News I Front End
Nissan steer-by-wire cars set for 2013 launch N
issan is set to become the first mass produced car manufacturer to introduce vehicles controlled by steer-by-wire technology. The new technology will
be introduced in some models of the company’s Infiniti brand next year in a move that could pave the way for cars to be steered by joysticks and be programmed to automatically avoid crashes. The steering wheel of a car and
the tyres are traditionally linked mechanically, giving the driver direct feedback about steering from the tyres on the road. Using "steer by wire", inputs made by the driver through the steering wheel are transmitted to a computerised engine control unit which then instructs an actuator on how to move the tyres. According to Nissan the cars will also have a backup clutch that will link the steering wheel and tyres mechanically in the event of any
problems.Nissan said, however, that it hoped to be able to ditch the safety measure in the longer term. Masaharu Satou, a Nissan engineer, said that “If we are freed from the need for a backup clutch,
we would be able to place the steering wheel wherever we like.”
If Nissan is able to drop this safety feature then the car could then be controlled by a joystick or even from the back seat. However, for the time being the addition of the clutch system adds weight to the vehicles, undermining another potential benefit of the technology - better fuel efficiency.
order for it to be widely adopted it may need to overcome motorists' safety concerns. Nissan said that users would enjoy an improved driving experience since their intentions would be transmitted to the wheels faster than by using a hydraulic and mechanical system. In addition it said that the development would "insulate" motorists from disturbances caused by unnecessary feedback.
While steer by wire technology is commonly used in
aircraft its adoption by Nissan would be the first time that it will be applied to mass-produced cars and in
In should be noted that back in 2004 Mercedes-Benz faced customers who complained that its Sensotronic brake-by-wire system - which used an electrical link to control vehicles' brake pads - sometimes failed, so there may well be concerns over the reliability of drive-by-wire technology. The firm ultimately recalled about two million vehicles and dropped the feature.
Jay Nagley, managing director of the Redspy auto consultancy, said he thought the
development would catch on. Speaking to the BBC he said: "I think initially people will find it a bit spooky but will be reassured by the fact there is a mechanical back-up if required. But over time I'm sure people will get used to it as its part of the bigger picture of self-driving cars where drivers don't have to be in control at all times." Volkswagen are currently testing drive-by-wire technology in a modified version of its Passat model and Volvo has also incorporated the facility in tests
of its self-drive "road train" concept, which involves a convoy of cars using drive-by-wire technology to mimic the actions of a lead vehicle
Nissan has also been demonstrating a system that automatically steers a car away from an object if it detects a likely crash and hopes to start deploying this technology, which uses radars, laser scanners and a camera, in the next three to five years.
Poor figures from Intel dispel hopes for an imminent revival in PC sales
I
ntel Corp's weak outlook for fourth-quarter revenue and margins has helped to dispel any lingering hopes for a revival in PC demand towards the end of the year. Earlier this month Intel, and rival Advanced Micro Devices, warned of weak demand for PCs, hit by
a troubled global economy and the growing popularity of tablets like Apple's iPad. With economic growth slowing in China the continuing economic crisis in Europe and
a weak recovery in the United States, global PC shipments are expected by analysts to decline slightly this year, which would represent the first annual drop since 2001. According to IHS iSuppli, the market research analysts, the total PC market in 2012 is expected to contract by 1.2 percent to 348.7 million units, down from 352.8 million in 2011.
“There was great hope through the first half that 2012 would prove to be a rebound year for the PC market,” said Craig Stice, senior principal analyst for computer systems at IHS. “Both AMD and Intel’s third-quarter outlooks appear to be flat to down. Optimism has vanished and turned to doubt, and the industry is now training its sights on 2013 to deliver the hoped-for rebound. All this is setting the PC market up for its first annual decline since the dot-com bust year of 2001.” The year started off with major hope for Intel’s ultrabooks at the annual Consumer
Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas. New and innovative form factors like convertibles, combined with the first appearance of Windows 8 demos on display, provided a fresh wave of enthusiasm for the possibility of a revitalised PC market. Even when first-quarter PC shipments came in, the less-than-stellar results were thought to be a minor setback. The high expectations continued mid-year during the big PC event at Computex in
Taiwan, as Intel plugged its latest Ivy Bridge processor. Shipments during the second quarter, however, once again disappointed. For now, important questions remain for the PC market and the rest of the year: How much impact will Windows 8 really have toward boosting the PC market in the fourth quarter and will the continuing weak global economic outlook undermine whatever hype or interest has been generated by ultra books, and will mobile computing gadgets such as tablets and smartphones win over PCs during the crucial holiday selling season? There are signs that a strong rebound could still occur in 2013. While IHS has reduced
Intel - Ultrabook
its forecasts, the new ultrabooks and other ultra-thin notebook computers remain viable products with the potential to redraw the PC landscape, and the addition of Windows 8 to the mix could prove potent and irresistible to consumers. Whether a newly configured PC space could then stand up to the powerful smartphone and tablet markets, however, remains to be seen.
www.cieonline.co.uk Components in Electronics October 2012 5
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