Innovations for Automotive

07/12/2022: Vehicle Feature Add Technology Solutions:

1. Wireless Sensor Technology Can Simplify Automotive ADAS Deployment: The wiring harness in modern vehicles can stretch more than two miles and weigh as much as 125 lbs., so any technology that can help reduce this increasingly heavy and complex component in new vehicles will be welcome. Powermat Technologies can project as much as 300 watts of power as far as 8 inches through solid non-metallic objects, according to Kantor. The company has applied for more than 200 patents on this technology and has been awarded patents on more than half of those already. Refer to Design News.

2. Automobile Interior Sanitization System that incorporates a “plurality of ultraviolet light arrays,” each of which includes ultraviolet light emitters that are then used to target specific areas of the cabin with ultraviolet light with a wavelength between 200 nanometers and 280 nanometers. The system also incorporates a controller that will activate the ultraviolet light system when proper operating conditions have been met and there are no passengers in the cabin. Additionally, the system will lock the doors prior to activating the ultraviolet light arrays. Refer to gmautority.com for details on the patent – # US 2022/0111703 A1
3. Radiant Heating System that is designed to warm an occupant of an enclosed space. The new system appears to be a more energy-efficient method to keep vehicle occupants comfortable and should prove useful in electric vehicles, serving as an alternative to traditional HVAC systems that use more energy. Refer to gmautority.com for details on the patent – # US 2021/0402936 A1.

4. Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America entitled “Tracking and video information for detecting vehicle break-in” purports to track a break-in like your very own private detective. Besides logging the moment of a break-in, it uses its sensors and an onboard computing device “beyond the time of the break-in.” Refer to https://www.autotrader.ca/editorial/20211130/9-interesting-new-patents-from-the-world-s-leading-automakers/.
5. Tesla’s latest patent kicks this feature up a whole new level. Called “Vehicle seat with the integrated temperature-control system,” the system uses liquid cooling to heat and cool the entire seat. Refer to https://patents.justia.com/patent/11084404.

6. A patent by Ford entitled “Multifunctional vehicle seating assembly” takes a slightly different approach and outlines how a seat base on a sliding track could be used for multifunctional seating and storage. It works using guided tracks that align with the rows of seating in a vehicle. This enables the seat base to be positioned in different ways. The design of the seat itself allows it to be deployed as a seat, console, or storage compartment. Refer to https://patents.justia.com/patent/20210291744.
7. GM Global Technology Operations entitled “Motor vehicle with cognitive response test system for preemptively detecting potential driver impairment“ purports to improve the current method of real-time alcohol and drug impairment testing and detection. This includes testing your reflexes, motor skills, and verbal responses. Refer to Patent Application #20210291650.
8. Almost all Automotive OEMs have each developed a rearview mirror with a built-in LCD monitor displaying images from a camera mounted on the rear of the vehicle. This Intelligent Rearview Mirror allows the driver the ability to switch between the LCD monitor and the standard rearview mirror, depending on the driver’s preference. The driver is able to see traffic conditions behind the car through the clear video imagery, as well as use the rearview mirror to check on passengers and pets in the rear. This helps make for a safer and more comfortable driving experience.

CES 2022 Technology Innovations for Vehicle Integration – Accessory Add

Below is the high-level summary of the initial research of technology innovations to be exhibited at CES2020 targeted for potential Automotive or Wellness Applications.  Design HMI summary of the 90+ Innovations researched are in the following categories.

All Innovations shortlisted are targeted to bring enhanced feature value within a 55-week timeline for integration.al research of technology innovations to be exhibited at CES2022 targeted for potential Automotive or Wellness Applications.  Design HMI summary of the 90+ Innovations researched are in the following categories – all targeted to bring enhanced feature value within a 55-week timeline for integration. 

As you may note from the above 30 Innovations, they are already either validated in an application or if sensor/electronic controller validated as a component.

Not surprisingly, the number of technology companies that have developed products to support Safe Driving / ADAS is more than 100 spread across the globe. In some cases, their core product is already integrated into 2023 MY vehicles, but that may not be true in most cases. In addition, the opportunity to incorporate into the current on-road vehicles by OEM’s or their dealer is a neglected new business sector. Of more than 300+ million vehicle owners with vehicles under five years old.

Over the last three years have been documenting CES Innovations and Technology Applications that are new to the market. Also, follow up on crowdfunding sites and other technology periodicals and WEB Sites.

However, what continues to amaze is the low level of in-vehicle feature and customer-focused HMI technology integration even in today’s innovation-driven eco-system. Minimal fast-to-market in-vehicle integration of HMI Technology in North America, with most innovations, integrated 5 to 10 years after being validated in other applications.

For support or more information email bbedi@designhmi.com

Note on CES Automotive Displays:

At the CES one disappointing fact is that automotive innovations exhibited by OE’s and Automotive Suppliers very rarely make it either as imbedded device or aftermarket within the next decade. Non-Automotive innovations are either production ready or come to market within 6+ months.

Automotive must change the process to show technology application that customers can see on road within 1 to 2 years. The process could be relatively simple:

• Identify innovations and develop application design with business case.
• Complete production design based on 90% confidence.
• Display at CES / Other Technology Exhibits.
• Based on market response develop low volume (< 5,000) production vehicles for sale.
• Target for market within 55 weeks.
• Based on lessons learned integrate innovation & technology in other vehicles within 2 years.

There are lots of reasons why this is hard. But it is the only way for automotive OE’s to enhance corporate value and bring vehicles to market that offer distinctive choices. Feature enhancements must be clearly visible and not based on company paid advertisements.

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) showcases technologies and innovations not only for consumer market but Medical, Industrial, Aero, Automotive and others.

For Automotive challenge is to take the innovations and applications showcased and develop imbedded and aftermarket Automotive applications designed to enhance owner experience. In addition the applications have to be developed within a 30 month time line to bring true value to both Integrator, OE, Innovator and Customers.

Linh Le development fabrics can currently measure Body Temperature, Breathing Rate, Pulse, Steps, and Sleep. They are investigating some more physiological indications including blood pressure and EMG, EKR, EEG capability. For more information CLICK https://www.wearable-technologies.com/2016/08/inkjet-printing-of-graphene/.

Stretchy electronic devices may make it possible for patients to monitor their health at home. John Rogers at the University of Illinois helped develop this elastic device that sticks to the skin- CLICK https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/cool-jobs-making-electronics-wear.

ProLogium Technology ‘s (PLG’s) BiPolar+ 3D Structure Solid-State EV Battery Pack at the 2019 CES, attracted the spotlight with a smashing pack-level energy density of 537Wh/L. They claim it is 50% smaller, 30% lighter, and 30% cheaper than the Tesla Model 3 battery.

Byton Electric SUV concept with 50′ touchscreen at CES 2018: The car claims to deliver the range of 520 km on a single charge. Front seats of the SUV are adjustable and adjustable rear seats provide sofa-like comfort and luxury akin to a premium lounge.

Face recognition cameras recognize the driver or passenger to unlock the door and Byton Air Touch that allows for display control via easy hand gestures at any position within the car.

Continental IP Display: Its breathtaking and beautiful but will North American Auto-makers take the technology plunge and bring to production in 2029 MY vehicles or just admire and move on.

Moving the rear-view camera inside the vehicles is indeed a great technology idea – can be feasible!

Innovations from Israel:

1. Valens new chip for smart cars at CES 2018 that is reportedly 20 times more powerful than anything currently on the market. Whereas the most advanced smart cars leverage digital transmissions of 100 megabytes, Valens’ new infrastructure is capable of accommodating up to 2 gigabytes. This advancement will allow smart car engineers to not only add more sensors to their vehicles, but also transmit uncompressed, high-definition content to the driver and passengers.
2. Lumus, transparent displays for augmented reality systems is another innovation from Israel
3. Foresight, car’s vision system designed for passenger safety, and vision perfection under all weather and lighting conditions targeting consumer confidence to accelerate autonomous vehicle adoption.
4. ICI Vision demonstrated their EVE (Enhanced Vision Engine) glasses for people with vision disabilities better navigate their surroundings. To help correct blind spots, the glasses use a combination of HD cameras and artificial intelligence to fill in the gaps and project images onto the healthy parts of the retina.

Fibber replaces lossy transmission medias like copper wire, silver plated wire, silver wire etc. with optical fibers, adopts micro laser devices to transmit high speed signals by optical signals instead of electric signals.

BASF Semi-transparent Polyamide for possible usage in many industries for visual check, illumination and light design. The semi-crystalline polyamide that allows light to pass through largely unhindered. Compared to opaque standard polyamides, Ultramid® Vision shows very high light transmission.

Pebble Mukti-Function Touch Input Device allows you to customize up to 10 actions such as smart lighting, shading, thermostats, locks, and more with a single touch. With a small aluminum frame and a glass touch top, Pebble features customization that is unique for each user’s activity and is easy-to-use with a simple touch, gentle tap or finger swipe.

RoboSense (Suteng Innovation Technology Co., Ltd.) LiDAR can integrate LiDAR hardware, 3D data processing algorithms, and deep learning technology. It is founded by a group of PhDs from Harbin Institute of Technology who have been working on LiDAR technology for more than 7 years.

Wireless Charging Powercast long-range, power-over-distance wireless charging technology using broadcasted RF energy (radio waves) converted into DC power. FCC-approved transmitters and receiver chips to enable automatic, over-the-air charging of multiple devices – no charging mats or direct line of sight needed.

A transmitter sends RF energy over the air to a receiver chip embedded in a device, which converts it to DC to recharge its batteries or directly power the device. This remote charging technology behaves like Wi-Fi where enabled devices automatically charge when within range of a power transmitter.  Can automatically activate when devices need charging and turn off when they’re done, or can deliver power continuously or on a scheduled basis.

VIVY Heated Pads are designed to relieve pain, eases muscle tension, improves joint mobility and speeds healing when chronic pain or joint injuries sideline your life. One potential application is for rear / front passenger seats in autonomous and other vehicles and even long distant travel trucks.

OrCam MyEye 2.0 device is made for blind people or those with limited eyesight…. The device can read out writing or print from any source. It is also equipped with AI tools to recognize faces, products and money in real time. Am not sure of potential automotive application but has potential for people with limited sight in autonomous vehicles.

Smart Fabrics can track what’s happening inside user’s body and can also control Eco-System like in car / home. T monitors Heart Rate, ECG (monitor the unique electrical impulses produced by our cardiovascular system) & Posture using 6-axis Inertial Measurement Unit to determine daily steps, traveled distance, and calorie expenditure, body’s water content, breathing with breathing sensors monitor each breath and measure metrics such as breathing rate, deep breaths and shallow breaths.

Also built in temperature sensor allows it to infer the body’s skin temperature, which can be used to add a layer of human awareness. BIA sensors determine the body’s water content.

Xentris Wireless Chargers 10W Qi Rapid Charge Wireless Charging Pad features rapid charge technology that provides enough power to rapidly charge compatible devices up to two times faster. It features a dual charging bay that allows two devices to charge simultaneously and rapid charge technology to charge both devices that are compatible up to two time faster. It has smart LEDs that provide power and charging notifications and safety precautions such as foreign object detection, over current protection and over temperature protection.

Alsentis Circuits in Plastic Technology was also on display in the Faurecia booth.

Hand Gesture Control Bracket w/Wireless Charging:

Samsung’s latest flexible and transparent OLED displays, displayed two different car concepts which you can see above and below. In these concepts the OLEDs are used for the instrument cluster and other parts of the car, while the QLED panels are used for the infotainment system.

LeddarCore LCA2 has been named a CES 2018 Best of Innovation Awards Honoree in two categories: Vehicle Intelligence and Self-Driving Technology, and Embedded Technologies.

This groundbreaking product is the world’s first solution enabling rapid industrialization of 3D solid-state flash LiDARs that meet the automotive industry’s stringent requirements in terms of cost, performance and reliability. Delivering on LeddarTech’s aggressive product roadmap to support autonomous driving applications, the LeddarCore LCA2  makes commercial SSL deployments by automotive OEMs possible as early as 2020.

Piezo Film Speaker from Kyocera Corporation has combined a piezoelectric actuator with a special resin film to produce a proprietary, piezo film speaker that is considerably thinner and lighter than conventional electromagnetic speakers, while boasting similar audio levels.

 

In Car Child Detection: EDGE3 device is designed to detect any movement even those as minute as heartbeats or breathing — for vehicle occupant monitoring.

The Ambient Sensing Node (ASN), one of EDGE3 Technologies’ new products, is an artificial intelligence (AI) powered product created to detect children left behind in vehicles, including school buses.

Should a child be detected in the bus after it has been parked, the ASN device is engineered to alert the driver and fleet operator via telematics notification.

Their Ambient Sensing Node (ASN) is a low-cost, low power, embedded sensor attached to an Artificial intelligence application that runs on the Android MCU, connected via CAN, LIN, or MOST protocol.

Eye Tracking Safety System: This is designed to detect tired, distracted or over-stimulated driver – system measures increase in pupil dilation as an indication of a driver’s mental workload.

Harman’s new proprietary eye and pupil tracking system measures high cognitive load and mental multitasking in the driver’s seat, and signals the car’s other safety systems to adapt to the driver’s state.

Input Devices: Wolfee integrated four essential HCI elements into one device:

1. Mechanic
2. Touch
3. Motion
4. Gesture

It allows Wolfee to handle complicated HCI tasks at ease, and produce fast and precise responses.

 

Mogics Light – Multi-functional Light: The light is equipped with highly efficient LEDs that enable it to get up to 30 hours of light from a single charge when in a certain mode.

Expandable, Customizable Hard Drive opens easily and can be unlocked by sliding your finger around the LED display in the center or directly from the downloaded iPhone app. In seconds, Y gives you the ability to insert or remove up to six SSD drives, customizing the size of your external drive. It offers the fast data transfer speeds via USB-C or Bluetooth. It also features a fast save option for SD cards for when you are in a hurry and your card is already full.

Byton Electric SUV Dash Display and Interior:

For Wireless Rear Seat Display interaction, the Peraso W120 chipset employs the PRS1141 and PRS4001 integrated circuits to implement a low cost, low power, high performance SuperSpeed USB 3.0 to WiGig device. With it, wireless displays, wireless docking, and wireless access to the cloud can now be much more effective and efficient using WiGig technology.

Fully Transparent Displays from Photonics Crystal Corporation (PCC) is said to allow glasses-free augmented reality. The company says they are using Nano-optics technology in this tech. NanoAR selectively displays the light from a projector meanwhile letting the light from other directions pass through. Therefore, a vibrant color image can be overlapped onto the undisturbed real world.

Energy Harvesting: University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering researchers Tom Krupenkin and J. Ashley Taylor have developed an in-shoe system that harvests the energy generated by walking. Currently, this energy is lost as heat. With their technology, however, they claim that up to 20 watts of electricity could be generated, and stored in an incorporated rechargeable battery.

EnOcean now offers wireless and self-powered Easyfit switches for Bluetooth® lighting systems for worldwide usage, enabling maintenance-free, ready-to-use LED lighting applications based on energy harvesting technology.

The self-powered and wireless Easyfit switches can be commissioned by Near Field Communication (NFC) to allow simple or complex lighting scenes and effects, and enable easy, flexible installation of lighting applications. The wireless Easyfit switches are maintenance-free as they do not require batteries, are freely position able and allow flexible control as well as intuitive usage. Easyfit Bluetooth® switches are being employed in hundreds of lighting solutions, offering self-powered control for Bluetooth® lighting systems in 2.4 GHz.

Gesture Control in Automotive Interiors: Today’s products and devices are often controlled by the push of a button or the sound of a voice, the next generation will work with the mere wave of the hand. Gestural interfaces are beginning to allow for a more seamless integration of digital technologies into our natural, everyday human behaviors. BMW’s 7 Series, with cameras mounted inside, it converts hand gestures into commands: a raised hand and swipe motion toward the rear tells the sunroof to open, for example. Mercedes-Benz is also envisioning a future in which we’ll be waving at our cars regularly. Its F015 Luxury in Motion features a “digital living space” with wall mounted display screens embedded with hand recognition sensors to enable gesture control.

For more information refer https://thrivethinking.com/2017/12/27/ces-2018-10-revolutionary-trends/

Cool Center Climate Control Design:

A functional demonstrator using Holst Centre’s in-mold electronics (DuPont IME) Technology. The demonstrator features a mobile phone storage space with integrated NFC connectivity and touch controls illuminated by flexible OLEDs. Light and conformal, IME technology integrates all this functionality directly into a 3D plastic surface just 1.5 mm thick. The demonstrator highlights IME’s potential for transforming ‘dumb’ plastic structures with embedded intelligence to enable enhanced and intuitive user experiences. All the electronics are fabricated on a stretchable, flexible and formable smart skin that is then integrated into the plastic during standard thermoforming or injection molding processes. The technique can be used to create 3D smart objects or extremely thin functional surfaces of any form.

GEKO Inc combination of GPS tracking, a built-in G-sensor, and Bluetooth technology, can help your loved ones keep you at arm’s reach by instantly alerting you when they or their car are in need. SOS alerts will activate when the PanicSafe’s button is pressed for two seconds, or, when the G-Sensor is triggered by an impact. This will automatically call (Android only), text, and email the previously selected contacts.

Advanced Multi-Function Projection Keyboard: Refer https://gizmodern.com/products/worlds-most-advanced-multi-function-projection-keyboard for more information.

Zendure A8 is one of the fastest charging power banks armed with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 Technology, 26,800mAh battery capacity that can charge your phone 7-9 times without needing a reboot, and maintains up to 95% of its charge after six whole months without use.

Chrysler Smart Plastics Center Console still not made it to production. Core technology to accomplish this within strong business case exists. A relatively thin touch (< 4 mm thick) styled 3D panel would open so many opportunities – especially in autonomous vehicles.

Gesture Control Floating Dome Light. Concept taken from table lamp. You design continuous light which could be turned on based on passenger position in car. Ideal for autonomous vehicles where seat position will change based on passenger and car interior design.

BodyGuardz Pure Arc ES is Tech Industry’s First Full-Adhesive Curved Glass Protector

Continental’s the Ac2ated Sound Speakerless Audio System replaces conventional speakers with actuators. Using a principle like that employed in string instruments, the actuators create a high-quality 3D audio experience by vibrating certain surfaces inside the vehicle.

For more information CLICK https://www.continental-corporation.com/en/press/press-releases/2017-12-14-ces-2018-116376

Kensington VeriMark Fingerprint Key is designed to have a minimal profile outside of the USB port with dimensions of 0.75 by 0.6 x 0.3 inches. It has an LED status light that lights up blue when this accessory is ready to scan a fingerprint. It blinks blue when it has successfully recognized a one, or blinks red if it doesn’t. That’s mostly plastic, and the reader fits securely in its carrying case. It’s more likely something this small is going to get lost before it gets broken, but there’s nothing Kensington can do about that. Potential Automotive Application may need to be investigated.

Hyundai Mobis Experience Zones offers interactive introductions to technologies such as pop-up display steering wheel, e-Damper and intelligent virtual secretary. Cool as concept though not sure if it applies to standard on road cars till 2030.

Azpen Innovation New Line of DockAll Wireless Docking & Charging with Hi-Fi Bluetooth Speaker System . Features built-in Qi wireless charging with 5-watt Tri-Coil technology and wired charging via two full-size USB charging ports.  Other features include an up to 64GB MicroSD card slot for direct playback of music; dual-channel 4.0 Bluetooth Hi-Fi speaker system; audio support for MP3, WWA, and WAV; built-in microphone for speakerphone capability or Skyping; two Hi-Fi-speaker dual-reflex ports in back; ambient LED light; capacitive-touch front-panel phone and music controls; and rubberized finish with slip-resistant pads. It charges at a comfortable upright viewing angle for convenient dock-and-watch capability.
Emoshape introduced emotions synthesis microchip (EPU) with potential application in self driving cars and other human machine interaction devices. It’s possible self-driving car being able to process your bad or good day and then tune the radio, lighting and drive to your emotional state.

MATISS system transmits high-quality information via haptic-based touch, an interactive, kinesthetic technology that transfers information to humans through vibration, resistive force, motion and other physical sensations. Rotary knob that is dynamic, fully programmable in real time and that can reproduce force-feedback sensations thanks to the use of a phase transition fluid (from liquid to solid and vice versa), which enhances user experience.

TwoEyes VR is Binocular 360° VR 4K Camera that mirrors human eye sight. Shoot 3D, 360° or Virtual Reality content.

Alps Capacitive Input Device based on capacitive technology that enables gesture and touch input and control of systems around the driver. The device contributes to a comfortable user experience by allowing accurate input, such as selection of menu options, without making direct contact with the touch panel. This is achieved using a highly sensitive capacitive sensor, an Alps-developed algorithm and original ASIC design.

The Alps booth will present examples of solutions integrating the device with natural materials such as leather and wood, taking advantage of its excellent sensitivity and accuracy. Visitors to the booth will be able to operate them.

Alps HAPTIC™ Trigger Plus force feedback technology is applied in the HAPTIC™ Trigger Plus, a controller that realistically recreates the feel of objects. Besides recreating pressure, vibrations and thermal sensations, HAPTIC™ Trigger Plus includes a feature that senses finger movements using a capacitive sensor, providing for a much more immersive virtual reality control experience.

Microchip five new USB smart hub ICs provide intelligent connection between the car’s display and one or more smartphones or tablets and meet consumer demand for easy-to-use, intuitive systems. It allows graphical user interface of the phone or tablet to be displayed on the vehicle’s screen and enable integration with voice commands inside the car, all while simultaneously charging the mobile devices. They also enable driver assistance applications on mobile handsets to be integrated with a vehicle’s infotainment system.

Microchip’s new smart hub ICs enable cascading of the hubs to the second- and third-row seats with simultaneous data and charging in all ports. For example, if there are dual USB ports, one port can connect the phone or tablet to the head unit, leaving the other port free to charge and upload/download data.

For more information contact Microchip Electronics.

Infotainment systems have become a central hub for all running on a large touch display generally in the center of the dashboard. With vehicle and driver entertainment and information converging, these systems are integrating functions.

BMW Navigate Door-to-Door is a new feature designed to guide users on the final leg of their journey and back to their car when they are ready.

• Gesture-recognition as replacement for touchscreen controls.
• Augmented reality heads-up displays (HUDs) so that you do not take your eyes off the road for even second at a speed of 75 mph means. That 1 second means driving blind for 200+ feet.
• Smart Assistants voice-recognition software that can be used to control infotainment systems through an elaborate set of commands. However, recognition of different speech patterns is still a major open issue here.

Project Redspace Car is constructed with solar panels on the top exterior of the car allowing for solar energy to power internal functions, like an air filtration system, without drawing energy from the battery. As per article on the WEB Site ‘Interesting Engineering “the car is designed from the inside out by providing a space for daily lifestyle needs, it enables commuters to reclaim time otherwise wasted in conventional vehicles

For more information Click https://interestingengineering.com/new-autonomous-vehicle-allows-you-to-comfortably-work-while-traveling.

Wireless Charging: Two current standards are PMA, or the Power Matters Alliance spearheaded by Powermat and Qi, run by the more established Wireless Power Consortium. I think Samsung Galaxy S4 will support both standards.

Then there’s the Alliance for Wireless Power, or A4WP, which has bet on a newer, more convenient kind of wireless charging technology and counts Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics as its key backers, but isn’t expected to hit the market until next year.

Powerkiss, the manufacturer of wireless charging equipment that is installing stations in McDonald’s in Europe is going with PMA.

Poor Back-Up Camera Display in Winter Weather: As you can see from the picture here an unprotected rear camera results This is under normal winter conditions where car has in door parking facility. Assume if car was parked in the street there would be no image at all. A simple protector lens driven with micro piezo or brushless motor would be value based solution for the customer.

A simple electronic and powered camera lens protector concept would work and keep rear back up camera and parking sensor clear and usable during NORMAL winter days.

LG flexible Augmented Reality could be used as a head-up display (AR-HUD) for the automotive industry.

It is also possible to operate the display from a smartphone device or connected to a server. The vehicle display device even features a light amount sensor. The processor can darken the transparent flexible display automatically according to the amount of light emitted into the vehicle interior. For more information go to https://en.letsgodigital.org/automotive-cars-vehicles/lg-head-up-display-ar/

Zero-Power Radio Receiver: A long range true zero power radio receiver has been developed. Miniature, zero-power radio receiver that can be easily integrated in a KEYFOB or other Auto Interior Applications to provide continuous wireless connectivity. The underlying principle is that the powered radio frequency electronics can be replaced with electronics that require no power supply or battery. Using this technology, a short-range radio receiver (<100 m) can be built that uses no power other than the received RF signal. A longer-range radio receiver can be built that uses only DC amplification, for a total power consumption that is about 10,000× lower than a conventional radio receiver operating at a comparable range. When incorporated into a KEYFOB it eliminates the need for the device to constantly power on and off waiting for contact, greatly extending battery life.

For more information contact Sandia National Laboratories

Paper-Thin, Flexible Speaker: MSU created paper thin device that can generate energy from human motion, and can act as a loudspeaker and microphone. The transducer is ultrathin, flexible, scalable, and bidirectional, meaning it can convert mechanical energy to electrical energy, and vice-versa.

Ferroelectret nanogenerator (FENG) — was in 2016 designed to power a keyboard, LED lights, and an LCD touchscreen. That process worked with a finger swipe or a light pressing motion to activate the devices, converting mechanical energy to electrical energy. The current technology extends the FENG’s usability. The high-tech material can act as a microphone (by capturing the vibrations from sound, or mechanical energy, and converting it to electrical energy) as well as a loudspeaker (by operating the opposite way — converting electrical energy to mechanical energy).

The device’s sensitivity to vibration enables it to catch the frequency components of the human voice. The process of creating the FENG starts with a silicon wafer, which is then fabricated with several layers, or thin sheets, of environmentally friendly substances including silver, polyimide, and polypropylene ferroelectret. Ions are added so that each layer in the device contains charged particles. Electrical energy is created when the device is compressed by human motion, or by mechanical energy.

For more information contact Nelson Sepulveda at sepulve6@msu.edu.

Fully Integrated Printed Circuits on Fabric: Researchers have successfully incorporated washable, stretchable and breathable electronic circuits into fabric. Graphene can be directly printed onto fabric to produce integrated electronic circuits which are comfortable to wear and can survive up to 20 cycles in a typical washing machine.

The new textile electronic devices are based on low-cost, sustainable and scalable inkjet printing of inks based on graphene and other two-dimensional materials, and are produced by standard processing techniques.

For more information contact University of Cambridge.

Battelle’s Conformal Battery: This is a for ease of use and functionality versus battery shape. It allows for the battery to be integrated into the structural components of the final product. By eliminating the mass and volume associated with the outer battery packaging design allows the product to be lighter. Also, removing the outer battery packaging and using an advanced separator allows Battelle’s battery to have a thinner profile and be shaped in many different geometries. Because of its design, the conformal battery can be integrated into product housing without impacting overall rigidity and strength. And, to address the safety aspect, Battelle’s conformal battery is fire-safe due to other design features.

The conformal battery, defined further in patent US9520580, is a mirrored stack design centered on a dual-sided anode. From the anode moving outward is the safety separator, cathode, and outer containment layer. The conformal battery technology has been developed using mostly commercially available materials with established supply chains, enabling a seamless manufacturing process. It has been manufactured at the prototype scale using standard battery manufacturing techniques. Lastly, the conformal battery design was created to fit seamlessly in current composite material fabrication processes for ease of implementation into final consumer products and beyond.

For more information contact Battelle.

Peel-A-Way® Removable Terminal Carriers made with RoHS Compliant polyimide film carrier that acts as its own insulator, Peel-A-Way Carriers are a flexible interconnect solution available in many configurations including single, dual, and triple rows, standard and interstitial arrays, zig zag strips, off pitch, and special radius. The low-profile carriers can be customized with multiple terminal/pin styles or cut-outs for use in prototype or production applications.

For more information go to www.advanced.com.

Self-Lubricating Sliding Bearings: deva.metal® Self-lubricating Bearing Materials is based on four main groups – bronze, iron, nickel and stainless steel – each containing dry solid lubricant, most commonly graphite, uniformly dispersed within the metal matrix. Important selection criteria are the sliding speed, specific load, temperature and other application specific influences.

For more information refer Truck & Off-Highw ay Engineering of December 2017.

Polytronix Glass electronic and optical vision glass and film switchable privacy glass and film. Polyvision™ products become transparent from a dormant, milky-white translucent state. When electricity is applied, the liquid crystal molecules line up, the incident light passes through, and the Polyvision™ film is clear.

PolyMagic™ patented technology incorporates LED light sources into laminated glass panels to create distinctive patterns, images, and logos.

When electricity is applied, the liquid crystal molecules line up, the incident light passes through, and Polyvision™ looks clear.

The Polyvision™ Privacy Film is made of two layers of transparent conductive films sandwiched with PDLC material. The film is then laminated between two pieces of glass. When electricity is applied to the film the liquid crystals line up and the window is clear. When the power is turned off, the liquid crystals return to their normal scattering positions and turn the glass from clear to translucent.

For more information contact POLYTRONIX, INC.

POWERCAST Wireless Power, Energy Harvesting technology enables products that eliminate batteries or Battery Maintenance. For more information go to www.powercastco.com.

Elephant Tech Circuit Marker allows you to draw electric circuits quickly and easily. The Marker is filled with their patented AgIC nanoparticle silver ink. When you draw with the ink and connect two points you are able to create a working electric connection. Pen with Conductive Ink that Allows You to Draw Your Own Circuits. Soldering and creating electronic circuits can be downright annoying and occasionally unsafe.  For more information CLICK https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1597902824/agic-print-printing-circuit-boards-with-home-print.

And always the CES is an exhilarating experience and 2017 was no exception. This year Design HMI concentration was even more focused to identify innovations already validated in application that can be applied for automotive.

Target is to apply 2017 innovations towards feature adds and improvement that enhances vehicle owners in car experience. Quite a few of the innovation had added value for in driverless cars.

In additions validated innovations can be applied for Non-Safety related feature improvements as accessories and dealer options to reward current owners. Current vehicle owners are the most neglected consumer base. Will increase brand loyalty and increase showroom traffic.

 

EnOcean demonstrated technology application which can be integrated into vehicles with architecture system changes:

1. Self-powered wireless solutions including wireless switches, sensors and actuators, powered by energy through motion, light and temperature and based on open wireless standards like EnOcean, ZigBee and Bluetooth Low Energy.

2. Self-powered wireless sensors to collect data efficiently without any need of a battery.

3. Xicato and EnOcean self-powered lighting solutions for Bluetooth Low Energy systems in 2.4 GHz to eliminate the complexity and cost associated with wired or battery-powered in car solutions.

Breezi Technology is a smart device that listens to your HVAC. The same concept can be used to track air quality in high pollution areas and warn the driver that quality of air coming through in car vents does not meet quality standards.

Breezi Device Technology through LED’s and mobile app can notify you of dirty filters that waste energy and put stress on your HVAC. Sensor array records the vital signs of your HVAC so our cloud-based algorithms can predict imminent problems.

New hip protection for older adults using wearable airbags. May be something for aftermarket application and in self-driving cars as a safety feature add.

Active Protective uses “fall disambiguation” in smart garments to transform how to protect our elderly at Long-Term–Care facilities, during post-operative rehabilitation at home, as well as any patient with a greater than 15% probability of breaking their hip who would like to continue to age-in-place. Technology uses 3D motion sensors to determine the stereotypical motions and accelerations that govern our normal, daily activities, to determine ‘departures’ from what is allowable.

At just $19 per meter, with no additional costs as Qube Smart Light Strips are affordable way for consumers to reap the full benefits of smart lighting. All it needs is a power source it relates to built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and there is no need to purchase a separate hub.

Potential application for in car / exterior ambient lighting again with no changes in system architecture.

Bixi is a portable device able to understand gestures with the user’s hands allowing to control various types of devices which can be used in cars to control stereo, navigation and read messages. Interaction with the user is facilitated by the presence of a LED pattern; two LEDs (left and right) allow to recognize the active profile at that time. The device can be used from 3cm to 20cm (the “volume” mode can also be controlled by 30cm away).

With Bixi, you can drive safely and control your Music, Calls, Navigation, SMS, etc. without even looking at your phone.

Audi at 2016 CES presented three future trends of the automotive industry: electrification, digitalization and piloted driving is built upon technologies that are used in its production cars today. The Audi virtual cockpit – a fully digital instrument cluster with a 12.3-inch TFT display – provides all information in intricately calculated and brilliant 3D graphics, in which drivers can choose between different views.

The term Audi connect covers all applications and developments that network an Audi with its owner, the Internet, infrastructure and other automobiles. Audi continues to extend its lead in this technology field.

BookLit is OLED reading lamp doubles as a bookmark and reading light so that you can easily keep reading even in the dark.

With the BookLit, there is no reason to put down that best-seller. This OLED reading lamp doubles as a bookmark and reading light so that you can easily keep reading even in the dark. Read for up to 20 hours on a single charge and enjoy a bright, yet diffused light that is easy on the eyes. The thin, transparent light will perfectly highlight the page without causing unnecessary strain for hours or enjoyable reading.

Be on the lookout for this upcoming product and be one of the first to purchase yours!

Features:

• Doubles as a bookmark and reading light
• 20 hours of light on a single charge
• Ultra-thin and transparent light

Features:

• Ultra-thin and transparent light:   1″ x 2.25″ x 0.15″
• Dimensions (lit area):           5″ x 1.5″
• Luminance:                           500-2000 cd/m2 (Dimmable)
• Color Temperature:             3000K
• Color Rendering Index:       > 85

Biometric Sensors that can be adapted for in car driver Health and Awareness as well as for driverless cars where sensing passenger health and wellness could be an important customer

feature. http://valencell.com/technology/ is one company ideally suited for automotive as they license technology application and would work with OE’s to adapt to application.

Viewpoint System integrates eye-tracker in a wearable pair of glasses and makes it possible to track emotions. Ideal for focused marketing survey of automotive features and other potential applications.

Fingertips Lab product intended to solve this problem of driver distraction with eyes-free browsing. Fingertips Lab’s flagship product, O6 is a portable controller that lets you browse your smart phone apps with the safety and ease of an eyes-free experience.

• Size: 40mm diameter 11mm thickness
• Bluetooth 4.0 LE Smart with ARM Cortex M0 CPU
• Wireless Software Updates
• Three Axes Linear Accelerometer
• Haptic (Vibration) Motor Plays over 200 Effects
• Compatible with Bluetooth Headsets, Speakers, and Car Audio systems

Design could be integrated with energy harvesting to eliminate wires or major system update / integration.

The 3dRudder is a Gaming, VR and 3D Motion Controller, used while seated. It lets you move through your existing PC games and the new emerging VR worlds with your feet. Surprisingly intuitive and natural, it only takes a few seconds to master. The technology could be used for possible integration with additional floor pedal for potential feature controls.

 

6″ Double-sided Vanity Mirror with Bluetooth Audio / Speakerphone and USB Charging. Distortion free mirror has a 1x and 5x magnification with LEDs with high and low settings provide natural looking light for a look that’s right in any situation. Stream audio wirelessly via Bluetooth from your mobile device (iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Android, Windows smartphones). Built-in mic, digital voice echo cancellation and answer and end controls make speakerphone use a pleasure. USB port to charge mobile devices. Aux jack with included audio cable connects to most audio devices so you can enjoy your favorite music while getting ready.

Not sure if the technology has value add by incorporating into vanity mirror in luxury cars or for driverless car applications.

CARIBOO is an entirely autonomous device that allows you to share your car’s location with your friends and family from the mobile app while you’re on the move. Device is compatible with all models of car Smartphone app for iOS (7+) and Android (4.4+). It also counts your kilometers, manages your travels and gives you a full report of your driving habits.

Can be easily integrated into vehicle systems or as an aftermarket device.

Thin Adaptable Faceplate from Continental allows flexibility for global infotainment based on different habits.

The thin 17 mm adaptable faceplate can easily be exchanged by the automaker while the computing hardware in the background stays the same, significantly reducing tooling costs. The entire faceplate is covered by a capacitive surface, which includes an electro-luminescent foil, replacing traditional LEDs. Thanks to reconfigurable software buttons, even drivers can create their own HMI by easily and seamlessly setting shortcuts from Apps on the display to software buttons of the faceplate.

Enevate’s HD-Energy Technology, a self-standing, silicon-dominant composite anode with more than 70% silicon, charges up to 8X faster and delivers more than 4X the energy density of conventional graphite anode materials in an ultrathin form factor for today’s ultra slim devices.

Enevate’s conductive, silicon-dominant composite film anode is essentially 100% active material that can store lithium and has a high electrical conductivity. This anode enables Enevate to deliver ultrafast charging, high energy density, and long runtimes in its Li-ion batteries.

• Silicon-dominant: contains more than 70% silicon
• Gravimetric energy density: ~2800 mAh/g with 1500 mAh/g utilized in cell designs with volumetric and energy densities of ~750 Wh/L, ~300 Wh/kg
• High initial Coulombic efficiency: 93% for anode, ~90% for full cells in high density of anode: 1-1.5 g/cc
• Compatible with existing high volume manufacturing processes

Imagine if an electric vehicle (EV) could be charged in 15 minutes. Batteries with Enevate’s HD-Energy® technology are currently under development in the lab to help charge the growing demands of the EV industry. Ultrafast charging capabilities can also be used during regenerative braking when very fast charging is required like when electric or hybrid vehicle goes downhill or brakes, the battery is charged very quickly at high currents.

Smarter Mat designed for interior of your fridge (either the front or back side) and takes a photo every time you open the door. “Mat” connects to Wi-Fi to help keep track of kitchen items. The rubbers mats can keep track of how much is left of an item without the need to transfer the contents out of its original container.

Semblant liquid damage protection designed for electronic devices is a green, corrosion-resistant waterproofing solution, proven in ultra-high-volume manufacturing capacity, with over 1 million units/day currently in production.

SCiO is a pocket-sized spectrometer capable of measuring the molecular makeup of just about anything. The technology won the CES Best of Innovation Award with their DietSensor app,

which collects and reports nutritional data to the user. The concept can be investigated for potential in car testing applications.

SCiO is a pocket-sized spectrometer capable of measuring the molecular makeup of just about anything.

The iTap Wireless Qi Fast Charging Magnetic Car Mount has magnetic mounting and Qi Wireless fast charging. Its built-in fan keeps the mount cool as it pushes wireless energy to your smartphone. Additionally, it automatically pairs with your device to launch a dash cam application, which also features a find your car function. Designed to provide the driver with a safe and simple driving experience.

Specifications:

• Qi Wireless Fast Charging
• Quiet internal fan with air vents.
• Rare Earth Magnets
• Bluetooth 4.0 pairing
• Compatible Dash Cam App
• Car Finding Feature
• Mount surface rests optimally at 74°
• Mount pivots up to 16° on each side, and 360° around
• 2 step LED Light
• Micro USB Power Port
• Input: 12-24V / Output: 9V
• Size: 2.25” L x 1.875” D x 3.75”

 

Bosch innovations were presented in their concept car. A few that are easy to integrate within one model year or as aftermarket integration:

1. Driver Monitor Camera makes quick face recognition for simple non-safety related functionality.
2. Detecting driver drowsiness.
3. Gesture control with haptic feedback using ultrasound sensors.
4. Touch with haptic feedback, the buttons that appear on the touchscreen feel like real buttons.
5. OLED-driven display.

Mobileye’s EyeQ® Technology family of system-on-chip (SoC) devices can support complex and computationally intense vision processing, and still maintain low power consumption even while located on the windshield. Their fifth generation SoC, the EyeQ®5, to act as the vision central computer performing sensor fusion for Fully Autonomous Driving (Level 5) vehicles that will hit the road in 2020. To meet power consumption and performance targets, EyeQ® SoCs are designed in most advanced VLSI process technology nodes – down to 7nm FinFET in the 5th generation

The embedded eyesight vision solutions help’s in following:

1. Reduces cognitive load, alerting driver when drowsiness or inattentiveness are detected.
2. Adjusting in-car environment to the detected driver’s preferences and needs.
3. For the in-car environment provides an enhanced driving experience by offering simple touch-free interaction with the infotainment system.
4. Control with very simple hand gestures passengers can control the infotainment system without touching or looking at the screen
5. At CES 2017 BMW presented number of new concepts and production ready technologies that hint at what will be in showrooms sooner rather than later. The mirror design ideally suited for powered rear view interior mirror.

The Cota Wireless Charging Technology comprises a transmitter, a receiver, and software to manage it all. The transmitter comes in form factors ranging from an illuminated monolithic white cylinder a drop ceiling tile, charges Cota-compatible devices using hundreds of omnidirectional antennas that beam radio (RF) waves 100 times a second. This device can wirelessly charge your phone from 30 feet away

They receivers lie mostly dormant, triggered only when a Cota-compatible receiver sends a packet of information indicating it’s low on power. The Cota then directs the needed energy to the transceiver’s relative location, or to multiple transceivers’ locations. The devices needn’t be stationary — the Cota transmitter re-establishes disrupted connections within milliseconds.

UO Smart Beam Laser NX Pico Projector incorporates a hybrid light source comprised of LEDs and lasers. As it combines strength of the two light sources the ultra-small Pico Projector brightness of 200 lumens, and native resolution of 1280 X 720.

PEARL RearVision can be easily installed in minutes by anyone.

• Installation: No drilling, no wires and installs in 10 minutes or less.
• 2 HD cameras with up to 180° field of view and a night mode.
• Display through your smartphone’s high resolution screen.
• Additional features are peek around corners, customizable views in portrait and landscape.

Arovia has addressed this physical limitation by developing the Spontaneous Pop-Up Display (SPUD), a portable display system that allows users to quickly “pop-up” a 24-inch screen (though other screen sizes possible) that connects to any of their mobile devices, and then collapse it for immediate portability.

Good potential for further investigate to use their SPUD Projector as Welcome and Rear Seat Entertainment applications.

Lumigent intelligently adjusts lighting angle and position by transforming arm using the 4 motors inside. Voice activated preset lighting angles and positions to read a book, use a computer or any variety of other tasks.

The core technology could be adapted for in car lighting applications.

AP-0111LI Air Care Unit for small space Portable Sanitizer for car. Designed with Advanced Deodorization Filter, Vital Ion™ Ionizer (bipolar), A/C or Cigarette Jack Connection and Mood Lamp.

 

Energysquare Wireless Charger allows you to charge multiple devices at once. Put a little sticker at the back of your phone and charge all your devices simultaneously on an ultra-thin pad. Unlike today’s most popular wireless chargers, which use electromagnetic induction, or resonance, to create a field through which electricity can pass between two copper coils – a transmitter and a receiver – Energysquare’s technology uses electric conduction.

The thin, adhesive sticker has a tail that plugs into the mobile device’s charging/data port with either a Lightning or Micro-USB connector. and even USB-C type connectors. The sticker contains two electrodes that are linked to the device’s battery.

ENERBEE Rotary Micro-Generator is a combination of magnetic and piezoelectric materials. The piezoelectric material allows the device to generate energy at any motion speeds, while the magnetic material permits the generator to be actuated from low force movements.

They have also developed a Smart Vent Design could be easily adapted for automotive – especially electric vehicles. It is fully autonomous in energy, it embeds air flow & air quality sensors, powered by Enerbee’s multi-patented energy generator. The electronic controller analyzes air quality data and adjusts the air flow to keep you healthy and comfortable. As stated generates energy continuously and ensures you a seamless and maintenance-free experience.

Fasetto is connectivity device with storage up to 2TB of storage. Will always be connected (native Wi-Fi and Bluetooth) so in car you can stream and share to multiple devices at once.

Osram and Phantom Intelligence have developed low cost LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) help pave the way with their low-cost LIDAR detection system to meet 2018 Euro NCAP Automatic Emergency Braking requirements. LIDAR works on the principle of radar but uses light from a dedicated infrared pulsed laser. Current systems are large and expensive. Phantom Intelligence’s Automotive Wide View LIDAR is a compact, less expensive unit that is proven reliable for low-speed obstacle detection in city driving.

HAP2U Patented Haptic Technology is embedded inside the touch screen. Smart piezo actuators generate an ultrasonic vibration which controls in real time the friction below the finger. The user feels as if turning a real knob, pushing a real cursor and perceives various textures.

Ideal for application in Center Stack Touch Screen. Its technology is based on ultrasonic vibrations controlling the friction between a finger and an active plate. The modification of the friction allows the implementation of numerous features: touch feedback, texturing, knob, sliders (slip interaction) and force sensing.”

AGposs®-LX, Transmitters optimized for wearable usage to detect biometric information such as heart-rate, electromyogram, breathing, brain waves and other information, including acceleration, direction, temperature and humidity and send the data to the devices. Information can be transmitted to smart phone or in car features. AGposs® LX01 (Transmitter for smart clothing) could be adapted for seats and steering wheel.

AGposs® is a fiber plated with silver on the surface of nylon or polyester. AGposs® is entirely covered with “silver” on the surface. It is a thread and not a thread, it is a metal and not a metal, it is a “thread looking metal,” so to speak. Unlike conventional silver-impregnated fiber and film-like silver yarn, the amount of silver is overwhelmingly large, and it is excellent for electromagnetic wave shielding, antibacterial/deodorization, heat retention/insulation, and electrostatic property and conductivity.

Dring Technology can detect any unusual situation and alert, without any action from the user. Through the vehicle subsystem or directly can connect the GSM network to alert caregivers, and uses GPS for accurate localization. It is autonomous and doesn’t need to be paired to any other device to be used.

RightEye delivers health and vision solutions identified through eye movement. Their patented software to deliver superior care, tests and outcomes to the health care, vision care, and performance vision communities around the world. May be worthwhile investigating potential automotive applications.

The Sunflower SMARTSHADE is an autonomous patio umbrella/shade that has a ridiculous amount of tech packed into it, all designed to keep you comfortable no matter the outdoor conditions.

• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity
• Solar-powered
• Built-in security camera
• Integrated lighting
• Built-in sensors
• Related SmartShade app for Android and iPhone

Sunflower smart umbrella not only automatically adjusts itself to keep you in the shade, it also includes integrated security cameras, speakers, a microphone, and lights. These all operate wirelessly and are powered through four slim solar panels.

Not sure if these is potential for cars but may have application for Trucks.

THINKWARE DASH CAMS  is a compact with no hassle of clearing memory with format-free technology. Active Impact Monitoring System utilizes a 3-axis G-Sensor to continuously monitor any impact to your vehicle, ensuring that all information of incidents is reliably recorded.

Tobii Unveils Next-Generation Eye Tracking for a wide variety of consumer devices, including cars.

Attach the coin-sized TrackR Bravo to your KEYFOB and use the TrackR app to locate it in seconds. Ring your missing item or get a reminder to grab your item before leaving it behind. And if you’re far away from your missing item, TrackR’s Crowd GPS Network will show you its last location on a map. The technology can be imbedded in the KEYFOB

HP Laptop device is so thin with this much power requires a special approach to cooling. Breakthrough hyperbaric cooling technology from Intel® actively draws cool air in, rather than just venting heat out. This allows us to utilize a more powerful processor without overheating. Combined with dynamic power settings that adjust to your workload, this laptop keeps cool and stays at peak performance.

The thin display is ideal benchmark for rear seat display target size.

Bosch Integrated Connectivity Cluster is all-in-one information and communication system for motorcycles integrating head-unit functionality into a cluster.

Sevenhugs Smart Remote instantly adapts to anything you point at. This remote control transforms to match the gadget it’s pointing at

uBolt presented multi-factor authentication personal identity wearable device combining biometric fingerprint and voice recordings and a secure element to ensure your identity with verifiable confidence in a user identity. Potential application for car security and KEYFOB application.

HUDWAY Glass is a vehicle accessory that turns smartphone into a head-up display (HUD) for any car. It offers visibility, crisp interface, and works with any car or HUD app.

The body is UV Durable Hypoallergenic ABS and PC measuring 0.98″L x 5.91″W x 4.33″H.

Adamant has a compact and self-charging high efficient vibration-driven Energy Harvesting Device. Et Energy source for wireless communications such as ZigBee, Bluetooth Low Energy, and IR. It is a small independent power source for wireless sensor networks, night LED lighting or security systems.  Auxiliary power source for longer battery life.

Alta Devices Thin, Flexible and Lightweight solar panel is a thin layer of GaAs on top of a single crystal GaAs wafer using a high throughput metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) process. We then remove this thin layer via an epitaxial lift-off (ELO) process which leaves a thin, flexible, and lightweight solar cell.

Argil showed Electrochromic Film for Automotive, Architectural and other applications. It is designed to harness solar energy with potential application for smart windows. Sunlight reaching films on windows can be converted into energy.

BrightVolt Thin (0.37mm – 0.45mm) Film Batteries patented solid-state electrolyte produces ultra-thin, flexible, environmentally safe, high energy density lithium polymer batteries.

These are Flexible IS0 7816 Certified / UL listed: UL1642 with capacity of 10mAh to 48mAh. Will meet automotive environmental requirements at nominal voltage is 3.0v.

CDT is developing energy harvesting and storage solutions to the challenges of providing renewable energy, and power solutions for ubiquitous electronics.

In addition, they are working on Flexible Printed flexible OLED displays that are RGBW 400 cd/m2 achievable at less than 5V operating voltage and low power requirements.

Central Midori develops customized membrane switches without direct sensitive feedback and tactile solutions with metal domes and poly domes, which provide immediate tactile response.

BEBOP SENSORS used in smart washable fabrics that can measure XYZ location, Bend, Twist, Rotation, Force. Materials available in woven and non-woven base cloth with multiple sensors can be placed on same piece of fabric.

Thickness from .25 mm to .50mm with electronic package (USB, BLE, CAN, WIFI) embedded into fabric. Printed layers include dielectric, resistive and controlled conductive.

 

Enfucell SoftBattery® is a disposable, thin and flexible printed power source for devices like wireless sensors.  The technology enables a wide range of sizes from 1 cm² to 100 cm² and various shapes. SoftBattery® is suitable for low power applications, which require flexible and thin properties.

Rigid flex circuits from Flex Circuit Technologies combine the best of both rigid boards and flexible circuits integrated together into one circuit.  The two-in-one circuit is interconnected through plated thru holes. Rigid flex circuits provide higher component density and better quality control. Designs are rigid where extra support is needed and flexible around corners and areas requiring extra space.

Forster Rohner Textile Innovations integrates electronic functionalities in textiles in textile conductors, textile heating, textile sensors and textile lighting.

Interactive Wear provides a portfolio of readily available components and products that can be used either in their existing form, or customized to fit specific customer requirements for smart textiles applications expertise with focus on connectivity and integration.

Magi SciTech Inc battery has carbon nanotube microstructure designed for higher electrical current charging and discharging application. Graphene film heat sink unique structure of combination of three materials of Nano Carbon, Diamond and Graphene, is designed for fan less thermal management applications.

Corning Glass had demo of a car covered in touch-based smart glass. The entire dashboard was a glass display, while a head-up display was built into the driver’s side for on-windshield navigation.

There was even a smart screen in the steering wheel for quick access to all of the car’s controls. The roof, meanwhile, was an all-glass panel that could switch from clear to shades of colors that made the vehicle visually unique.

Motiv Ring effortlessly tracks your activity, heart rate and sleep. Designed to be worn day and night, we capture the minutes that matter most, motivating you to keep living better.

Basic specifications are 3-axis accelerometer, Optical Heart Rate Sensor, Lithium Ion battery that charges in under 90 mins with typical battery life of 3-5 days’ dependent on use.

It measures active Minute, Heart Rate, Calories Burned, Activity Types, Sleep Duration, Resting Heart Rate and others.

Harman In-Car Monitoring System has invented a pupil-based in-car monitoring system can track a driver’s eyes to not just provide a warning if he or she is falling asleep, but also ensure the driver’s attention stays on the road.

The system monitors pupil dilation to determine if a driver might be distracted, and the hardware component is little more than a simple camera so it can feasibly be installed in any car.

Alta Devices has developed an extremely lightweight, flexible, and powerful solution using gallium arsenide (GaAs).

Alta Devices working with parent company Hanergy in June 2016 unveiled four working prototypes – each prototype is a solar and electric hybrid.  Initial testing shows a 20% range extension by adding solar.  In most cases, this means you will never have to “plug-in” your electric vehicle during the average work day commute.

Royole Flexible Display Technology offers advantages as it is ultra-thin, light weight, bendable, portable, shatter-proof, unbreakable and low energy, etc. They have intellectual property rights and key technical know-hows covering all aspects of display manufacturing including materials, processing, devices, circuits, electronic systems and module development.

They have developed thin AMOLED flexible display that was integrated with a fully-functional mobile phone platform. The overall display thickness was only about 0.01 mm (10 µm), as thin as an onion skin. Due to its ultra-thin thickness, bending radius of the flexible display can be as small as 1 mm, which is even thinner than a pen refill. The display still has the capability to display high quality videos with brilliant and vivid colors in the bending status or after 50K ~ 100K of bending cycles.

Together with ITRI, Taiwan, Heraeus, demonstrated the integration of Clevios™ conductive polymer based touch panel with AM OLED technology in a highly flexible device.

The device was prepared using Clevios™ PEDOT conductive polymer material (formulated by EOC, Taiwan) patterned on ITRI’s FlexUp™ substrate. Solution processable and printable Clevios™ PEDOT: PSS is used as the transparent electrode in this device. In the project a 7-inch flexible Touch Panel / AM OLED device was produced.

Read more at: http://www.printedelectronicsworld.com/articles/8328/flexible-7-inch-touch-panel-with-integrated-oled-display-developed

FlexEnable’s OTFT-Based Technology gives plastic LCDs the same optical performance as glass LCDs, while removing the constraints of glass.

Flexible displays can break through the constraints of glass to transform car interiors as a curved display on the A-pillar of the car can replace the wing mirror (for increased aero dynamic efficiency) or show the driver what is behind the pillar (for increased safety).

FlexEnable’s technology platform can be used to produce low-cost, flexible organic LCD (OLCD) that is glass-free, ultra-thin and shatterproof.

For strategic projects, we provide prototype OLCDs with backlights and driver electronics made in our prototyping line in Cambridge, UK.

Their low temperature manufacturing process (below 100°C) means very low cost plastics can be used instead of more expensive glass, resulting in the lowest cost approach to flexible active matrix displays.

Per GREEN DIARY, flexible and bendable displays by AU Optronics (AUO) build up 20-inch and 3-inch flexible e-papers.

PowerFilm has developed a method to print roll-to-roll displays. The PowerFilm flexible display features an array of interconnected backplane transistors to realize the display. The roll-to-roll displays from PowerFilm can be printed so like the newspapers.

The major benefit of flexible e-paper is that it is eco-friendly as it has potential to replace newspapers, magazines and books. Disadvantage is that may not be able to watch contents in full colors on e-papers.

LG Roll Up Display Screen that can be rolled up like a newspaper opens the door for form factors you probably can’t even imagine right now, and it’s exciting to say the least.

It was a major attraction at the 2017 CES.

Additive Manufacturing Holds Key to Efficient, Cost-Effective Development of Flexible Electronics. Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) think that additive manufacturing is the key to solving this problem. A team led by Heng Pan, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has demonstrated how this type of manufacturing process can be used to combine rigid components with elastomers to develop flexible, or “stretchable” electronics.

Professor Heng Pan working graduate student Brandon Ludwig. Pan, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, led a team that demonstrated how additive manufacturing can play a key role in developing stretchable electronics by joining elastomers and rigid components.

NuCurrent Power Play with Automotive Transmitters must withstand vibration, temperature extremes and moisture for up to 13 years, the average scrap rate of a vehicle. NuCurrent’s has a durable and efficient solution for high efficiency wireless charging without fearing coil deterioration and breakage over time.

NuCurrent worked with Texas Instruments to develop a more durable and consistent solution for automotive and other harsh environments. NuCurrent provided a PCB solution that outperformed all other PCB solutions provided by other companies by a 20% higher quality factor due to the lower ESR in NuCurrent’s coils.

Synaptics In-Display Fingerprint Reader: fingerprint reader works on smart phone and the technology can be embedded within in ca applications and could be better than whatever facial recognition tech someone wants to market to you. An in-display unit likely frees up space internally.

Hypervsn™ is a lightweight projection unit supported by a proprietary, cloud-based management platform allows you to add feature content in autonomous vehicles when going on long journeys.

VW One Button Push Technology:  Single push of a button is all it takes to summon the VW Sedric vehicle. Colored signals display its arrival time.

Alcantara Artificial Swede has gone from blend of polyurethane and polyester to finished fabric after it’s subjected to various needle punching, buffing, glue-impregnating, extraction and dyeing processes. It is found in high-end cars, and is both lighter and more durable than natural suede; that. The control element is made up of a button to press and a ring which indicates arrival time with colored signals and a vibration signal that guides a person with impaired vision to the car. Good for both Autonomous cars and UBER cabs.

No reason why the same technology cannot be used to design a sleek KEYFOB on a keyring.

Samsung and Harman stuff the car interior with digital displays … right to the roof.

Visteon’s Plastic OLED technology that promises low energy use, bright colors and a very thin form factor. Its advantages is thin form factor can fit over a curved surface, giving automotive designers more freedom in shaping the dashboard. Low power use makes them exceptionally good for electric cars, as they won’t impinge on range.

Another concept from Visteon, designed for a self-driving car, uses a large 4K monitor. When the human driver is in control, the display can show crucial driving information, and even warnings about obstacles from the car’s sensors. If the driver switches to autonomous driving mode, she can use the 4K monitor for entertainment, video calls or almost anything else.

Continental’s 3D Touch Surface Display touchscreen featuring a 3D surface Display ensures greater safety and an enhanced user experience and offers design freedom and individualization in the cockpit design

Fulton Innovation eCoupled wireless power transfer technology two-way wireless power transfer innovation has power supply coil and a receiving coil positioned close to each other. A shared electromagnetic field is generated and wireless power transfer is facilitated. The eCoupled system has built-in intelligent control that constantly monitors the flow to ensure optimal efficiency and safety (it’s claimed to optimize power transfer at 98 percent efficiency).

It’s also capable of adapting to multiple loads, can charge or power devices requiring anything from a few milliwatts to kilowatts, will stop providing power when a full battery is detected, and can operate over short distances of up to a few inches.

Kiekert NuEntry Latch that eliminates the need for exterior door handles and design employs two actuator chains and a pawl that lift via an electric motor. Latch is usually locked and releases electronically if an emblem on the side of the door is touched. It also opens if vehicle battery power is lost, such as in the event of an accident. Since the latch defaults to the unlocked position, there is no need for additional electronics, such as a power storage unit.

Bellus3D Face Camera Pro is an easy-to-use, high-quality, and affordable 3D face scanning camera for mobile devices. The Face Camera Pro is designed for self-scanning by simply attaching Face Camera Pro to a smartphone or a tablet, turn your head from left to right, and start creating amazingly realistic 3D face models  Automotive applications to be defined.

iDevices packed Alexa into a Wi-Fi light switch features built-in sensors for motion and ambient light, as well as a microphone and speaker for your Alexa commands. Good potential application for in car rear seat application targeting Autonomous Vehicles.

Cota transmitter Wireless Battery Charging can triangulate and lock on to the Cota Receiver. It then calculates the best signal path and transmits your wireless power accordingly. According to Ossia (which developed its own technology but licenses it to other companies), Cota works while moving, around corners, beyond line-of-sight, and regardless of people or objects in the way — within reason

Transparent AMOLED Laptop – Its See-Through! Sadly, this is just a working concept with quite a pixely display but hey, it has a clear AMOLED screen.

GlobTek Magnetic Connector features Super Strong N52 Neodymium Magnets, and electrical contact Is made via gold plated pogo pins, and all components relate to various types of electrical cable and over molded. Magnetic connectors are vibration-proof, cleanable and allow for a correct connection in the most inaccessible of locations. The “tearaway function” prevents damage to the connector by accidental or unintended disconnection.