in the U.S. have used the material to string transmission lines across wide spans like river crossings. That technology, however, has not made its way to the majority of overhead power lines that feed residential and commercial customers.

“As we learned more about the technology, we realized that no one had done the detailed modeling needed to understand the technology’s potential for large-scale transmission capacity increases,” said Phadke.

Based on the authors’ projections, it is cheaper—and quicker—for utility companies to replace the 53,000 existing transmission lines with advanced composite-core materials than it is to build entirely new transmission lines.

They assert that doing so would reduce wholesale electricity costs by 3% to 4% on average—translating to $85 billion in system cost savings by 2035 and $180 billion by 2050.

“The level of interest we’ve received from federal and state agencies, transmission companies and utilities is extremely encouraging, and since our initial report, the Department of Energy has committed hundreds of millions of dollars to reconductoring projects,” said co-author Emilia Chojkiewicz, a PhD student in ERG and an affiliate of the Goldman School of Public Policy. “We are looking forward to learning about these projects as they unfold.”

Additional co-authors include Nikit Abhyankar and Umed Paliwal, affiliates at the Goldman School of Public Policy; and Casey Baker and Ric O’Connell of GridLab, a nonprofit that provides comprehensive technical grid expertise to policy makers and advocates.

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Black History

A Life of Inventions: Engineer and Physicist George Alcorn

George Edward Alcorn Jr. was born on March 22, 1940, in Indianapolis. Growing up in a family that valued education, Alcorn developed an early love for science and mathematics. He excelled in school, and attended Occidental College in California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1962. He received a master’s degree in nuclear physics in 1963 and a Ph.D. in atomic and molecular physics in 1967 at Howard University.

Published

1 week ago

October 28, 2024

Oakland Post

Portrait of George Edward Alcorn Jr. Debbie McCallum, Public domain.

By Tamara Shiloh

George Edward Alcorn Jr. was born on March 22, 1940, in Indianapolis.

Growing up in a family that valued education, Alcorn developed an early love for science and mathematics. He excelled in school, and attended Occidental College in California, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics in 1962. He received a master’s degree in nuclear physics in 1963 and a Ph.D. in atomic and molecular physics in 1967 at Howard University.

Alcorn began his career in developing scientific technology in private industries, starting a career as a physicist for IBM. His career took off when he joined several prestigious companies and research institutions, such as the Aerospace Corporation, where he developed important technologies for spacecraft. In 1978, he accepted a position at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, where he worked for the remainder of his career. There, he developed technologies for space stations and private institutions across the nation, becoming a key figure in the field of physics and space exploration.

Alcorn is well known for his groundbreaking work on X-ray spectrometers. An X-ray spectrometer is a device used to identify different elements in materials by analyzing the X-ray wavelengths they emit. His improvements allowed the instrument to detect X-rays with greater accuracy and efficiency. This invention has been critical for NASA’s space missions, aiding in the analysis of planetary atmospheres and surfaces, including Mars and other planets in our solar system.

He also contributed to the development of plasma etching, a process used in manufacturing microchips for computers and electronics. His work in this area advanced semiconductor technology, which powers everything from smartphones to satellites.

Another accomplishment was the development of new technologies used in the Freedom space station in partnership with space agencies in Japan, Canada and Europe, though their projects never made it to space.

Throughout his career, Alcorn received several awards and honors, including NASA’s Inventor of the Year Award in 1984. In 2010, he received the highest honor from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. In 2015, Alcorn was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his invention of the imaging X-ray spectrometer.

In addition to his work in the lab, Alcorn dedicated much of his time to teaching and mentoring young scientists. As one of the few African American scientists working in advanced fields like physics and space exploration, he has been an inspiration to young people, especially those from underrepresented groups in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). He taught at Howard University and worked to encourage more African Americans to pursue careers in science and engineering.

George is quoted as stating, “The big thing about being in science and engineering is that if you have a good, interesting project going, work is not coming to work, it’s coming to an adventure.”

George Edward Alcorn passed away June 19, 2024.

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Antonio‌ ‌Ray‌ ‌Harvey‌

Gov. Newsom Touts California Economic Success

In a 20-minute interview on Oct. 10, Gov. Gavin Newsom said California’s economy is in great shape due to achievements in certain areas. The Governor was speaking at the 2024 California Economic Summit event hosted by California Forward in Sacramento. It was attended by more than 100 leaders from industry, community, and the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

Published

2 weeks ago

October 21, 2024

Oakland Post

Gov. Gavin Newsom. File photo.

By Antonio Ray Harvey

In a 20-minute interview on Oct. 10, Gov. Gavin Newsom said California’s economy is in great shape due to achievements in certain areas.

The Governor was speaking at the 2024 California Economic Summit event hosted by California Forward in Sacramento. It was attended by more than 100 leaders from industry, community, and the private, public, and nonprofit sectors.

“It is an exciting and dynamic time,” said Newsom. “Thirty-two of the top 50 AI companies are all here in California. We dominate in tourism – record breaking tourism last year.”

“It isn’t by accident that California is an economic powerhouse,” Newsom continued. “Whether it be around education, infrastructure, or immigration, we’re following a formula for success.”

In Newsom’s overview of the state’s economy, he didn’t include why two companies decided to leave for the state of Texas. SpaceX and Chevron announced their departures over the summer.

Billionaire Elon Musk is moving the headquarters of his companies X and SpaceX from San Francisco to Texas. After 140 years of doing business in California, Chevron is heading to the southwestern state as well.

Chevron employs 2,000 workers in San Ramon. It operates crude oil fields, technical facilities, two refineries, and services more than 1,800 retail stations in California.

“There will be minimal immediate relocation impacts to other employees currently based in San Ramon. The company expects all corporate functions to migrate to Houston over the next five years. Positions in support of the company’s California operations will remain in San Ramon,” Chevron shared in an Aug. 2 press release.