Autoblog

Siemens and Microsoft have announced a joint partnership to develop the next generation of in-car entertainment and sat-nav products, which, much like the Ford/Microsoft Sync system, will allow users to connect everything from mobile phones to media players. Recognizing that standalone audio systems are quickly becoming a thing of the past, the new system seeks to integrate every facet of the "digital lifestyle" into one all-encompassing unit. The fruits of their labors should be in production by 2009, assuming all goes well over in Redmond.

[Source: Automotive News – Sub. Req.]

The safety-obsessed people over at Siemens VDO have developed a new system that, depending on the noise produced by a crash, will figure out the best way to deploy the airbags.

The Crash Impact Sound Sensor (CISS) is quicker on the draw than other systems (up to 15 milliseconds), and depending on the information it receives from the audio sensors, it can determine where the collision took place and the level of severity. In turn, the only airbags deployed would be the ones necessary to protect the affected passengers.

The system is particularly important to the vertically challenged, who have sustained serious injury when an airbag was deployed unnecessarily.

[Source: Siemens VDO via Autopia]

Could technology from an 18th century horse & buggy become the latest high-performance braking innovation? Back then, they used a wedge of wood to bring the wheel to a stop. Since then, we have been through several innovations in braking, with the latest being with multi-piston calipers, squeezing ceramic-carbon rotors with a multitude of brake pad formulations. According to Siemens, the future of braking technology is called EWB or Electronic Wedge Braking. Along with a claim that they have regularly experienced braking distances that are less than half of what's required by standard brakes, they also claim to utilize less than 10% of the energy needed by hydraulic brakes and weight substantially less than their conventional counterparts. What's more, the EWB will eliminate the need for brake lines, a servo-unit and a brake fluid reservoir, as it is entirely driven by 12-volts of electricity.

Here are a couple of other really cool features of the system. The faster the vehicle is traveling when the brakes are applied, the more powerful the brakes immediately become. The rotor momentum draws the pad further up the series of interlocking wedges applying progressively more pressure and increasing efficiency. Each wheel can also be electronically modulated to allow for much more precise anti-lock and stability processes as well as eliminating the pulsating pedal associated with the current ABS systems.

When will the EWB system hit the road? Possibly as early as 2008 on a Porsche, BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz.

[Source: AutoWeek]

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As the use of electric motors in motor vehicles converges with other technologies such as drive-by-wire, stability control, and active suspension, eventually a major paradigm shift in automotive architecture may be required. In preparation for that moment, Siemens VDO is working on something that it calls eCorner, which is a convergence of several technologies into the wheel and hub assembly.

While the centerpiece of the concept is an electric drive motor that's integrated into the hub (clearly intended for use with a fuel cell or series hybrid powertrain), other interesting technologies include an active suspension system and Siemens VDO's electronic wedge brake (EWB) brake-by-wire system. The whole assembly is kept pointed in the correct direction by a steer-by-wire system. Fitting the system at all four corners of a vehicle would enable some rather interesting vehicle dynamics, with the angle of each road wheel and the amount of power applied to each motor being continuously varied to keep the car pointed where the driver intends it to go.

While each of these technologies by themselves aren't necessarily novel, it's certainly interesting to see them bundled as one package. Now, someone just has to take the big leap and put into production a vehicle that uses all this technology.

[Source: Siemens; a hat tip to reader Dan Mohr]

Could supermodel Heidi Klum be a closet gearhead? Despite parting ways with Renault F1 bigwig Flavio Briatore, the camera-friendly celebrity appears to still have a thing for motorsports, having reportedly 'coptered in to chat with the Audi DTM crew at the EuroSpeedway over the weekend. Klum talked with the team, then walked around the starting grid and took in the race from the Audi Lounge over pit lane.

Perhaps the four-ringed boys were a mote distracted, as they were unable to seal the deal on the track. Tom Kristensen (Siemens Audi A4 DTM) finished second, the only marque representative in the top seven spots. Mercedes dominated the standings, securing six out of the top ten positions, including eventual winner Bernd Schneider.

(Flavio and Klum are pictured)

[Source: PaddockTalk]