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Michigan awards $1.7 million in grants to expand electric vehicle charging network across the state

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Drivers of electric vehicles will have more locations to recharge their vehicle’s batteries as they travel across Michigan because of $1.7 million in grants awarded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

The EGLE made the funding available for direct current fast chargers located along well-traveled routes. It says this will “make it more convenient for drivers to reach their destinations”.

EGLE says it is committed to the future of mobility through investment in infrastructure that is needed to support EVs and it has identified “optimal charger locations” across Michigan. [Read more…] about Michigan awards $1.7 million in grants to expand electric vehicle charging network across the state

Oil-producing nations struggling with economic woes as society shifts towards electric movement

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Oil-producing nations located in the Middle East and North Africa are struggling with their economies, most of which are not diversified enough to offset the losses caused by falls in the price of crude.

A quick check shows that the current price of a barrel of crude oil – which is about 160 litres – is just above $40, which is significantly lower than certainly Arab countries need it to be.

According to the Economist, Algeria needs the price to be about $157 a barrel, while Oman wants to get to at least $87. [Read more…] about Oil-producing nations struggling with economic woes as society shifts towards electric movement

Continental building supercomputer on Nvidia platform to use for vehicle AI

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Continental is building a supercomputer based on the Nvidia computing platform. The system is intended for vehicle artificial intelligence system training.

The two companies say they are building the high-performance cluster based on Nvidia DGX AI systems, adding that this will “boost autonomous driving development performance”.

The new cluster reduces development time from weeks to hours, say the companies and among its main uses are deep learning, simulation and virtual data generation. [Read more…] about Continental building supercomputer on Nvidia platform to use for vehicle AI

Virginia Tech partners with Dive Technologies to launch autonomous underwater vehicle

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Virginia Tech researchers at the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics have partnered with Boston-based Dive Technologies to support the development and testing of what they describe as a novel autonomous underwater vehicle with innovative vehicle design and state-of-the-art control, software, and autonomy systems.

This multiyear collaboration provides an opportunity to apply research discoveries and innovative technology developed in the academic lab and deploy them in next-generation commercial applications.

Bill Lebo, co-founder and chief technology officer of Dive Technologies, says: “We feel fortunate to be working closely with professors Daniel Stilwell, Stefano Brizzolara, and the entire team supporting Dive Technologies from the Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics. [Read more…] about Virginia Tech partners with Dive Technologies to launch autonomous underwater vehicle

Horiba Mira offers simulation platform to autonomous car developers

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Automotive engineering and development consultancy Horiba Mira says it is providing its new “co-simulation” platform to helps US Connected and Autonomous Challenge organisers get through the Covid-19 lockdown.

With the coronavirus pandemic causing disruption across the industry, Horiba Mira’s forward-thinking Horizon Scanning team has provided critical support to the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge (EcoCAR), using its new Component-in-the-Loop (XiL) co-simulation platform, DigiCAV, to help EcoCAR safely carry on developing its vehicles despite the recent lockdown.

As one of the world’s leading competitions for creating concept vehicles for future mobility, the EcoCAR Challenge is a four-year scheme managed by Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), a multidisciplinary science and engineering research centre based in Chicago. [Read more…] about Horiba Mira offers simulation platform to autonomous car developers

Magna celebrates ‘significant milestone’ in contract manufacturing

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Magna is celebrating what it regards as a “significant milestone” in its progress as a contract manufacturer.

The company recently built the ArcFox α-T sports utility vehicle – a battery electric vehicle – through its Zhenjiang, China joint venture contract manufacturing facility.

The $40,000 α-T symbolises the first time Magna’s complete vehicle manufacturing has expanded beyond Europe, where the company has built vehicles for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover and others at its Graz, Austria facility. [Read more…] about Magna celebrates ‘significant milestone’ in contract manufacturing

Toyota offers free access to virtual crash test dummy software

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Toyota will make its Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) software freely available from January 2021 as part of its efforts toward a safe mobility society.

THUMS is a virtual human body model software program for computer analysis of human body injuries caused in vehicle collisions. Free access to THUMS, and subsequent use by a wider variety of users, is expected to enhance vehicle safety.

Designed to aid vehicle safety technologies’ research and development, and developed in cooperation with Toyota Central R&D Labs, THUMS was the world’s first virtual human body model software when it launched in 2000. [Read more…] about Toyota offers free access to virtual crash test dummy software

ABB wins $5 million order for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota

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ABB has won an order worth $5 million for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota.

The agreement was made through Chargedot, an ABB business unit, and is considered “a major order” in China.

GAC Toyota is the Guangzhou-based joint venture between GAC Group and Toyota. With plans to expand production of electric vehicles to 400,000 a year, the company has asked ABB to supply “several thousand electric vehicle chargers” over the next year. [Read more…] about ABB wins $5 million order for electric vehicle chargers from GAC Toyota

Bosch says its new chip is ‘revolutionizing navigation’

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Bosch, one of the world’s largest suppliers of automotive components, says a new chip has invented is “revolutionizing navigation”.

The company says its new MEMS sensor – the SMI230 – is a highly precise sensor which constantly registers changes in the vehicle’s direction and speed, evaluates the information, and transmits it to the navigation system.

There, the information is combined with the positional data from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and used for navigation. [Read more…] about Bosch says its new chip is ‘revolutionizing navigation’

Agilox applies artificial swarm intelligence to its warehouse robots and makes ‘substantial’ cost savings

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Agilox says its autonomous mobile robots are “substantially saving costs” by applying artificial swarm intelligence.

Swarm Intelligence and bio-inspired computing have attracted great interest in almost every area of science and engineering, including robotics, over the last two decades.

Being an innovative manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots, Agilox directs most of its effort into developing one of the most unique robotic material handling features on the market – completely decentralized autonomy. [Read more…] about Agilox applies artificial swarm intelligence to its warehouse robots and makes ‘substantial’ cost savings