Technology Tip Sheet - September 2001
September 2001 Each issue of the Tech Tip Sheet provides a variety of story ideas relating to automotive technology. Contact the subject matter expert listed at the end of each item. VIRTTEX DRIVING SIMULATOR STUDIES DRIVER FOCUS WITH A FORD TAURUS If you're a motorist, you've seen other drivers doing something other than paying full attention to the road. Eating, shaving, applying makeup or concentrating on a fussy child have been relatively common, but what about the recent cell phone controversy? While automakers can't control where you eat your mid-day snack, they can study driver workload created by new in-vehicle electronic devices. To research these issues, Ford Motor Company has developed a new motion based driving simulator called VIRTTEX ( VIRtual Test Track EXperience.) The simulator is a dome that duplicates forces that would be experienced while driving a car or truck. A Ford Taurus bolted inside the dome is the test bed for the study. Participants sit in the driver's seat and respond to images of roads and terrain around the vehicle created by color projectors. The images generated respond to commands through the steering wheel, brake and accelerator pedals to create a realistic driving experience. During the study, drivers will be asked to interact with telematics devices while faced with everyday on-road distractions. News releases, photos and b-roll available, contact: Valerie Rosnik, phone: 313.206.2058 e-mail: vrosnik@ford.com FORD'S HYDROGEN ICE RESEARCH VEHICLE MAY BRIDGE GAP TO FUEL CELL TECHNOLOGYThe race for the first production fuel cell vehicle is on. But what about a solution that not only forms a bridge between the current internal combustion engine (ICE) and future fuel cell technology but also lowers emissions and improves fuel economy today? Ford Motor Company's newest research vehicle does just that. Ford scientists have engineered this concept vehicle’s internal combustion engine to run on clean burning hydrogen – the same fuel that will one day power fuel cell vehicles. Dubbed H2ICE, it reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 99.7 percent and improves energy efficiency by 25 to 30 percent. It would take more than 300 H2ICE vehicles to emit the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions as one gasoline-fueled vehicle. In addition, the new engine offers the potential to help build the hydrogen-fueling infrastructure needed to eventually support fuel cell vehicles on a broad scale. News releases, photos and b-roll available, contact: Robyn Schultz, phone: 313.390.3091 e-mail: rschul16@ford.com
TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED FOR DIESEL PRODUCES FUEL ECONOMY GAINS FOR GASOLINE
Direct injection technology originally developed for diesel engines has shown potential fuel economy improvements of up to 20 percent when adapted by Ford Motor Company engineers for gasoline engines. Direct-injection spark ignition (DISI) engines achieve the gains through sophisticated electronic control of fuel injectors and stratified charge design of the piston and combustion chamber. This technology is being tested in a 1.1-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine that achieves 70hp. In primarily urban driving, this translates to a 21 percent improvement in fuel economy from the engine technology alone. News releases, photos and b-roll available, contact: Valerie Rosnik, phone: 313.206.2058 e-mail: vrosnik@ford.com
COMMON-RAIL DIESEL ENGINES DELIVER IMPROVED PERFORMANCE AND FUEL ECONOMY
The new 1.8-liter Ford Duratorq Turbo Diesel Common-rail injection (TDCi) – first available this year in the European Focus – benefits from state-of-the-art second-generation common-rail diesel injection that gives it gasoline-engine type performance with traditional diesel levels of fuel economy and low emissions. Common-rail technology takes its name from the engine's fuel injection system. Unlike conventional diesels, which rely on the fuel pump to deliver bursts on pressurized fuel to the individual cylinders through mechanical injectors, common-rail systems employ a high-pressure reservoir –the rail– that delivers fuel to the cylinders via electric solenoid-actuated injectors. The common-rail system uses a high-output rotary fuel pump to maintain fuel pressure in the reservoir. It provides a robust and precise performance that’s largely independent of engine speed. News releases, photos and b-roll available, contact: Valerie Rosnik, phone: 313.206.2058 e-mail: vrosnik@ford.com
FORD DESIGNS CARS WITH SENIORS IN MIND USING THE THIRD AGE SUIT
The desire to understand the unique needs of older customers led to Ford Motor Company's breakthrough development of the Third Age Suit. The research tool is used to assist ergonomics engineers in developing vehicles for customers as much as 30 years older than they are. The suit, which appears to be a cross between a bee-catcher's protective gear and a high-tech astronaut suit, is made up of materials that add bulk and restrict movement in key areas of the body such as the knees, elbows, stomach and back. Together with gloves that reduce the sense of touch and goggles that simulate cataracts, the Third Age Suit gives engineers and designers a feel for the needs of an older generation as they design new vehicles. News releases, photos and b-roll available, contact: Valerie Rosnik, phone: 313.206.2058 e-mail: vrosnik@ford.com