The recent Society of Automotive Engineers' Convergence 2012 conference in Detroit provided a glimpse of future automotive electronics, ranging from infotainment to powertrain control to autonomous driving systems.
Conferences at Convergence examined the future of electronics and vehicle engineering, while the show floor provided access to some of the latest and greatest products.
Click on the image below to check some of them out.
Booth demos at Convergence tested the engineering skills of attendees. (Source: Freescale Semiconductor)
Love the NVIDA graphics boost to GPS. Making map information more 3D-like would definitely have benefits in terms of communicating location and directions. Still don't get the LED interior lighting capabilities. Seems like a simple showing off of technology rather than delivering any real functionality/value.
Beth, you are right about the graphics, which are always a plus in any navigation system. The LEDs are important because they provide low power lighting. In addition to that, using LED technology with different light colors can be important during different driving conditions, whether it be the headlights or the interior lights. For instance, if someone in your car needs the interior light on while moving, the conventional way is to turn on a bright yellowish light that is very distracting to the driver. Instead, with LEDs, you could have the option to turn on a bluish light, which could provide light to the passeger and not distract the driver as much. Alternatively, on the headlights, different color LED lights work better in the fog and snow, vs a clear night.
Beth, I agree, the LED interior lights are silly. They are very much like the after market lights that appeared on cars which lit the road under the car in various colors. It is an attempt to be different by the drivers.
I really liked the autonomous vehicle competition by Freescale using vision sensors. I look at the automomous vehicle projects going on and they often involve lots of exotic sensors. We drive with just the vision sensor, for the most part, and generally do well.
Oh!! Now I can see the importance of the LEDs. At first, I was felt like Beth but akwaman you have made me see the lights. lol I have found that lights within my car due to my rider distracting or even from other cars, this is a nice solution or at least option.
Agreed, gsmith120. I see the light now too in terms of some applications where internal LEDs could lend an assist. Although in today's world, most passengers would be using some sort of electronics device--smart phone, tablet, e-Reader--all of which have backlit capabilities hence they don't really need an onboard light for clarity.
Beth, I have to admit that I'm not a likely candidate for colorful interior LED lighting, either. Some consumers like it, though. Ford's My Color has been very popular on the Mustang.
I agree, naperlou. The Freescale competition was cool. And the engineers were serious about it. Although the sign said, "Engineers at play," it didn't seem like they were playing.
With something you love, there's a fine line between work and play. It's a testament to the power of the technology that engineers are having that much fun all the while pushing the boundaries of what's possible and learning the new environments.
Why are EV charging cables so expensive? If there are complex electronics involved, why isn't that built into the car, so you could just plug in with a standard 110 or 220 extension cord? Simple power supplies can auto-sense whether you've plugged into 110 or 220, but a $40,000.00 car can't? Can anyone offer insight or point me to a link that discusses this?
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