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GM Throws Driver Out Of Car, At CES!
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General Motors gives a glimpse into what future holds for cars -- the future vehicles will not use a single drop of petrol and can be controlled by drivers over wireless phones.
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Thursday, January 10, 2008:
While Delhi is getting hot today with Tata's announcement of Rs 1 lakh car, CES at Los Angeles is offering attendees a drive into future. Marking any auto maker's first appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Rick Waggoner, chief executive, General Motors, said, "If the automobile was invented today, it would have debuted at CES." Today, cars use so much of sophisticated electronics and IT that they are no less than consumer electronics products.
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Waggoner shared the vision of General Motors while presenting the new Cadillac Provoq, which uses GM's fifth-generation fuel cell with a lithium-ion battery to produce an electrically-driven vehicle that uses no petroleum and has no emission other than water. He also pointed out that the company is working towards revolutionising the way people used to look at cars by finding new source of fuels to power these cars and also getting controlled out of drivers and handing the steering wheels to robots.
GM also gave a preview of an unmanned Chevrolet Tahoe that used electronics to successfully 'drive' itself through a 60-mile urban course in November to win a prestigious U.S. Defense Department-sponsored competition. Its electronic technology is so promising that it could lead to production vehicles that eliminate the most common cause of crashes – driver error.
The Tahoe – named 'Boss' after the nickname of Charles F. Kettering, founder, R&D, GM – was developed by Carnegie Mellon University, General Motors and other partner companies. It uses a combination of LIDAR, radar, vision and mapping/GPS systems to see the world around it. It recognises road geometry and perceives other traffic and obstacles on the road, and – using intelligent algorithms and computer software – figures out where it’s safe to drive in order to avoid obstacles while completing the driving mission.
Boss recently navigated 60 miles of urban traffic, busy intersections and stop signs in less than six hours to win the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) 2007 Urban Challenge competition.
"Not only can we use electricity in place of gasoline to propel the next generation of vehicles, the electronic technology in vehicles such as Boss can provide society with a world in which there are no car crashes, more productive commutes and very little traffic congestion," said Larry Burns, vice president, R&D and strategic planning, GM, adding that the technology in Boss is a stepping stone toward a day when commuters can do their e-mail, eat breakfast and even watch the news while being 'chauffeured' to work.
Whereas GM's concept car can drive 300 miles (483 km) on a single fill of hydrogen – with 280 miles (450 km) from hydrogen and 20 miles (32 km) on pure, battery electric energy. A pair of 10,000 psi (700 bar) composite storage tanks beneath the rear cargo floor hold 13.2 pounds (6 kg) of hydrogen to feed the fuel cell stack, located under the hood. There, hydrogen mixes with oxygen to generate electricity – up to 88 kW continuous power. A lithium-ion battery pack can store up to a total of 9kWh of electrical energy and also provides a peak of 60 kW of power for additional performance.
The electricity generated by the fuel cell is distributed to a 70 kW co-axial drive system for the front wheels and individual, 40 kW wheel hub motors on the rear wheels, giving the Cadillac Provoq its all-wheel-drive traction and great driving dynamics. Its 0-60 mph (approximately 100 km/h) speed of 8.5 seconds is a more than 30-percent improvement over the previous-generation fuel cell system and with instantaneous torque to the wheels, it feels even faster. Provoq has a top speed of 100 mph (160 km/h).
"This is a vision of what comes next – a fuel cell electric vehicle that delivers the driving characteristics Cadillac customers want and allowing them to do it without using a single drop of petroleum, while emitting only water vapour," said Larry Burns, vice president, research and development, GM. "This is proof that alternate fuels and advanced technologies create even greater opportunities to satisfy the luxury buyer."
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(6 Votes)
