BMW develops laser light for the car

  SOURCE

BMW develops laser light for the car

After LED technology, laser light is the next logical step in car light development. BMW engineers are currently already working on the introduction of laser light as a further pioneering technology for series production within a few years.


Laser light could then facilitate entirely new light functions for even more safety and comfort and at the same time contribute significantly through its higher degree of efficiency towards a saving in energy and fuel respectively.

Laser light produces virtually parallel light beams.


By definition, laser lighting is radically different from sunlight, and also from the various types of artificial lighting in common use today. For a start, laser lighting is monochromatic, which means that the light waves all have the same length. And it is also what is known as a “coherent” light source, which means that its waves have a constant phase difference.
As a result, laser lighting can produce a near-parallel beam with an intensity a thousand times greater than that of conventional LEDs.

In vehicle headlights, these characteristics can be used to implement entirely new functions.
Also, the high inherent efficiency of laser lighting means that laser headlights have less than half the energy consumption of LED headlights. Simply put, laser headlights save fuel.
The intensity of laser light poses no possible risks to humans, animals or wildlife when used in car lighting. Amongst other things, this is because the light is not emitted directly, but is first converted into a form that is suitable for use in road traffic.
The resulting light is very bright and white. It is also very pleasant to the eye and has a very low energy consumption.
Completely safe laser lighting technology is already in use in a variety of consumer products, though in many cases this is a product feature that goes unnoticed by the customer.

That won’t be the case when this technology is used in cars, however, as planned by BMW.
Here the whole point is that the advantages should be noticeable and visible.

A further feature of laser technology, which has important implications, is the size of the individual diodes. With a length of just ten microns (µm), laser diodes are one hundred times smaller even than the small, square-shaped cells used in conventional LED lighting, which have a side length of one millimetre.
This opens up all sorts of new possibilities when integrating the light source into the vehicle. The BMW engineers have no plans to radically reduce the size of the headlights however, although that would be theoretically possible.


Instead, the thinking is that the headlights would retain their conventional surface area dimensions and so continue to play an important role in the styling of a BMW, while the size advantages could be used to reduce the depth of the headlight unit, and so open up new possibilities for headlight positioning and body styling.
A further advantage of laser lighting technology, and one which the BMW engineers intend to use to full effect, is its high inherent efficiency.

Whereas LED lighting generates only around 100 lumens (a photometric unit of light output) per watt, laser lighting generates around 170 lumens.
Laser lighting could also be adapted for use in Adaptive Headlights and BMW's “Anti-Dazzle High-Beam Assist”.
BMW said it will also be possible to use laser lighting to implement completely new functions, which will have only minimal power consumption.

For a start, BMW is using the i8 Concept to introduce laser lighting.

The Classic Cars of the Future is the Automobile You Are Driving Today

A true classic car is one that is completely original, and no modifications have been made decades later, including holes drilled, or add-on aftermarket parts replacing the genuine original parts. But have you ever considered that the classic cars of the future are nothing more than the automobiles we are driving today. In other words you are only 30-years too early. Now then, with that said maybe you should consider what you are doing before you drill holes in your center console, or start making major modifications.

Okay so, you probably don't plan on keeping your car for 30 years, but what if you did? Some of the cars driving around today will be totaled, rebuilt, refurbished, and be in car show someday in the future. Some of the cars driving around today may look like just regular cars, but they may win best of show at a car show in 30 years. Thus, it makes sense to take care of your automobile, keep it in good condition, and keep it as original as possible without too many major modifications if you wish to hold its value over the long term.

Why is it that so many people have a problem thinking here? Is it because everyone is busy living in the present period, rather than thinking about the future? Is it because humans live for the day, without regard to strategically planning their future? Perhaps, it is some of all of those things, but 30 years from now will be here, perhaps before you know it. After all, time does have a way of flying by when you stop thinking about it.

Over the years before retirement, I had been involved in sponsoring a number of classic car shows, as it was part of our marketing and branding strategy for my automobile service company. I can't tell you how many times that the judges who were quite well-versed in the factory specs of various cars would find sometimes ridiculous parts added to cars, often they would be Chinese trinkets, little plastic fittings and things stuck where they didn't belong.

Because of this they couldn't win best of show, because their car was not fully original, but it also showed a lack of regard for continuity of the era in which the car was entered in the contest. Well, rather than continue to lecture you, I would just like you to please consider all this and think on it. Because you might be driving a classic car, but your mindset is merely out of time.

Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes writing 23,850 articles by July 4, 2011 is going to be difficult because all the letters on his keyboard are now worn off now..

Custom Car Trends For The Future

Have you ever been to a car show? It is quite interesting to visit that kind of event. From the new releases to the concept cars, everything you want to see regarding street rods are here for your eyes to feast upon. What are interesting to watch out for are the car trends that the manufacturers take pride in presenting to their fans and loyal customers.

With the advent of people becoming eco-friendly and conscious on the environment and wants to take part of it, believe it or not, car manufacturers are doing the same thing - jumping into the bandwagon of being ecologically sound and conscious. It also has become a marketing strategy for them - adding points to their Corporate Social Responsibility theme. Not only that, they get plus points from environmental advocates for being supportive of Mother Nature's restoration and for the good of the children. Thus they created concept street rods or commonly known as hybrid cars.

These hybrid cars are designed in such a way that will help Mother Nature recover from the ravages of man's abusive use of the planet. Other than that, gasoline companies also developed bio-ethanol gasoline in order to make it "earth-friendly" and less air pollution. Aside from gasoline, companies also developed concept street rods that uses solar power as fuel and can be lightweight at the same time. Other trends would also help address the needs of a growing family with safety features. Seatbelts, provisions for car seats and boosters and even airbags fit for the children are also being designed and made in order to address the needs. Safety from thieves are also integral in the protecting your street rods. Car alarms, anti-car napping devices are also installed for your safety and protection.

Got lost on a road trip? You don't have to consult a map anymore. GPS or Global Positioning System is also installed for your convenience as well. Just encode the address of the place where you want to go and it will give you directions. Most of the drivers find it hard to do reverse parking or parallel parking. It is also resolved. By installing parking sensors, your car can guide you how to park and tells you if you're too near the pavement or the other car as well. Forgot to lock your doors? Your street rod can do that to you too as soon as you go a certain distance, it automatically locks itself. Another trend is driving automatically instead of stick shift or what they call cruise control. After maintaining a certain speed for a time, your car automatically takes over your speed. Even the air conditioning unit comes with a climate control feature.

There are more trends coming with all those creative ideas pouring in. We have to remember though that we are still in control of our street rods. If you remember that movie where all the people were evacuated in order for the planet to clean up and the computer won't allow them to go back, we might be in the brink of that. While these are good and novel ideas and create comfort in our everyday lives, let us not forget also that we sometimes need to exert our effort in controlling the devices that helps us in our everyday lives. Remember, we are their creators, and we are the highest level of creatures in this planet we call earth. While it is true that they gave us comfort and convenience, let not those convenience and comfort be the cause of our co-dependency attitude and misery if something bad happen to us.

We love bending, shaping and designing old metal into beautiful cars in our Street Rod Shop. At Jeff Lilly Restorations we have the people and facility to knock out a home run machine every time.

ARTICLE: 5 Most Important Upcoming Car Technologies

5 Most Important Upcoming Car Technologies

By Charles W. Bryant, How Stuff Works

Source:
http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_content_landing_pages/1502/5-most-important-upcoming-car-technologies/
2010 Tesla RoadsterScience fiction movies and TV shows have always been populated with fantastically futuristic cars. These automobiles could interact with the person behind the wheel or even drive without the help of a human. Even traditional-looking cars of the future were equipped with smart technology you never thought would become a reality. These days, the car of the present is beginning to resemble these “cars of the future.” While we may not be headed toward floating roadways and hover cars, we're going in a decidedly futuristic direction with some of these upcoming car technologies.

Alternative Fuels

Hybrid vehicles have been around for some time now, and there’s a dedicated subculture of biodiesel and ethanol enthusiasts out there. Companies like Tesla aim to take the electric car off the bench and put her into the game in coming years. Its sporty Roadster design electric car is currently the only highway ready electric vehicle in production. With the current debate on using food crops for fuel getting louder, electricity may be the wave of the future when it comes to powering cars. Combine a fully electric car with zero-emissions recharging stations that run on wind or solar power, and you have a car that’s not only futuristic, but helps take care of our future.
Collision Avoidance Systems

In the mid 1960s, only about half of the states in the U.S. required that cars have front seat belts, and usage laws didn’t pop up until the mid 1980s. Safety these days means front and side impact systems (air bags), anti-lock brakes and stability control, among other things. Despite that, there are still more than 35,000 auto fatalities per year in the United States. The future of car safety is looking promising. Volvo, a company long associated with setting the bar for safety standards, is developing a system that uses radar and lasers to ensure that a safe distance between vehicles is maintained. So far, the technology has proved effective in lowering the speed of impact during a crash by up to 18 miles per hour (28.9 kilometers per hour), and avoiding low speed fender benders altogether.


High-strength, Low-weight Materials

Lightweight vehicles have better fuel economy and lower emissions. The lighter the car, the less fuel it needs to power itself forward, while also spitting out fewer harmful emissions. The problem with light cars is that they don't weather accidents gracefully. The answer, then, is to find lighter materials that hold up well in collisions. Enter carbon fiber reinforced plastic, or CRP. Fifty percent lighter than metal alloys, carbon fiber has been used in the racing world for a while now. The problem with CRP is that it’s expensive, which may be the only reason we haven’t seen it much in mass production as of yet. It has been used effectively in some BMW and Chevrolet models, though.


Smart Technologies

Thanks to computer technology, cars have been getting noticeably smarter in recent years. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are pretty standard these days, and drivers with no sense of direction are thankful for it. That’s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, though, when it comes to what’s in store for divers in the not too distant future. Some car companies have experimented with systems that study the face of the driver to gauge alertness. In theory, the car would tell a sleepy driver to wake up and pull over, and then the car would be temporarily disabled. The same goes for cars that know if you’ve been drinking. There are already devices on vehicles that require a driver to blow into a breathalyzer before the vehicle can be started. However, until some of these smart safety features become less expensive to implement, we probably won’t see drowsy driver systems in many vehicles.En


Self-driving Cars

Just like something from “The Jetsons,” self-driving cars may be a reality at some point. In 2007, an experimental research wing of the U.S. Department of Defense sponsored a contest that challenged inventors to build a driver-less car. Using sensors, GPS and computer controls for the car, one winning team proved that it’s a possibility for the future. The idea itself dates back to the 1930s, when General Motors tested magnet driven cars. Whether or not the government or private companies are pursuing this in earnest remains to be seen, but the concept is in place for any company willing to push the boundaries.

END OF ARTICLE...
 
That's all folks, thanks for having the time and patience to read this blog entry.