Detecting the first raindrops or moisture on the windshield and adjusting wiper speed to match the rainfall level has become a typical feature in today's luxury vehicle. At the 2005 Frankfurt Auto Show, Hella announced a capacitive rain sensor design for integration into the windshield similar to a radio antenna. The barely visible unit allows areas of the windshield or rear window to be used for rain detection that previously had been difficult to sense. This occurs in contra-rotating wiping systems, which use the butterfly principle, and panorama windshields. The rain sensor is a capacitor which changes value depending on the amount of water hitting the windshield. Rain drops hitting the sensor area of the windshield detune an electric oscillator circuit containing the capacitive sensor and cause a signal change proportional to the amount of water. This input controls the wiping intensity providing a level of functionality beyond intermittent wipers. For more information on Hella's capacitive rain sensor go to: http://rbi.ims.ca/4914-500
Almost every automaker has had to 'pick a side' when it comes to alternative fuel options and ways to divest from a reliance on gasoline. Fiat is looking to back compressed natural gas or liquid propane as an interim solution.
Designing and filling a new type of water bottle might take less engineering work, but the description will help kids understand how science, math, and engineering influence their lives even through things that seem mundane.
Against a backdrop of mounting product complexity and a need to keep a lid on development costs, companies are recognizing a need to make simulation a more integral part of the design process. In response, vendors in the CAD world are building out CAE functionality as part of their CAD suites while simulation vendors are building tighter integrations to leading CAD tools. Keith Meintjes, Ph.D., Practice Manager, Simulation and Analysis at CIMdata, Inc., joins Design News CAD Editor Beth Stackpole in this radio program to explore the new face of integrated CAD and CAE, how companies are benefitting from this tighter partnership between platforms, and how integrating CAE earlier in the development cycle pays off in optimized product designs.
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