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AUTOMOTIVEENGINEERING May 2016 1

REGULARS

2 Editorial: Send in Yamaguchi!

4 Technology Report4 2016 SAE World Congress: Connected

vehicles will be hackers’ trophy | ELECTRONICS

6 2016 SAE World Congress: Nautilus claims

radical advance in HCCI engine development |

POWERTRAIN

8 2016 SAE World Congress: Electric propulsion

now “inescapable” | ELECTRONICS

10 Chipmakers gearing up for onboard wireless

charging | INTERIORS

28 Global Vehicles28 Tesla’s highly-anticipated Model 3 brings

technology questions

30 Mazda reveals retractable-hardtop MX-5 RF

30 Enter two new plug-ins: 2017 Mitsubishi

Outlander PHEV and Toyota Prius Prime

32 Lincoln unveils big-SUV future with Navigator

concept

33 Nissan targets cabin NVH with big investment

in Sentra upgrade

34 Product BriefsSpotlight: Test equipment & software

42 Companies Mentioned, Ad Index

44 Q&AUnveiling the reengineered 2017 version of Nissan’s

revered GT-R supercar, Keno Kato, Corporate Vice

President, Global Product Strategy & Product

Planning, talks about the GT-R’s role in Nissan’s

product-development “ethic” and the relevance of

driver’s cars in the autonomous future.

FEATURES

12 New dawn at Honda R&D COVER STORY President Yoshiyuki Matsumoto aims to invigorate Honda’stechnology and product-development organization with “full soul.”

16 Automated driving meets regulation:NHTSA and the next 50 yearsREGULATIONS | STANDARDS The challenges and opportunities on the road to “zero deaths”

demand a new level of federal automotive safety technical standards,

and a new safety-defect reporting and recall system. NHTSA and the

U.S. Congress must act boldly and quickly to make it happen.

20 Autonomous driving meetsregulation: Hands off, eyes off,brain off SAFETY Euro NCAP’S president warns that without coherent policies, the

growing availability of automated technologies may result in

piecemeal technology development—and unintentional

consequences.

23 Designer yin meets engineer yangDESIGN | STYLING Efficient and effective vehicle development means even closer

collaboration between the two former sparring partners.

26 The e-LSD alternative to AWD POWERTRAINEaton’s new-for-2018 electronic limited-slip differential offers mass,

fuel-consumption, and packaging benefits over typical AWD while

enhancing vehicle dynamic control.

ON THE COVERAE’s veteran Asia correspondent Jack Yamaguchi—known as the

“dean” of Japanese auto writers—was the first journalist to get a

sit-down interview with Yoshiyuki Matsumoto in his new role as

Honda R&D President. Matsumoto said he intends to re-invigorate

Honda’s technology and product-development organization.

CONTENTS

Audited by

Automotive Engineering®, May 2016, Volume 3, Number 4. Automotive Engineering(ISSN 2331-7639) is published in February, March, April, May, June, August, September,

October, and November by Tech Briefs Media Group, an SAE International®, 261 Fifth Avenue,Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016 and printed in Mechanicsburg, PA. Copyright © 2016 SAEInternational. Annual print subscription for SAE members: first subscription, $20 included indues; additional single copies, $30 each North America, $35 each overseas. Prices fornonmember subscriptions are $115 North America, $175 overseas. Periodicals postage paid atNew York, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Automotive Engineering, P. O. Box 47857, Plymouth, MN 55447. SAE International is notresponsible for the accuracy of information in the editorial, articles, and advertising sections ofthis publication. Readers should independently evaluate the accuracy of any statement in theeditorial, articles, and advertising sections of this publication that are important to him/herand rely on his/her independent evaluation. For permission to reproduce or use content inother media, contact [email protected]. To purchase reprints, contact [email protected] for missing issues of the magazine must be submitted within a six-month time frame ofthe claimed issue’s publication date. The Automotive Engineering title is registered in the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office. Full issues and feature articles are included in the SAE DigitalLibrary. For additional information, free demos are available at www.saedigitallibrary.org.(ISSN 2331-7639 print)(ISSN 2331-7647 digital)

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5/49

EDITORIALBill VisnicEditorial [email protected]

Lindsay [email protected]

Ryan GehmAssociate [email protected]

Patrick PonticelMembership [email protected]

Lisa ArrigoCustom ElectronicProducts [email protected]

Contributors

Kami BuchholzDetroit Editor

Stuart BirchEuropean Editor

Jack YamaguchiAsia Editor

Steven Ashley, Dan Carney,Terry Costlow, Richard Gardner,John Kendall, Bruce Morey,Jennifer Shuttleworth, Linda Trego,Paul Weissler

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AUTOMOTIVEENGINEERING 2 May 2016

EDITORIAL

Send in Yamaguchi!Ted Klaus is not given to hyperbole. So

when the Chief Engineer of Honda’s

2017 NSX says something is “the best,”

he means it. And that’s how Klaus de-

scribed hearing Jack Yamaguchi’s first

impressions of the all-new supercar,

during a pre-production drive event last

winter at the Tochigi Proving Ground.

“Jack got out of the car, looked me in

the eye and said, ‘It’s still an NSX!’ Then

he smiled. Coming from Jack, that was

the best comment I’ve heard about this

vehicle,” Klaus proudly recounted tome in early March at the NSX’s global

media launch.

When Kyoichi “Jack” Yamaguchi

talks, industry engineers listen because

they’re hearing the “dean” of Japan’s

automotive journalists. Over a career

spanning 50 years, Jack has conducted

hundreds of interviews with experts at

the OEMs and suppliers. Doors open

when Jack visits and top executives

return his calls. He’s reported on new

technologies and driven prototypes and

production vehicles—on two wheels

and four—well ahead of launch.Jack filed his first English-language

articles in 1967, and went on to become

the Japan correspondent for Road &

Track and Cycle World in the U.S. SAE

International was smart to hire him in

the early 1980s to be Automotive

Engineering’s Asia Editor, a post he still

holds today while penning monthly col-

umns in four Japanese car magazines.

And students of Mazda’s sports cars

know Jack as the author of books on

the RX-7, RX-8, and MX-5 Miata.

How did a kid living among the dev-

astation of post-WWII Japan, who was

crazy for bikes and cars, get started as

a renowned industry journalist?

“I mostly learned English by watching

movies and listening to Armed Forces

Radio at home,” Jack told me during

the 2016 SAE Congress. He learned the

nuts-and-bolts of machines while work-

ing for Japan’s BMW and BSA motor-

cycle importer and going to races.

Jack’s coverage of the industry in ma-

jor publications soon got the attentionof top management within Japan’s

OEMs. “Three senior engineers became

my mentors and helped me get started

in this business: Yoshio Nakamura at

Honda, Jiro Kawano at Toyota, and

Shinichiro Sakurai at Nissan,” Jack said.

Each of the three are icons—Nakamura

was Soichiro Honda’s R&D director;

Kawano led development of the 2000GT

and Toyota’s Group 7 racecar; and

Sakurai headed Nissan GTR engineering,

among many other projects by each.

It was Nakamura, then president ofJapan SAE, who approached Jack with

a proposal: Would he be interested in

writing for SAE’s flagship magazine?

“My first reaction was, ‘No way!’ The

standards of a professional engineering

publication are much higher than those

for enthusiast magazines,” Jack re-

called. But his mentor’s encouragement

prevailed. “I told Nakamura that I would

write for AE for one year...and 40 years

later I’m still doing it!”

So when the grapevine told me that

Honda was about to promote YoshiyukiMatsumoto to head Honda R&D earlier

this year, my immediate reaction was,

“better send in Yamaguchi!” Jack, who

lives in Tokyo, just happened to have a

lunch scheduled with his R&D contacts at

Tochigi. His request for a sit-down inter-

view with Matsumoto-san—the first for

an industry magazine—resulted in this

month’s cover story. Our domo arigatou

gozaimasu to Honda for making it hap-

pen—and to Jack for being the “dean.”

Lindsay Brooke, Editor-in-Chief

Yamaguchi

(at right)

talks NSX

with Ted

Klaus.


6/49

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7/49

TECHNOLOGYREPORT

SAE INTERNATIONALBOARD OF DIRECTORS

Cuneyt L. Oge

PresidentRichard W. Greaves, FREng

2015 President

Douglas Patton

2017 President Elect

Robert L. Ireland

Vice President – Aerospace

Carla Bailo

Vice President – Automotive

Thomas Stover

Vice President –Commercial Vehicle

Pierre Alegre

Treasurer

David L. Schutt, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Gregory L. Bradley, Esq.

Secretary

Daniel Basch

Alba Colon

Haoran Hu, PhD

Alain P. Jablonowski

James R. Keller

Jay Meldrum

Christopher Myers

Eric TechGareth Williams, PhD

Todd Zarfos

SAE Publications Board

David B. Stout - Chair

Mohamed El-Sayed, PhD

Derek J. Logan

Ronald D. Matthews, PhD

June Ogawa

Dr. Andrew C. Pickard

Mark Zachos

SAE Sectionsand Affiliate ActivitiesSAE International offers educational andnetworking opportunities at the grassrootslevel through more than 80 sectionsaround the world. Sections are currentlylocated in Belarus, Canada, Colombia,Ecuador, Egypt, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy,Malaysia, Mexico, Romania, Russia, Taiwan,U.K., Ukraine, U.S., and Venezuela. SAEalso operates affiliates in Brazil and India.More information about sections, alongwith a complete listing and links, can befound at www.sae.org/sections.


Cybersecurity has swiftly gone from a loose

concept to an issue that rivals quality, safety

and other mainstays of design must-haves. It’s

a multi-faceted challenge that extends from

simple vehicle systems to cloud connectivity.

“The biggest challenge is how many inter-

connections there are to many different

things,” said Tejas Desai, Head of Interior

Electronics Solutions, North America, for

Continental AG. “All different types of things

connect to the vehicle and we don’t know

about what’s on the other side.”

It’s not just the dark side of the Internet thatconcerns automakers. While hackers are a ma-

jor concern, automakers also must ensure that

a disgruntled employee at a supplier does not

create problems.

“Threats are not just external, they can be

internal, from within the company or the

supply chain,” said Joe Kwederis, Principal,

Deloitte & Touche. “That’s not to discount

that a predicted 200 million connected ve-

hicles by 2020 will be a huge target; vehicles

will be a real trophy for hackers.”

Companies have to protect systems that

might not seem to be of interest to hackers.

But mundane systems could be taken over by

extortionists who search for easy targets.

“Even the heating-air conditioning system

has to be protected,” said Roger Berg, Vice

President at Denso

International America.

“You might well wonderwho would attack that,

but it’s still something we

have to consider.”

Experts described a

number of issues that

arise with connectivity

during the 2016 SAE

World Congress Panel,

“Controlling Digital

Exhaust: Cyber Risk and

Security in the Age of

Autonomous and

Connected Vehicles.”Panelists all cited the

need for defense in depth,

with a number of layers of

protection to an attack

that bypasses one protec-

tive technology will be

ELECTRONICS

2016 SAE World Congress: Connected vehicles will behackers’ trophy

Numerous conduits to onboard

vehicle systems will be

required for connected-vehicle

capabilities and features (Image

courtesy of Infineon).

Toyota’s Derek Lewis and Denso’s Roger Berg ruminate

on the many security challenges being detailed by Tejas

Desai of Continental. (Terry Costlow)

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caught by another security feature. Many

of the charts presented showed scores

of factors that must be considered and

options that can be implemented.That has made security an integral part

of development programs, much akin to

functional safety. It’s becoming a part of

processes within Toyota and its suppliers.

“In every development project I’m

part of at Toyota, the OEM and suppli-

ers work closely together for a common

goal,” said Derek Lewis, Manager,

Electronic Systems at Toyota Technical

Center. “It’s really critical to have a con-

stant discussion back and forth.”

Corporate searches for solutions ex-

tend outside the automotive industry.Many are tapping information technol-

ogy teams and military providers who

have dealt with security for years.

“We want to partner with companies

in other industries,” Desai said. “We

want to gain insight from what they’ve

already learned.”

Companies also must address long-

term factors. Hackers will be looking for

vulnerabilities throughout the vehicle’s

lifecycle, so it will be important to deal

with evolving threats. Information shar-

ing may become common.“We need global standards about how

to react to attacks and minimize vulner-

abilities,” Berg said. “The industry has to

look at the complete lifecycle domain,

from concept through decommissioning.

We need to look at lifecycle of 15 years.

The attack surface is a long-term thing.”

Panelists also noted that it will be

helpful to provide a way for relevant

companies to share information about

attacks. That way, it will be easier for

them to stay up-to-date. When compa-

nies learn about new types of attacks,they can create fixes and send them out

using over the air updating technology.

Updates are seen as an essential tool in

the OEMs’ security arsenal.

“There has to be a refined tracking

system for attacks,” said Richard

Popovich, Executive Vice President of

FEDITC LLC. “The risk will turn more to

OEMs if there are accidents. OEMs have

to ensure that updates are installed to

minimize their risks.”

Terry Costlow

POWERTRAIN

2016 SAE World Congress: Nautilus claimsradical advance in HCCI engine development

Nautilus says

its HCCI engine

should be

cheaper to

build than a

spark-ignition

gasoline

engine and

require

no special

manufacturing

investment in

return for as

much as 30%

improved fuel

economy and

near-zero NOx

emissions

(Nautilus

Engineering).

Claiming its novel base-engine design

solves most of the intrinsic drawbacks

that have slowed auto-industry develop-

ment of homogenous-charge compres-

sion-ignition (HCCI) engines, NautilusEngineering used the 2016 SAE World

Congress to introduce its Nautilus Cycle

engine, saying the unique platform of-

fers an opportunity to introduce effi-

cient, low-emissions HCCI technology to

a variety of industries.

Although Nautilus said in a news re-

lease the company “believes it now

holds patents to make controlled HCCI

combustion possible for a wide range

of engines and applications,” company

CEO and chief research scientist

Matthew Riley said he started theNautilus effort with a somewhat hum-

bler horizon: “I just wanted to clean up

lawn-mower engines.”

Low-temperature HCCI combustion

has been a lingering Holy Grail of auto-

motive powertrain development, promis-

ing to impart on gasoline engines the

efficiency of diesel—without diesel’s

emissions and cost baggage. But a de-

cade or more of serious development

has proved HCCI an elusive target, its

need for intensive combustion control,

issues with cold-start operation and dif-

ficulty in addressing the entire automo-

tive rpm range suppressing introduction

for production-vehicle application.

Nautilus, however, said its approachto the issue was not to layer on yet

more levels of costly engine software

control. Instead the engine’s defining

feature—a novel piston design that cre-

ates a small “primary” combustion

chamber that propagates the air/fuel

detonation to the larger secondary cyl-

inder for full and controlled expansion—

and an equally unique approach to

dealing with the intake and exhaust

paths of the two-stroke cycle create an

architecture conducive to relatively sim-

ple control of full-range HCCI operation.“Everybody’s always tried to take a

spark-ignition engine and make it

HCCI,” Riley said at the 2016 SAE World

Congress. “Bad idea.”

On its website, Nautilus said, “With

this new technology, we’ve achieved full

control over the HCCI cycle in all con-

ventional rpm ranges, loads and tem-

peratures. This may be rapidly imple-

mented into existing platforms and will

meet and even exceed 2025 EPA (emis-

sions) regs.”

TECHNOLOGYREPORT


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It’s all about that smallcombustion chamber

Air and fuel are mixed outside the cylin-

der in the intake manifold via a fuel in-

jector ideally operating at something

approaching 160-200 psi. A couple of

potential design options for the Nautilus

engine’s small primary combustion

chamber mean compression ratio could

be fixed (perhaps for small single-cylin-der engines) or enable a variable com-

pression ratio of perhaps 1.5 to 2.5 times

the large secondary combustion cham-

ber’s fixed compression ratio of some-

where around 10.5:1. Twin intake and

exhaust ports are valved with conven-

tional-looking poppets envisioned to be

driven by digital hydraulic (or potentially

even electric) actuators. The valves also

could be operated by a more conven-

tional camshaft arrangement.

The engine design uses a single

ELECTRONICS

2016 SAE World

Congress: Electricpropulsion now“inescapable”

Though battery-powered vehicles

haven’t yet met predicted sales levels,

leading OEMs are bullish about the fu-

ture, saying that newer generation ve-

hicles now provide features and prices

that will attract buyers.

“There will certainly be an electrified

vehicle in your future, it’s inescapable,”

said Kevin Layden, Director, ElectrifiedPrograms & Engineering at Ford Motor

Co. “When you look at global CO2 regu-

lations, the industry can’t meet the

goals without electrification.”

Members of the “Why it’s likely that

there will be an electrified vehicle in

your future?” panel at the 2016 SAE

World Congress went beyond fuel-effi-

ciency and environmental benefits, cit-

ing drivability as a key reason that buy-

ers will turn to electrified vehicles.

“Education is the key, most custom-

ers don’t understand the benefits ofcost of ownership,” said Larry Nitz,

Executive Director at General Motors.

“We’ve been bad at explaining that to

customers. When people get into a car,

a light bulb goes off and they realize

these vehicles are fun to drive.”

Panelists all observed that consumer

opinions change once they drive an EV

and see benefits like good torque and

quiet cabins. They noted that range

anxiety, another objection that’s slowed

acceptance, is declining as perfor-

mance increases.“In the fall, the second generation

Prius plug-in vehicle will come out, of-

fering twice the range of the previous

generation,” noted Jackie Birdsall,

Executive Engineer, Toyota Engineering

and Manufacturing North America Inc.

Automakers are also attacking an-

other roadblock: high costs of EVs com-

pared to similar vehicles with internal-

combustion engines. They’re leveraging

the declining costs and increasing capa-

bilities of semiconductors and batteries.

Cutaway shows the Nautilus Cycle engine’s

defining feature: a piston with a top protrusion

that creates the engines “primary” combustion

chamber as the piston approaches the top of

the stroke (Nautilus Engineering).

check valve, the company said, to mini-

mize the typical two-stroke engine’s

exposure of the intake and exhaust

streams to engine lubricating oil.The Nautilus Cycle engine will run air/

fuel ratios approximately ranging from

24:1 to 31:1, as the engine design means

the air/fuel ratio is determined strictly by

engine load. As for a projected noise, vi-

bration and harshness signature for the

engine, “We’re not sure yet,” Riley admits.

He seemed to indicate an ideal configura-

tion for the Nautilus engine could be an

opposed-cylinder “boxer” layout. And he

would not rule out the likelihood that an

automotive application might require

some kind of supercharging to aid cylin-der filling and scavenging—particularly if

the Nautilus Cycle engine is adapted to

operate under Miller or Atkinson cycles.

Riley said combustion temperatures

are expected to be around 1200°F

(649°C) for an engine that for the mo-

ment exists only in computer design: no

running prototype yet exists. He said the

company plans to have a running version

in eight to ten weeks and a prototype

engine “up and functional” within six

months. After a year of prototype devel-

opment, he sees a window of two tothree years “for major streamlining of

automotive applications.”

Drone duty?

Given some past experiences, the time-

line seems uncharacteristically cautious

for a new-engine promoter—but the

Nautilus Engineering CEO is openly bull-

ish about the engine design’s intrinsic

appeal: “Somebody’s probably going to

come to us by the end of the week with a

development contract,” Riley predicted.He said the immediate goal for

Kansas-based Nautilus Engineering is to

work with academic partner Kansas

State University to develop a version of

the engine suitable for an unmanned

aerial vehicle (UAV) drone.

Riley also said the Nautilus engine could

easily run a conventional four-stroke cycle.

One of its chief attributes, he insisted, is

scalability to accompany its easy adapt-

ability for a range of mobility applications.

Bill Visnic

TECHNOLOGYREPORT


12/49


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At the same time, some are using modules across many prod-

uct lines to increase volume and decrease engineering time.

“The Malibu’s electric drive system is 98% common with the

Volt,” Nitz said. “Its controls are about 85% common with the Volt

and the modular battery pack has about 80% common controls.”

Panelists acknowledged that electrified vehicle sales have

not lived up to predictions, especially in North America.

However, they noted that will change as 2025 and its 54.5-

mpg CAFE regulations kick in. They also noted that sales

could rise faster in undeveloped countries.

In the U.S., easy access to gas stations highlights the short-age of electric charging stations. In countries where vehicle

ownership has been low, market development for electrified

powertrains may come faster if charging stations are set up.

“The acceptance of electrified powertrains is a matter of

Toyota engineer Jackie Birdsall addresses a vehicle electrification issue

at the 2016 SAE Congress audience as GM’s Larry Nitz and Kevin Layden

from Ford look on.

Though 220-V chargers are faster, most owners of GM’s plug-in vehicles

are using 110-V chargers. Shown is the SAE J1772 ‘combo’ (Levels 1 and 2)

connection for the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV.

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13/49


INTERIORS

Chipmakers gearing up for on-boardwireless charging

Smart phones are becoming an integral

part of vehicle infotainment options, but

this integration is putting a strain on the

phone’s battery. In-vehicle wireless

charging is increasingly seen as a pre-

ferred solution, and the normally-reticent

auto industry is moving quickly to bringthe technology to market.

“The auto industry has been an early

adopter,” said John Perzow, the Wireless

Power Consortium’s (WPC) Vice President

of Market Development. “They’ve been

faster than other infrastructure fields like

hotels and restaurants.”

Wireless charging has been around for

years, but only recently has the technol-

ogy started gaining acceptance. Two

standards are currently seeing use in au-

tomotive applications. The WPC’s Qi has

strong automotive support. Many dual-technology applications include the PMA

standard created by the Power Matters

Alliance, which is now part of the AirFuel

Alliance. Many analysts feel that the

growth curve is pointing upward.

“Despite limited OEM implementation

of wireless charging between 2012 and

2014, Strategy Analytics forecasts

strong growth of 75.3% CAGR between

2014 and 2022, growing to 20.3 million

units by 2022,” said Mark Fitzgerald,

Associate Director for Strategy Analytics’

Faster wireless on-board charging will be enabled

by new electronics such as NXP’s 15W Qi device.

TECHNOLOGYREPORT

when and where,” said Yasuyuki Sando,

Senior Chief Engineer, Honda R&D Co.

“India and China have a very small scale

gasoline infrastructure.”Toyota noted that fueling stations are

a challenge for its fuel cell vehicles.

Birdsall said that a huge infrastructure

is not needed, partially because drivers

can fill vehicles up with hydrogen

pumps designed for homes.

“It’s not essential to have a hydrogen

station on every corner, we only need

about 60 stations in California to sup-

port hydrogen vehicles” she explained.

“However, it’s incredibly challenging to

get the infrastructure ready.”

Ease of use and cost are critical ele-ments for replenishing both battery

packs and hydrogen tanks. Though high

voltage (220-V SAE Level 2) chargers

offer shorter charging times, many us-

ers have not adopted them.

“We expected 80% of customers to

use 220-V home chargers, but we’re

surprised that half the customers

charge with 110-V even today,” Nitz

said. “The key is that it has to be conve-

nient and cost-effective.”

Though panelists were unanimously

bullish about the future for electric pro-pulsion vehicles, they didn’t shy from

addressing their shortcomings. Range

anxiety remains an issue for vehicles

that don’t rely on internal combustion

engines for many conditions.

“Battery electric vehicles have short-

er range and longer recharging time, so

another car will be needed for people

who take longer drives,” Sando said.

“With plug-in hybrid EVs, people can

use them for every day.”

Panelists agreed that the industry

could benefit from standards for ratingmileage and driving range for electri-

fied vehicles, or ranges will vary widely

depending on the test techniques used.

Another marketing problem is that it’s

difficult to compare the mileage ratings

of ICE and hybrids and apply those

measures to pure electric vehicles.

Both Layden and Nitz suggested that

SAE could serve the industry by at-

tempting to set standards that make it

easier to compare performance.

Terry Costlow

Automotive Practice. “Currently, dual-

standard, AirFuel/Qi systems are the

preferred solution.”

Researchers at IHS said consumer

awareness of wireless charging technol-

ogy doubled in 2015, reaching 76% of

consumers in the U.S., U.K. and China.

Mobile phones with wireless power re-

ceivers surpassed 120 M units in 2015.

Some studies have suggested that driv-

ers are more likely to set phones on a

wireless charging platform than to plug

phones in, especially on short trips.Battery life is becoming more of an issue

as drivers use features like near-field com-

munication, Bluetooth and navigation.

Auto industry chipmakers are gearing

up. NXP Semiconductor recently re-

leased the industry’s first 15W multi-

standard wireless charging solution. It

supports the new 15W version of Qi,

which will shorten charging times com-

pared to the existing 5W technology, as

well as the 5W PMA standard. Though

no phones currently offer the 15W tech-

nology, it’s expected to see implementa-tion during vehicle lifetimes.

“By the time this goes into produc-

tion in cars, there will be a proliferation

of 15W devices in the field,” said Denis

Cabrol, NXP’s Marketing and Systems

Director. “This gives automakers staying

power for the long term.”

Standards battle and EMIchallengesWhile there’s optimism surrounding

wireless charging, there are also

Wireless capability simplifies charging,

eliminates cables.


14/49


hurdles. Some cell phone providers

have dropped the technology after us-

ing it, raising questions about its role.

The standards battle between Qi andPMA, which are primarily inductive

technologies, is exacerbated by a reso-

nant charging standard also managed

by the AirFuel Alliance.

“Multiple standards slow down prog-

ress,” said Geoff Gordon, Co-chair of the

AirFuel Alliance Marketing Committee.

“That’s why we merged [with the

Alliance for Wireless Power] and brought

the Rezence resonant charging technol-

ogy in. We’re very open to a grand alli-

ance merger to bring all the wireless

standards together.”He noted that there aren’t any formal

discussions to merge the two standards

organizations. That means developers will

have to work with two technologies,

which impacts price and complexity.

“Due to the difference in the techni-

cal specification and compliance re-

quirement, it is difficult to support mul-

tiple wireless power standards with one

solution.” said Pearl Cao, Systems

Engineer at Texas Instruments. “It also

may not be as cost-effective, efficient,

and size-optimized compared to a sin-gle standard solution.”

There are a few design concerns in

automotive applications. Qi and PMA

both operate around 100-200 MHz, so

care must be taken to avoid interfer-

ence with AM radio. Electromagnetic

interference is a key factor in designs.

“A tightly-coupled system, like the

Qi magnetic induction, does not radi-

ate much overall, as the magnetic flux

is contained between the transmit and

receiver coils and a ferrite screen is

placed behind them,” said PaoloBattezzato, Applications Engineering

Manager at STMicroelectonics.

“However, as all systems based on

switching regulators, proper design

and layout are key to keep EMI below

the limits.”

Charging platforms housed in center

consoles also will have to account for

objects that move about. If metal ob-

jects like coins or keys are on the

charging station, systems could over-

heat, making foreign-object detection a

TECHNOLOGYREPORT

requirement. Thermal issues will also

be an important factor.

“The intrinsic losses in the transmit

and receive coils can be minimized upto a point,” said Max Cortiana,

STMicroelectronics Product Marketing

Manager. “Therefore, it is critical to re-

duce losses in the IC and other electron-

ic components and use proper layout

techniques, to minimize power wasteand assure proper heat dissipation.”

Terry Costlow

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15/49


H

onda’s new 10-speed automatic has not yet entered produc-

tion, but it is already among the technologies that competi-

tors are clamoring to benchmark when it enters the market.

Designed and built in house, the new planetary transmissionfor front-drive vehicles, equipped with a torque converter, is as com-

pact as Honda’s incumbent 6-speed transaxle and is claimed to shift

30% faster and deliver a 14% improvement in acceleration.

It’s an impressive piece of engineering, but the new 10-speed’s

greatest attribute may be that it exists at all.

“It wondrously escaped the corporate maze,” noted Yoshiyuki

Matsumoto, who last month officially became President of Honda

R&D, the automaker’s integrated research and product development

organization. A 35-year Honda engineering veteran, he candidly

agrees with critics and even some Honda fans who say the company

that once dazzled the world with 22,000-rpm Grand Prix-winning

engines, beat everyone to U.S. Clean Air Act compliance, and set the

pace in innovative, efficient mobility for generations, had lost itsedge in recent years.

“Business plans and strategy had prevailed, discouraging those

who challenged,” Matsumoto told Automotive Engineering in an ex-

clusive interview (his first with media) at Honda’s Tokyo headquar-

ters. He explained that often during this lackluster period, technolo-

gies that were novel and untried were often disregarded as “prohibi-

tive in cost for implementation.”

The straight-talking Matsumoto aims to reverse that approach. He

and his R&D team are charged with invigorating their company’s

product groups, with the kind of boldness that put the “motor”—a

term that now includes electric and chemical, as well as internal com-

bustion—into Honda Motor Co.

President Yoshiyuki Matsumoto aims to

invigorate Honda’s technology and product-

development organization with “full soul.”by Jack Yamaguchi

Focus on trucks, Acura

Backed by a new organizational structure that is re-

storing the engineering-sales balance, Matsumotoaims to strengthen Honda’s product side on all

fronts—from hydrogen fuel cells and hybrid pow-

ertrains to next-generation ICEs that are targeting in-

dustry-leading 50% brake-thermal-efficiency rates, to

lightweighting solutions such as those learned from

the new NSX supercar, that can be transferred into

more mass-efficient mainstream-vehicles.

There’s a new, separate business entity in

Automotive Operations that Matsumoto said will

“broadly embrace” connectivity, artificial intelligence,

automated driving, as well as drive further develop-

ment and commercialization of energy generation so-

lutions. Among the most promising is the SolarHydrogen Station, which enables users to refill their

fuel-cell vehicle (FCV) overnight without the require-

ment of hydrogen storage.

The Solar Hydrogen Station reduces CO2 emissions

by using less expensive off-peak electrical power—and

exporting renewable electricity from the vehicle’s fuel

cell stack to the grid during daytime peak-power times.

Matsumoto also indicates that Honda is prepared to

penetrate well beyond the latest Pilot, Acura MDX, and

Ridgeline to win a greater share of the highly profit-

able North American truck market. He challenges

those who speculate that Honda won’t venture into

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW

Yoshiyuki Matsumoto:

“We will no longer limit ourselves to

building and marketing automotive and

related products, but expand to yonder.”

New dawn

at Honda

R&D


16/49


PRODUCT MANAGEMENT FEATURE

the true full-size truck segment.

“Never say never!” he replied. “China wants bigger

SUVs. They are cash cows for our Detroit competitors,

and we are acutely aware of demands.”On the luxury-vehicle side, reinforcing and re-focus-

ing Acura’s portfolio is a Matsumoto priority.

“Especially Acura sedan,” he acknowledged, “where

we had wandered left and right in product concept

and execution for a couple times in the past.”

And with the HondaJet now entering service with

customers, even the sky is not a boundary: “We will no

longer limit ourselves to building and marketing auto-

motive and related products, but expand to yonder,”

he said.

Restoring engineers’ cloutMatsumoto shares the joy and inherent agony of con-

ceiving, developing, and producing new automobiles

with his boss, Honda Motor Co. President Takahiro

Hachigo, who was Large Project Leader (LPL, or more

commonly chief engineer), of the 1999 North

American Odyssey and 2002 second-generation CR-V.

Matsumoto during the same period led the team of

designers and engineers to create the first-generation

Fit, considered a triumph of packaging which estab-

lished the company’s new global small car platform

that subsequently produced many iterations.

While the two executives were immersed in vehicle

development, Honda was pursuing a corporate strategy called ‘SED,’

short for Sales, Engineering (manufacturing), and Development. SED

had worked admirably and harmoniously during the company’s ear-

lier growth period, but then the balance among the three disciplinesstarted tipping toward the ‘S,’ or more generally the marketing con-

tingent located at corporate headquarters in central Tokyo.

Matsumoto observed, “There used to be super LPLs—extraordi-

narily imaginative, creative and resourceful engineers—presenting

their ideas of distinctive and innovative products and of advanced

technologies. We also had RAD, short for Representative of

Automobile Development, mostly veteran R&D managers who were

responsible for groups of products. The RADs at the parent Honda

Motor Co. provided powerful support to those super LPLs to get their

proposals through the corporate maze.”

But the proven and effective RAD system had fallen out of favor

and was eventually suspended. As a result, new product and technol-

ogy ideas from the engineers increasingly received more rejectionsthan approvals when presented to the sales and marketing group.

“More often, they started tending inwards,” Matsumoto recalled.

Matsumoto also brings a deep plant-floor understanding of manu-

facturing, having served as General Manager of the huge Suzuka

“mother” factory. And like Hachigo, he spent time on the sales side, as

President and CEO of Honda Motor Co. of India, a steadily growing

and potential mega market. He returned to Japan in April 2015 to take

charge of Honda automobile operations. A year later, he brought that

function into Honda R&D Co. prior to his becoming President.

“Transfer of power? No,” he reflected. Rather, the new organization

is a return “to the original, noble concept of SED from whence we in

Honda R&D are taking the initiative to move the three organizations

Honda-designed fuel cell

stack in the 2017 Clarity

FCV. The Honda-GM fuel cell

development partnership has

entered its second phase.Honda R&D will apply aero and materials learnings from the 2017

NSX’s 9-year development to mainstream vehicle programs.


17/49


together and forward, fully understanding sales and engineering’s

requirements,” Matsumoto asserted. “I am certain we are moving in

the right direction.”

“Time to correct” regional R&D

Honda’s trajectory includes pursuit of its “Six Region Structural

Strategy,” based on development and use of “global” and “local”

models. The former are represented by such mainstream, high-vol-

ume nameplates as Fit, Civic, Accord, and CR-V that are underpinned

by common global architectures. The strategy hasn’t been without itschallenges. According to CEO Achigo, “Processes that had grown

increasingly complex raised some issues such as an increase in man-

hours and workload” during vehicle development and production,

hence the recent major change in corporate organization.

Matsumoto sees the “globalization” of vehicles as essentially local-

ization, or perhaps at most regionalization. Honda had earlier antici-

pated that the developing markets’ demands would grow hugely—

and accordingly, the company would produce specific models for

those countries. But among those markets, there are

major differences in customer needs and desires.

Matsumoto cited India where “more rural customers

want what the rest of the world gets.

“Global models may very well meet their [develop-

ing market] demands. Certainly some isolated areas

might have to have specific local models,” he contin-

ued, “but then that would be terribly inefficient. That

pitfall we have come to avoid.”

Honda has established and is currently operating

satellite R&D facilities in line with the Six-RegionStrategy. Matsumoto is now seeing their limitations,

drawing human resources from the main R&D opera-

tions in Japan for their regional and local products.

“Time to correct,” he said emphatically, “except the

fully proficient American R&D operations, that pro-

duced the new Acura NSX and the new Honda Civic—

the fruits that epitomize their tremendous endeavors

and achievements of those several years.”

R&D project: Recharge-on-the-fly EV with twin-lever steering

The Clarity FCV’s information cluster hints at the future of

Honda’s connected-car and autonomous vehicle HMIs.

Might Honda make the jump beyond midsized

trucks like the 2017 Ridgeline (shown) and into

the true full-size segment? Matsumoto says

“Never say never!”

Another unique Honda R&D experiment that

miraculously has remained funded and activeis made up of two inventions in one sleek,

two-seat EV. The vehicle combines a dynamic

charging system achieving unlimited cruising

range in EV mode (SAE Tech Paper 2015-01-

16860) and a next-generation steering (SAE

2010-01-0-0993 and 2011-01-0557).

The former features recharge-on-the-go

capability. It receives electricity from a 400-m

(1312-ft) long roadside grid that Honda has

installed on a decommissioned oval speedway

course. A trolley-car-like pole-roller extends

from the car’s side sill, receiving electric en-

ergy during acceleration up to the 160 km/h

(100 mph) target; the slower the speed, the

more energy the car receives.The experimental car also features a novel

pull-push twin lever steering (TLS). Designed

and built by a former Honda Formula 1 engi-

neer and a small team of young engineers,

TLS was to be the steering system of Honda’s

previous-generation F-1 car, its safety require-

ments approved by the sanctioning organiza-

tion. The racecar thus equipped was tested

and evaluated at the Suzuka race circuit by

the works and development drivers, who

directly compared it with a same-type car

with conventional steering.Jack Yamaguchi

New dawnat Honda

R&D

Twin-lever steering in test car was originally

fitted to a Honda F-1 car.


18/49


PRODUCT MANAGEMENT FEATURE

When asked about the protracted (nearly 9 years)

development cycle of the all-new NSX, which included

some major systems re-engineering including a new

engine design, Matsumoto responded bluntly. “NSXs

do not happen often,” he said. “Our concern and ef-

forts are in cultivating and improving the brand in the

country where a larger demand exists.” North Americaalso has spawned the latest Civic, developed by the

Ohio-based R&D team of which Matsumoto is proud.

Fuel cells moving to “next stage”

What awaits Honda R&D’s growing North American

operation now that the 2016 Civic and 2017 NSX are

launched? “Light trucks are their own, with very little

meddling from Japan,” grinned Matsumoto. “In the

North American market, our product ratios between

cars and light trucks are 50/50, so there is plenty of

work for them [the development teams]. And most of

Acura passenger cars as well.”Acura’s Chief Engineer Yosuke Sekino, with whom

Matsumoto worked on the original Fit, has been making

high-speed pilgrimages to the U.S. and China, his mis-

sion being “to straighten our course, energizing both

Honda and Acura sedan lines.” A point of pride is the

Acura ‘Precision Concept’ unveiled at the 2016 Detroit

show, which Matsumoto said hints at the design and

technology paths future Acura sedans will take.

CEO Hachigo pledged that two-thirds of new

Honda vehicles will be electrified by 2030, and

Matsumoto adds that they are aiming at the general

acceptance of fuel cell vehicles—what he calls “a

different ballgame altogether”—in the 2025-30 timeframe. Honda

and its fuel cell partner GM are now developing vehicle applications

for their shared stack, which he said is based on Honda’s latest de-

sign. “Soon we and GM are moving onto the next stage of develop-

ment,” he noted.

While Honda has not defined its position on battery EVs, it will be

putting more emphasis on plug-in vehicles overall. Honda engineersare not optimistic about the prospects for a significant leap in EV

battery capability, Matsumoto explained. Should that leap occur, the

ICE would be relegated to a range-extender function. He conceded

that Honda’s progress in hybrid and PHV development was ham-

pered by “auxiliary complications bringing about irrational solutions,”

without providing details. The next generation of electrified products,

he said, will feature fundamental vehicle re-designs and new platform

concepts, rather than just a new powertrain in an existing platform.

In the near-term, the next-generation Accord Hybrid is adopting

the 2-motor i-MMD system from the latest Japan-market Odyssey.

Noteworthy is its Atkinson-cycle 2.0-L i-VTEC port-injected ICE, com-

bined with an electric motor rated at 135 kW (181 hp) and generous

315 N·m (232 lb·ft) at 0-to-2000 rpm. The e-motor is Honda’s owndesign and manufacture, and 23% lighter than the previous Accord

Hybrid motor by employing unique wire winding. Honda traditionally

has manufactured its own electric motors; whether or not that prac-

tice continues “is open to question, depending on technological

progress as well as on serious study as a business case,” Matsumoto

said. “We may be exposed to competition from industries that we

have had scant dealing or insight.”

While such disruption is increasingly common in the industry, the

newly energized Honda R&D will itself be playing more of a disrup-

tor’s role, its designers, engineers, and scientists characterized by

their boss with a Japanese four-character idiom that means, in base-

ball style: “Each pitch thrown with full soul.”

Honda R&D’s combustion science includes Atkinson cycle and

HCCI work that aims to yield 50% brake thermal efficiency rates.

Recharging pole on the recharge-on-the-fly

EV prototype extends out of the car’s side sill.


19/49


Editor’s note: This article is based on a longer technical paper (2016-

01-7000) by the authors and published by SAE International i n April. It

can be accessed here: http://papers.sae.org/2016-01-7000/.

NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind recently spoke on the

prospects for reaching zero deaths on America’s roads.

“Conceptually, the challenge is extremely straightforward.If we keep doing what we are doing, we are never going to

get there,” he said. “We’ve got to keep doing what we’ve been do-

ing—it’s been successful—but we’ve got to do more.”

Dr. Rosekind and others can talk about zero road deaths because

the automotive industry has developed, without any legal requirement

to do so, automated systems that compensate for driver error.

However, these systems cannot be effectively regulated under the cur-

rent U.S. safety regime. In fact, NHTSA and the FMVSS (Federal Motor

Vehicle Safety Standards) were established precisely because the tech-

nology to avoid accidents did not exist in the 1960s and 1970s.

In order for NHTSA to “do more,” however, Congress will need to

enable NHTSA to “do differently.”

NHTSA and the next 50 years

The challenges and opportunities on the road to “zero deaths” demand a newlevel of federal automotive safety technical standards, and a new safety-defect

reporting and recall system. NHTSA and the U.S. Congress must act boldly and

quickly to make it happen.by Daniel P. Malone and John F. Creamer

Recall system rooted in 1960s

Fifty years ago, Congress set up the U.S. regulatory sys-

tem to force automakers to design safety measures into

their vehicles, in large part because car buyers at the

time broadly rejected the added cost of seat belts, inte-

rior padding, and other safety features. Because this ap-proach is fundamentally coercive, the courts, Congress,

and the Executive Branch have placed constraints on

NHTSA rulemaking such that any change in requirements

can take a decade of painstaking research to justify.

But NHTSA no longer has the luxury of time, given

the rapid development of new automated-driving tech-

nologies and safety systems. Unable to go through its

rigid, step-by-step administrative process, NHTSA has

resorted to going around it. During the past six months,

NHTSA has pursued voluntary agreements with auto-

makers on automatic emergency braking, cybersecurity,

recall system improvements, and an upgrade of the

AUTOMATED DRIVING MEETS REGULATION

Automated-driving

systems will prevent

millions of accidents and

injuries and save thousands

of lives—but they will not

be perfect from the outset.

http://papers.sae.org/2016-01-7000/http://papers.sae.org/2016-01-7000/http://papers.sae.org/2016-01-7000/


20/49


consumer-oriented New Car Assessment Program

(NCAP). There’s also a $4 billion budget request to pro-

mote automated vehicles, including a promise to de-

velop “guidance” on the safe deployment of these tech-

nologies in cooperation with industry.Congress also set up the safety-defect reporting and

recall system based upon 1960s-era notions of consumer

protection. NHTSA receives roughly 330 calls per day

from vehicle owners, but these calls rarely provide the

technical detail necessary to isolate a potential problem

(as noted in the Inspector General’s June 2015 report on

NHTSA’s Office of Defect Investigations). Research at the

University of Iowa and consumer surveys have found that

most drivers are unsure about how advanced vehicle sys-

tems work or why their vehicles behave the way they do.

Faced with the inadequacy of this “consumer-com-

plaints bureau” approach, Congress has increasingly

placed the burden on automakers to report any suspi-cions of a defect, with severe penalties for non-compli-

ance. As a result, NHTSA receives some 6000 quarterly

early-warning reports from manufacturers each year

while the number of recalls has risen to levels that defy

public understanding. That’s even after excluding the

high-profile cases that have sent recall volumes in ex-

cess of 50 million vehicles for two years running.

Despite all these efforts—or arguably because of them—

this system requires years of reporting and accident data

to isolate a potential problem. It takes several years more

(if ever) to find a root cause, and then fails consistently to

see defective vehicles repaired. According to the consum-

er website Carfax, more than 47 million cars are runningon American roads with an unfixed recall issue.

Standards-based rulemaking needed

Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx declared that

automated vehicles will become widespread within 10

years. However, their complex electronic, software-driven

systems are open to risks and technical faults that electri-

cal and mechanical systems are not. Beyond well-known

concerns over malicious hacking, computer platforms are

routinely and rapidly personalized by their owners

through choices of features to activate, downloads of

third-party applications, updates (or the failure to up-date), system upgrades (which can be incompatible with

older hardware), and other decisions. Motor-vehicle soft-

ware will increasingly be serviced through over-the-air

(OTA) updates, raising both opportunities and risks.

In effect, we can expect that vehicles in the future

will be subject to in-use safety failures resulting from

circumstances unique to each vehicle where identify-

ing root causes may be impossible.

NHTSA has a critical role to play in facilitating the

smooth and safe deployment of the new safety

technologies. The agency’s leadership can guide the

development of uniform, clear, and legally enforceable

nationwide standards. NHTSA leadership can guide reform of the safe-

ty-defects system to better protect the public welfare. But only

Congress can enable NHTSA to fulfill its mission.

The challenges and opportunities on the road to “zero deaths” de-

mand a coherent, national (and even international) response.

Solutions must be found quickly, but not hastily, through greater

transparency and collaboration among stakeholders. We are enteringwhat is arguably the final frontier in road safety, one in which traffic

and vehicle safety merge. The U.S. regulatory system needs to move

with it and Congress needs to make this happen.

Rulemaking in this new era needs to more closely resemble stan-

dards-setting within SAE International. Rather than focusing on man-

datory vehicle performance, a new level of federal automotive safety

technical standard should focus on ensuring that systems installed on

vehicles are safe in the hands of the average driver. These standards

should set uniform minimum requirements for safety, privacy, secu-

rity and other aspects in the public interest.

Unlike the FMVSS, however, these technical standards would not man-

date vehicle performance. Rather, they would set performance require-

ments for automated systems. A vehicle would be required to meet theserequirements only if fitted with the given system; the FMVSS still could be

used to mandate their use, but these federal automotive safety technical

standards would leave use of the systems up to each automaker.

As such, NHTSA should be enabled to establish the standards more

quickly, without the extensive cost-benefit justifications required of

FMVSS. For this to happen, NHTSA needs to collaborate with stake-

holders in road safety and NHTSA is absolutely correct to be reaching

out to automakers for support in developing standards. However, with-

in a regulatory context, collaboration needs to go beyond agreements

REGULATIONS | STANDARDS FEATURE

Standards first: Setting the stage

for automated-vehicle safetyThe authors call on NHTSA leadership, enabled

by Congress, to:

• Set performance requirements for automated-

vehicle systems and to guide reform of the vehicle safety-defects system.

• Set uniform minimum requirements for safety, privacy, security and other

aspects of automated/connected car driving that are in the public interest.

• Base the new standards upon consensus among OEMs, suppliers (in-

cluding aftermarket), the service and repair industry, and state traffic

authorities.

• Include industry standards-setting bodies such as SAE International,

research institutions, and independent testing groups.

• Require robust on-board diagnostics (OBD) and data recorders.


21/49


with specific companies.

NHTSA standards should be transpar-

ently based upon consensus among auto-

makers, the supplier industry (including

independent aftermarket manufacturers),the vehicle service and repair industry,

and state traffic authorities. Participation

independent testing groups such as the

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

(IIHS). In order for standards-setting to be

credible, all stakeholders, including safety

advocates, need to be part of the process.

Robust OBD required

The credibility of these standards be-

comes especially important given the

nature of automated driving systems.

Unlike most safety technologies, auto-

mated driving systems interact with the

driver and with other vehicles and road

users. Automation fundamentally chang-

es transportation and such change is

never without risk. While these systems

will prevent millions of accidents andinjuries and save thousands of lives, they

will not be perfect from the outset.

Even with standards such as SAE’s

ASIL (Automotive Safety Integrity Level,

a risk-classification protocol), it is a vir-

tual certainty that automated systems

will, at some point, encounter complex

conditions and fail to perform as desired.

In such cases, the NHTSA technical stan-

dards should enable differentiation be-

tween unanticipated outcomes and li-

ability under recognized legal theories.

The standards can play an importantrole in promoting both high levels of

performance and greater legal certainty

to facilitate the safety transformation.

Given the technical complexity of au-

tomated systems, the safety-defects

system cannot rely mainly upon accident

reporting, consumer complaints, and

other sources that do not provide con-

sistent technical information on vehicle

behavior, especially prior to death or

injury. Automated systems will require

robust on-board diagnostics (OBD) and

data recorders. These technologies openavenues for monitoring vehicle behavior

toward identifying anomalies or unfore-

seen effects on traffic patterns or driver

behavior that can be used to continu-

ously improve the system standards.

At the same time, car owners are fun-

damentally responsible for ensuring the

proper maintenance of their vehicles. In

a future of connected and interdepen-

dent vehicles, the public cannot afford

to have millions of cars with malfunc-

tioning systems on the roads. Congress

NHTSA and the next 50 years

should be open to industry standards-

setting bodies such as SAE International

and research institutions such as the

University of Michigan Transportation

Research Institute (UMTRI), the Center forAutomotive Research, and the Virginia

Tech Transportation Institute, as well as

Roads can be a dangerous place —for drivers, passengersand pedestrians. Control of the car’s ability to stop is a

fundamental necessity for safe passage. As cars become

more autonomous, ZF TRW’s camera, radar and braking

technologies are enhancing stopping ability in the event

of driver lapse.

COGNITIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS

TRUST IS UNYIELDING

http://www.trw.com/


22/49


REGULATIONS | STANDARDS FEATURE

For the promise of automated driving as depicted here to become reality, the

challenges cannot be met under a system designed in the 1960s, based on

assumptions from the 1950s and technologies from the 1970s, the authors argue.

should enable NHTSA to work with state authorities

and the automotive manufacturing and service indus-

tries to devise a uniform national system for ensuring

that critical vehicle systems remain in proper working

order—and any problems remedied before they evolveinto dangerous malfunctions.

All of this presupposes an unprecedented level of

cooperation among stakeholders, but this collaboration

is the future. A world of connected vehicles requires a

community of connected stakeholders to ensure safety.

Since 1946, U.S. traffic fatalities have never fallen to

less than 30,000 per year. This sad reality can change

because automated driving technologies address the

root cause of 94% of all accidents. At the same time,

unlike any safety system previously introduced into

motor vehicles, automated technologies fundamen-

tally change the nature of driving.

We cannot meet the challenge under a system de-signed in the 1960s based on assumptions from the

1950s and technologies from the 1970s. As it did 50 years

ago, Congress must act boldly to refocus road safety in

America for the next 50 years. The new safety era re-

quires a new approach if the nation is to realize the po-

tential of these advanced technologies and ensure U.S.

leadership in this economic and social transformation.

Daniel P. Malone, an attorney with Butzel Long, specializes in automotiveproduct safety-related litigation and regulatory matters. He publishes

articles and presents on legal and automotive-related issues frequently. Mr.

Malone can be reached at [email protected].

John F. Creamer is Managing Director of GlobalAutoRegs.com, an advisory

service on international automotive regulations. He is also a partner in The

Potomac Alliance, a global consortium of regulatory affairs experts. Mr.

Creamer can be reached at [email protected].

http://www.cruden.com/http://www.cruden.com/http://www.cruden.com/


23/49


Auto industry legend Lee Iacocca once famously said,

“Safety doesn’t sell.” Later, he was big enough to modifyhis stance and candidly admitted in an advertisement ex-

tolling the benefits of airbags, “Who says you can’t teach

an old dog new tricks?”

Safety has become a “given” in vehicle design and technology, and

not least because it is structured within the crash-proof confines of

comprehensive legislation. Buyers assume new cars will be safe and

getting safer, as OEMs design their products to meet the coveted

5-star rating. But with the prospect of comprehensive autonomous

technology gaining acceptance, and major European OEMs and sup-

pliers including Audi, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo investing

heavily in it, automotive safety is taking on a whole new dimension.

Andrew Miller, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of

Euro NCAP, told Automotive Engineering: “With the continuous advanc-es in crash protection and the increasing number of active safety tech-

nologies available, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB; also

called automated emergency braking), today’s cars are, by any measur-

able standard, the safest ever, with improvements at every price point.”

Five-star crash-test performance ratings such as those established

by Euro NCAP are essential in securing consumer confidence in a

new model’s safety capability. But the rating seldom makes the head-

lines when a manufacturer announces a new model, even though the

safety message is increasingly about sophisticated collision avoid-

ance capability in addition to passive protection.

And manufacturers continue to work toward achieving an “acci-

dent-free” environment.

Hands off, eyes off, brain off

Euro NCAP’S president warns that without coherent policies, the growing

availability of automated technologies may result in piecemeal technology

development—and unintentional consequences.by Stuart Birch

AEB makes an impact

Miller’s Euro NCAP role fits neatly with his parallel job

as Chief Technical Officer of Thatcham Research,

which achieves a strategic and tactical view of all as-

pects of safety. The U.K.-based company supplies the

data that allows insurers to define the risk grouping

for any new vehicle in the U.K. Miller stated that third-

party injury claims against vehicles with AEB are up to

45% lower than for a control group of equivalent ve-

hicles without the technology.

“Active safety technologies allow us to reduce the

impact speeds of severe collisions and avoid many

altogether,” he asserted.

In the U.K. alone, the effect of AEB is likely to reducefuture compensation claims for whiplash injuries by over

£0.5B ($706.2M) by 2025 and, over the same period, lead

to an 18% reduction in the number of vehicles written-off

as uneconomic to repair due to airbag deployment.

“This means there is a growing alignment between

the priorities of vehicle manufacturers, insurers and con-

sumers; they all benefit from safer vehicles,” said Miller.

Euro NCAP figures show a 38% overall reduction in

real-world, rear-end crashes for vehicles fitted with

AEB compared to a sample of equivalent vehicles

without it. However, there remain many challenges,

including the safe operation of autonomous vehicles in

What happens when

vehicle autonomous

safety systems

are deliberately

switched off. This

was a managed

test collision by

Thatcham Research

during development

of a new 3D soft

target structure.

AUTONOMOUS DRIVING MEETS REGULATION


24/49


SAFETY FEATURE

the company of those under manual control.

“Human operation introduces a wider range of pos-

sible scenarios for the autonomous control system to

respond to, such as aggressive or illegal driving, and

sudden or unexpected maneuvers,” warned Miller.

“There are also reported instances of drivers misusing

autonomous systems in potentially hazardous ways;

either out of curiosity or for amusement.”He said it is essential to look more deeply into cause

and effect, and cited a study by the University of

Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI)

of a small number of crashes, none major, involving

autonomous vehicles in California.

“In each case, the collision has been at low speed

and the autonomous vehicle was not at fault,” Miller

explained. “The issue appears to be driver inattention,

or aggression, in the manually controlled vehicle lead-

ing to ‘rear-ending’ of the autonomous vehicle in front,

particularly at intersections. This has implications for

autonomous vehicles joining a moving traffic flow be-

cause the theoretically safest strategy, based on ad-herence to traffic laws and speed limits, can lead to

delays and frustration for other drivers.”

Keeping secrets

Such a complex traffic landscape requires clear leader-

ship and coherent policies if the growing availability of

automated technologies is not to result in piecemeal

development and unintentional consequences, he said:

“Legislators tend to lag behind the technology, espe-

cially at the rate of progress common with electronics

and software, while individual vehicle manufacturers are

often wary of sharing too much core information with competitors.”

Thatcham Research has taken a significant role in steering the in-

dustry toward the standard fitment of AEB and ESC (electronic sta-

bility control). Through its contribution of research data to Euro

NCAP and its development of robust testing protocols, it is now also

strongly supporting the adoption of lateral control technologies.

Both Thatcham Research and Euro NCAP are clear that autonomous

vehicles will evolve in incremental stages as consumer and regulatorconfidence levels grow, and they become proven and cost effective.

“The SAE’s own technology roadmap indicates six steps to autono-

mous control, from a zero level, via today’s intervention or assistance

functions, through sequential stages of feet off the pedals, hands off

the steering, eyes off the road, to finally ‘brain off’ the task of driving

completely,” explained Miller’s colleague Matthew Avery, Director of

Insurance Research at Thatcham.

The two work closely together researching the results of new tech-

nologies being introduced, including the likely effects of integration

of autonomous vehicles into the existing traffic network. Avery noted

that Europe and the U.S. mandated the fitment of ESC to passenger

cars from 2012. Though capable of direct intervention to prevent loss

of control of the vehicle, such systems do not replace the driver orrelieve him or her of any of the tasks inherent in driving, he said.

Yet research data shows that a vehicle equipped with ESC has a

25% lower risk of being involved in the type of serious crash where a

single vehicle leaves the road, Avery explained, “usually at high

speed, and hits an obstacle such as a telegraph pole or tree.”

Current systems for active cruise control (ACC) and AEB are the

first steps in monitoring the surrounding traffic to compensate for

driver inattention or distraction. Higher levels of automation, such as

valet parking with the driver outside the vehicle, are expected to be

available by 2020. But the final step to fully autonomous vehicles is

unlikely to be implemented on public highways before 2025, accord-

ing to the experts.

Euro NCAP President

Andrew Miller says

there is a growing

alignment between

the priorities

of vehicle

manufacturers,

insurers, and

consumers.

A Volvo XC90 configured for Autonomous

Emergency Braking (AEB) testing at

Thatcham Research.


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SAFETY FEATURE

Driver out of the loop

“The big challenge is the step change from ‘hands off’ to ‘eyes off’,” said

Avery. “At that point, the driver is out of the loop even though the official

definition is that he or she must be able to resume control quickly.”

This level of autonomy, for example, is likely to be legal on

European roads as early as 2018, but debate continues regarding the

issues it raises. In the U.S. it may arrive later. He explained that con-

troversy arises because the safeguards required in a system where

the driver is always ready to resume control are lower than for a sys-

tem where the driver never needs to become involved.

“Some industry experts fear that drivers will treat any competent‘eyes off’ system more like a ‘brain off’ system and abdicate all their

driving responsibility to it, even though the manufacturer has not

designed it for such use,” he asserted. “A true ‘brain off’ system re-

quires aircraft levels of systems’ redundancy.”

The combination of autonomous braking and steering intervention,

based on inputs from camera, radar and/or LiDAR systems, heralds

improved safety of road users external to the vehicle.

“Camera technology is an essential element in the protection of

vulnerable road users external to the vehicle, and is already becom-

ing widespread through features initially introduced for driver conve-

nience, such as parking assistance and cruise control,” said Miller.

“The introduction of AEB has accelerated this trend, with 63% of the

cars that scored a 5-stars Euro NCAP safety rating during the lastquarter featuring some level of camera technology.”

Euro NCAP 2025 roadmap

The Euro NCAP roadmap for safety rating to 2020 was published in

2015; from January 2016 cars are being assessed for their ability to

recognize and brake to avoid impact with pedestrians and the

Thatcham team is now developing a test procedure for the avoidance

of cyclists, planned for inclusion in the Euro NCAP test from 2018.

The next roadmap, for the period to 2025, is currently under dis-

cussion. Added Miller: “Without automated braking and lateral con-

trol technologies, it is virtually impossible for a vehicle to achieve a

Euro NCAP 5-star safety rating today. In the yearsahead, the contribution to safety made by autono-

mous systems will become even more indispensable;

we will wonder how we ever managed without them!”

Mercedes-Benz’s new E-Class revealed at the 2016

Detroit auto show, took a significant step toward au-

tonomous operation, offering Active Lane Change

Assist, part of its DRIVE PILOT system.

When the driver activates the turn indicator for

more than two seconds to change lanes, it steers the

car into the adjacent lane. A Mercedes official stated

that the vehicle will only change lanes autonomously if

the sensors do not detect any vehicles in the relevant

safety zone. It is inconsequential whether the carwants to change to the left lane for overtaking or

wants to return to the right-hand lane.

A long-range radar system and a stereo camera

monitor the area in front of the vehicle, while multi-

mode radar sensors permanently check the area to the

rear and sides. Both factor in the speed of detected

vehicles in the vicinity, Mercedes experts said. The

driver only needs to monitor the lane change.

The Federal Motor Vehicle and Transport Authority

in Germany has given provisional approval for Active

Lane Change Assist. Application is being made for

pan-European approval.

Vehicle fitted with steering robot for

Autonomous Emergency Braking test.

The big

challenge of

autonomous

driving, said

Thatcham’s

Matthew Avery,

“is the step-

change from

‘hands off’ to

‘eyes off’.”

Legislators tend to lagbehind the technology, whileOEMs are wary of sharingtoo much core informationwith competitors.

Hands off, eyes off, brain off

Sae Automotive May

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