TATA AIR CAR

Check this cool one at your leisure. I believe upon introducing the new model, the pollution level in India may go down and many two wheeler company may follow suit similar ones.

 

What is this?   Will it be the next big thing?   Tata Motors of India thinks so.   What will the Oil Companies do to stop it? It is an auto engine that runs on air.  That's right; air not gas or diesel or electric but just the air around us.  Take a look. Tata Motors of India has scheduled the Air Car to hit Indian streets by August 2012         The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy N. For Luxembourg-based MDI, uses compressed air to push its engine's pistons and make the car go. The Air Car, called the "Mini CAT" could cost around 365,757 rupees in India or $8,177 US. The Mini CAT which is a simple, light urban car, with a tubular chassis, a body of fiberglass that is glued not welded and powered by compressed air.  A Microprocessor is used to control all electrical functions of the car.  One tiny radio transmitter sends instructions to the lights, turn signals and every other electrical device on the car.  Which are not many. The temperature of the clean air expelled by the exhaust pipe is between 0-15 degrees below zero, which makes it suitable for use by the internal air conditioning system with no need for gases or loss of power. There are no keys, just an access card which can be read by the car from your pocket.  According to the designers, it costs less than 50 rupees per 100 KM, that's about a tenth the cost of a car running on gas.  It's mileage is about double that of the most advanced electric car, a factor which makes it a perfect choice for city motorists.  The car has a top speed of 105 KM per hour or 60 mph and would have a range of around 300 km or 185 miles between refuels.  Refilling the car will take place at adapted gas stations with special air compressors.  A fill up will only take two to three minutes and costs approximately 100 rupees and the car will be ready to go another 300 kilometers. This car can also be filled at home with it's on board compressor.  It will take 3-4 hours to refill the tank, but it can be done while you sleep.  Because there is no combustion engine, changing the 1 liter of vegetable oil is only necessary every 50,000 KM or 30,000 miles.  Due to its simplicity, there is very little maintenance to be done on this car. This Air Car almost sounds too good to be true.  We'll see in August. 2012

Mazda announces world first capacitor-based regenerative braking system

While Toyota took out the Tokachi 24-Hour Race in 2007 with a Supra HV-R hybrid race car featuring a quick-charging supercapacitor-based regenerative braking system, battery storage has so far been the norm for these systems in production vehicles. Now Mazda is charging things up with its new "i-ELOOP" system intended for internal combustion engine-powered vehicles. The i-ELOOP is billed as the world's first passenger vehicle regenerative braking system that uses a capacitor in place of rechargeable batteries to temporarily store energy captured from braking.

Regenerative braking systems used in most current hybrid and electric vehicles convert a vehicle's kinetic energy as it decelerates into electricity, which is used to recharge a battery that powers an electric motor. In contrast, Mazda's new "i-ELOOP" (Intelligent Energy Loop) system is designed to be used in internal combustion engine-powered cars with the energy captured used to power the climate control, audio system and other electrical components. This gives the system the advantage of not requiring a dedicated electric motor or battery.

Mazda claims the i-ELOOP system improves the fuel economy of a vehicle by around 10 percent under real-world driving conditions with frequent acceleration and braking.

i-ELOOP uses a new 12-25 V variable voltage alternator that generates electricity at up to 25 V before sending it to a low-resistance Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) for storage. Because capacitors can be charged and discharged much more quickly than batteries, the capacitor used in the i-ELOOP system can be fully charged in seconds. A DC/DC converter then steps down the electricity from 25 V to 12 V before distributing it directly to the vehicle's electrical components.

The system is also used to charge the vehicle's battery when necessary and works in conjunction with Mazda's i-stop idling technology to extend the period that the engine can be shut off.

The new i-ELOOP system, along with its range of SKYACTIV technologies, fits in with Mazda's focus on improving the efficiency of internal combustion engine vehicles rather than developing hybrid electric vehicle technology of its own, having opted instead to license technology used in the Toyota Prius for any near-future hybrid vehicles. Mazda says the i-ELOOP system will start to appear in its vehicles in 2012.

Speaking, interactive dashboard avatar could replace owner's manuals

At one time not all that long ago, cars had a warning light on the dashboard that simply said "ENGINE." That's pretty vague. Really, it might just as well have said "CAR." Some newer automobiles now have codes that appear on the console, which the driver must then look up in an index in the vehicle's owner's manual. Working with Audi, Germany's Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) Institute of Business Informatics is now working on taking things a step farther, with the development of an on-screen avatar that will talk to drivers, and even understand their spoken questions.

The experimental Avatar-based Virtual Co-driver System (AviCoS) is designed to work with the monitor of the Audi Mulitmedia Interface, which already comes standard on all of the automaker's vehicles.

The system uses artificial intelligence to understand drivers' spoken questions about their car, and responds verbally. Descriptive images and videos also appear on-screen, with the animated avatar character pointing out relevant details. In Touch and Tell mode, drivers can also receive explanations of various vehicle functions by touching the appropriate areas of the screen.

As with many such driver assistance technologies, there is the possibility that AviCoS could distract drivers from paying attention to the road. The designers have somewhat addressed that problem, by suppressing first the image of the avatar, and then all of the graphics, as the vehicle's speed increases. Drivers remain able to converse with the avatar, however, which could still be distracting.

Down the road, the TUM researchers would like to see the system being able to identify the driver's state of mind, by analyzing their tone of voice and speech rhythm. If AviCoS determined that the driver was getting stressed out, it could lessen their sensory overload by suppressing its video output. Working with the car's other systems, it could also do things such as instructing the navigation system to provide directions earlier, and more often.