Polyurethane Sustainability and All Plastics Beyond
Polyurethane (PU) is one of the important plastics used in automotive interior, especially in seat foam pads and acoustic damping. I spoke at the recent Europur & Euro-Moulders Conference in…
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Europur & Euro-Moulders: PU for Comfort, Sustainability
Europur/Euro-Moulders had their annual conference on 8-9 June in Berlin, Germany. Over 400 participants, representing more than 100 companies, discussed the use of polyurethane (PU) in the likes of mattresses;…
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GM Patents Anti-Motion Sickness Technology
General Motors has filed a patent application for anti-motion sickness technology for autonomous vehicles. In the application, filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), GM notes that…
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Infineon 3D Depth Sensors for Safety & Comfort
3D depth sensors in vehicles are growing in importance, from enabling innovative HMI solutions to improving passive safety. To address this increasing demand, Infineon, in collaboration with 3D time-of-flight system specialist PMD Technologies, has developed a second generation of the ISO 26262-compliant, high-resolution “Real3” 3D automotive image sensor. Infineon’s 3D sensing VP Christian Herzum says…
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Maserati Uses Rightware Kanzi Display Technology
Maserati has chosen Rightware’s Kanzi UI toolchain to create the primary human-machine interface (HMI) for their 2023 Grecale SUV. Kanzi software powers the graphics in both the digital instrument cluster and the HUD. Kanzi enabled a highly productive process for creative design and software engineering, accelerating Grecale HMI development while bringing significant cost savings to…
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Marelli’s Integrated Cockpit Domain Control Unit
HMI innovation requires an evolution in vehicles’ electronic architecture. To address this shift, Marelli offers streamlined, intelligent, and connected cockpit and in-vehicle electronics solutions like the Integrated Cockpit Domain Control Unit (DCU), which allows multiple functional domains to be merged into a single SoC. Marelli’s DCU manages different operating systems and the related display interfaces…
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Reflective Rearview Mirrors Might Beat LCD Screens
The interior rearview mirror has stayed about the same for a lot of years, and although digital ersatz mirrors—a mirror-shaped screen showing images from a rear-facing camera—have begun to come in, there are sturdy reasons why the regular old, normal old, boring old shiny-glass type might win out over the high-tech solution. Dr. Jay Pratt…
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New Mercedes GLC is Roomy for People And Cargo
The new Mercedes GLC increases its overall length by six centimeters to 4.72 meters, and its wheelbase by 15 millimeters. It gives 95 cm of rear legroom, a key parameter for rear passenger comfort. This growth is also reflected in a 50-liter increase in load volume. The mild hybrids hold 600 liters, while the PHEV…
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LumenFlow Maximizes Design Precision to Get Every Photon
Located in Zeeland, Michigan since 2000, LumenFlow has been working to put every last photon to work in the designs they do for their customers. Founders Brian Zatzke; Paul Bourget,…
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The Original Living Room on Wheels
Foam is the reason why car interiors are soft. Gluing; stitching; springs, and wireframes come along with a multitude of techniques and assembly practices combined to give ergonomic and acoustic comfort, refined iteratively over the years. However, long before anyone talked about (usually big American) cars as ‘living rooms on wheels’, someone actually built a…
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