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Engineer Imagines Industry Shift Toward 3D Printing Cars

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March 5, 2013

According to engineer Jim Kor’s vision of the car-manufacturing future, 3D printing will play an important, even dominant role. Kor has engineered the Urbee 2, which could revolutionize parts manufacturing while creating an industry of small-batch automakers hoping to challenge the status quo. Kor’s goal for Urbee is to maximize miles per gallon with lightweight construction based on 3D printing. Continue reading Engineer Imagines Industry Shift Toward 3D Printing Cars

Disruption: Is a Smartphone or Car the Must-Have Product for Teenagers?

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November 28, 2011
  • In a soon to be published survey, Gartner reports that 46 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds would choose Internet access over having their own vehicle.
  • “The car used to be the signal of adulthood, of freedom,” says Sheryl Connelly of Ford. “It was the signal into being a grown-up. Now, the signal into adulthood for teenagers is the smartphone.”
  • “Mobile devices, gadgets and the Internet are becoming must-have lifestyle products that convey status,” explains Gartner’s Thilo Koslowski. “In that sense these devices offer a degree of freedom and social reach that previously only the automobile offered.”
  • Connected cars may help change this emerging trend — cars that can take pictures and make calls and interact with social networks.
  • “In other words, to entice teenagers, Ford and other automakers need to make their cars more like smartphones,” suggests The New York Times.

Auto Manufacturers Announce Collaboration on Data Standards

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August 24, 2011
  • Ford and Toyota announced this week they will work together on the development of standards for Internet connectivity in their vehicles.
  • The collaboration will address Bluetooth and Wi-Fi use, in addition to back-end networking infrastructure for in-vehicle data services.
  • “Standards will be crucial to enable car companies to work with third party developers, device makers, cell phone companies and Internet companies to create applications that are actually compelling to drivers,” reports GigaOM. “Drivers will want to move their data, digital entertainment and Internet services from their homes and cell phones to their cars, and this will rely on a standardized format.”
  • Ford is developing related technology beyond digital entertainment and basic Internet services, with the goal of enabling vehicles to wirelessly communicate in an effort to reduce crashes and fuel consumption.

Ford Demonstrates the First Private Cloud Vehicle

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July 18, 2011
  • Ford recently demonstrated a “short-range” Wi-Fi network that allows vehicles to communicate in a private cloud with other vehicles.
  • One key application is to alert drivers of potential crash situations in time to allow them to respond. The cloud technology has significant advantages over radar systems.
  • The technology could also enable communication with a traffic management system to help avoid traffic jams, thereby saving time and fuel.
  • Ford hopes to have its intelligent car technology in production as early as 2013.

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