SCADA, Telematics & GPS Technologies

Recently Mercedes Benz revealed images of its stunning Formula Zero Racer, a futuristic foray into the next generation of racing. Incorporating elements from luge, yacht, and Formula One vehicles, the zero-emissions racer is propelled by a wind-catching sail in addition to electric motors that are powered by renewable resources. The concept is a tribute to a future where cars will win races based not just upon their speed, but on how energy efficient they are. Read the rest of the story: link

Going green doesn’t mean giving up wheel-spin-inducing, tire-shredding performance, as this 300-horsepower natural gas-burning Mustang GT proves.

German natural gas conversion specialists Green Autogas teamed up with tuning haus Rollin on Chrome to prove “green” isn’t synonymous with boring. Together they tweaked the Mustang’s 4.6-liter V8 to run on propane natural gas, then installed a body kit, carbon-fiber hood and 22-inch wheels. The lime-green paint is waaay over the top and we’re not wild about the wing, but Green Autogas is to be commended for the effort.

So is the car as green as it looks?

The CNG engine produces about 20 percent less CO2 than the gasoline engine it is based on and 95 percent less nitric nitrogen oxide (NOx) than a typical diesel, according to Motor Authority. It’s tough to put that in perspective, though, because no one’s provided fuel economy data or a cost-per-mile comparison with the stock ’stang.

Autogas isn’t the first outfit to build a green Mustang. The BioConcept Mustang built by German tuners FourMotor used a biofuel-burning 2.0-liter turbodiesel that produced 280 horsepower and 368 foot-pounds of torque. The car was good for 152.2 mph and raced in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.

As for the Autogas CNG Mustang, we’ll park it next to the sweet natural gas-burning Porsche 356 clone French boutique automaker PGO produces.

Photo: courtesy Autoblog.nl, Source: wired

The old joke “Hydrogen is the fuel of tomorrow — and always will be” isn’t keeping Mazda from jumping on the H2 bandwagon and stuffing a dual-fuel rotary under the hood of the next RX-8. They might even dub it the RX-9.

Wankels are sweet engines that really scream at full throttle, but they get lousy fuel economy and aren’t terribly green. In an effort to clean things up a bit, the next-gen production rotary reportedly will be based on the hydrogen/gasoline engine in the RX-8 Hydrogen RE (pictured).

Just make sure you aren’t trying to chase down that ZR-1 under hydrogen power.

Here’s a post from the Cisco blog on how IT is affecting Machine-to-Machine communications…

I’ve been thinking about how machine-to-machine (M2M) communications will evolve, and what it will mean for the network. We seven billion humans think we’re the majority, with about one billion of us connected to the Internet and more than three billion chatting on cell phones. But there’s another population that overshadows us: Machines. By some counts, there are 10 times as many of them as of us – over 70 billion. Most of them are not yet connected, but this will change.

Cars, irrigation systems, and weather sensors are just the beginning. Proprietary, legacy systems are converging on IP due to cost efficiencies and benefits of standardization. New technologies such as Zigbee promise to tie together disparate devices in a cost-effective mesh. Read more on this article at Cisco Blog

Telemetry has been a key factor in modern motor racing. Engineers are able to interpret the vast amount of data collected during a test or race, and use that to properly tune the car for optimum performance. Systems used in some series, namely Formula One, have become advanced to the point where the potential lap time of the car can be calculated and this is what the driver is expected to meet. Some examples of useful measurements on a race car include accelerations (G forces) in 3 axes, temperature readings, wheel speed, and the displacement of the suspension. In Formula 1, the driver inputs are also recorded so that the team can assess driver performance and, in the case of an accident, the FIA can determine or rule out driver error as a possible cause.

In addition, there exist some series where “two way” telemetry is allowed. Two way telemetry suggests that engineers have the ability to update calibrations on the car in real time, possibly while it is out on the track. In Formula 1, two-way telemetry surfaced in the early nineties from TAG electronics, and consisted of a message display on the dashboard which the team could update. Its development continued until May 2001, at which point it was first allowed on the cars. By 2002 the teams were able to change engine mapping and deactivate particular engine sensors from the pits while the car was on track. For the 2003 season, the FIA banned two-way telemetry from Formula 1, however the technology still exists and could eventually find its way into other forms of racing or road cars.

In addition to that telemetry has also been applied to the use of Yacht racing. The technology was applied to the Oracle’s USA-76.