Auto Technology seems to be moving at the speed of light and then sometimes it isn’t. Here are a few insights from the past several weeks in the world of Auto Tech.
Satellite Cars
An opinion piece from Satellite Today suggests that connecting driverless cars is a bit more complicated than first realized. The author Roger Lanctot suggests the following trends in the connected car wireless market that might be a future issue:
1) Product lifecycle of a car is 15 years+, which extends the life cycle of a wireless network. Wireless networks are constantly evolving and upgrading.
2) Automakers are committed to safety under all circumstances. Wireless carriers have no such commitment. German companies are coming out with “dual-SIM dual active” (DSDA) 2-SIM configurations and some Chinese OEMs are proposing 3-and 4-SIM solutions. GM’s Cruise makes use of a module with four cellular wireless carrier connections, for example.
3) Wireless Connectivity is essential for the operation of driverless cars. Car will need access to keep software updated along with maps, traffic, weather, road conditions—all done in real time.
Satellite technology could certainly deliver a universally reliable connection at high speed and low latency and can also broadcast vital information or commands en masse. Something to think about!
5G Technology
China’s Huawei Technologies launched this past week the world’s first 5G communications hardware for the auto industry. In a statement, the company said that the MH5000 module is based on the Balong 5000 5G chip that the company launched in January.
In Europe, Wi-Fi has beat out 5G as the technology of choice for connected cars. The primary reason according to the European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc has to do with safety.
“It’s quite simple really. First, WiFi is a proven technology and has almost no patents on it anymore. It’s available now, is easy to implement and it’s cheap. It’s affordable for everyone. One of the main political points during my mandate was to improve road safety and set up a systemic approach to it. I suffer personally when I see that 25,000 people lose their lives every year and 137,000 are seriously injured.”
Check out the rest of the interview with Violeta Bulc Here.
Are Flying Cars Sustainable?
University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company researchers reported recently that flying cars or sometimes called VTOLs (vertical takeoff and landing aircraft) are not as suitable for short commutes but could provide sustainable mobility for longer trips. The VTOL would need to fully loaded and electric. Director of the Center for Sustainable Systems at UM Gregory Keoleian said, “VTOLs will full occupancy could outperform ground-based cars for trips from San Francisco to San Jose or from Detroit to Cleveland, for example.”
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Passenger Cars come of Age at Auto Shangai
At the Auto Shanghai, Chinese start-up Grove Hydrogen Automobile Company unveiled a concept passenger car that is capable of traveling 1,200 KM or 745.6 miles. Grove Spokesman said the car can be easily filled up and does much better than an electric car in terms of range. This week, they signed a cooperation agreement with the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil to bring hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to Brazil and South America. They also signed with German company Hofer Powertrain GmbH to work together on electronic drive solutions.
New York Auto Show shows the future track of EVs
The New York Auto Show will conclude on April 28th. Automotive News said the show set an example for a shift to electric cars. GearPatrol.com had their eye on the most beautiful details at the NY Auto Show.
Auto Hacking
Motherboard.com posted a story about a hacker who broke into thousands of accounts that belong to users of two different GPS tracker apps. He claims he was able to monitor the locations of tens of thousands of vehicles and even turn off engines while the vehicles were in motion. He tracked vehicles in India, Morocco, Philippines, and South Africa. Those that were hacked were using the default password that the two apps automatically gave to users.
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5G will be the end of life on Earth. Never tested for safety, and found by independent researchers to be harmful, 5G is being steamrolled out by the tech industry with the help of the government. In the 1990’s Big Tech got a law pased to exempt them from any harm tech does and exempting them from any limitations on their activities. That should raise big red flags.
5G will rain down from satellites on every square inch of Earth unless we rise up and stop it.
Tom McCarey