SSZT684 june 2018 DRV10983-Q1
You order a taxi through an app on your phone, and it arrives within minutes. There’s no one in the car and the doors open automatically, as you approach. You lower yourself onto the plush leather seats. The seat position and interior lighting are pre-set based on your preferences. The morning news is streaming on a sleek screen. The car goes into gear and maneuvers effortlessly through the morning traffic while you relax or check your email. About half of the cars around you are also empty. You ask the taxi what time you’ll arrive. “Your estimated time of arrival is 8:30 a.m. There are no expected delays today.”
This could be reality within a decade. As autonomous vehicles become more ubiquitous, passengers will also expect other features of the car to operate autonomously.
Today’s new cars can include more than 30 body motors used in applications ranging from window regulators, mirrors and adjustable car seats to sunroofs, lights and air-conditioning systems. These systems of comfort and necessity will become increasingly automated and programmed according to the passenger’s preferences.
The following are three ways TI can help you stay ahead of the trends and drive these innovations in automotive body motors:
Currently, electric cars have one large central motor in the powertrain. In the future, however, an electric motor will be integrated into each wheel (e-wheel drive), which means you can directly brake with the motor in the wheel or drive each wheel separately. This eliminates the need for differential gears, but preserves the functionality a sophisticated stability system or four-wheel drive system delivers today. The result will be a car with less weight, but also added agility and safety.