Tag: engineer

Video: Ford engineer builds haptic shift knob with 3D printer, Xbox controller

Filed under: Etc., Technology, Videos

Ford's haptic vibrating manual gearshift knob

Vehicles with manual transmissions have been equipped with shift indicators (illuminated or audible) for decades. While some are used to improve performance, most are designed to encourage more fuel-efficient driving. Regardless of the original objective, nearly all drivers become desensitized or learn to ignore the illuminated lights and arrows after just a few short hours behind the wheel.

Enter Zachary Nelson, a recent MIT graduate and an engineer with Ford. Working at the automaker’s Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Michigan, Nelson devised a haptic shift knob that vibrates when it’s time to select another gear. “I wanted to create something that expands the car’s capabilities and improves the experience for the driver,” said Nelson. “I decided to use OpenXC to provide a new kind of feedback for the driver through the shift knob.”

The process, greatly simplified, has the vehicle transmitting data wirelessly from its on-board diagnostics (OBD) port using a Bluetooth OpenXC adapter. The knob uses the innards of a Microsoft Xbox 360 controller for vibration. “I decided to have a little fun with it and installed an LED display on top that shows the gear position and colored lights that glow from inside at night similar to the ambient lighting in Mustang,” adds Nelson.

Overall, it’s a rather fascinating idea that you can check out in the video below. The software-driven haptic shift knob allows the driver to keep their eyes on the road, while the vibration can be set to alert one of many different parameters, including optimal fuel efficiency, quickest acceleration, maximum torque, redline shifting and so on, giving it many different uses.

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Ford engineer builds haptic shift knob with 3D printer, Xbox controller originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 29 Jul 2013 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Followup: Ex-Ford engineer sentenced for industrial espionage

Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Ford

Xiang Dong YuXiang Dong Yu, the former Ford engineer who was convicted of stealing trade secrets, has officially been sentenced to six years in prison. According to Reuters, the Beijing native was also ordered to pay a fine of $12,500 and will be deported after he serves his prison term. The 49-year-old Yu was arrested in 2009 on charges that he stole documents worth millions of dollars from his former employer during the 10 years that he worked for Ford.

Yu took a job with a U.S.-based company working in China in December of 2006 and copied some 4,000 Ford documents onto a personal hard drive before leaving or notifying the automaker of his new employer. The documents reportedly covered everything from engine and transmission details to electric power supply systems – all bits of information that would be incredibly tasty to China’s growing automotive industry. Yu eventually took a position with Beijing Automotive Corporation.

[Source: Reuters]

Followup: Ex-Ford engineer sentenced for industrial espionage originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Audio engineer lists top 10 songs to test a car stereo

Filed under: Etc., Technology, GM

Bang & Olufson speaker in Audi A8

Music and driving, like ranch dressing and fries, are two things that go great together. When a vehicle is equipped with a good audio system, it helps complete a journey that starts when you twist the key and ends when you arrive at your destination whistling the song you just listened to.

In order to achieve top notch listening environments, automakers often employ audio engineers who are quite skilled at being good listeners. We imagine they also enjoy ruining social events by droning on about such things as oxygen-free copper center conductors and ohm impedance. Matt Kirsch however, an audio engineer with General Motors, may be more interesting judging by his preferred playlist used when testing audio setups. Kirsh has made public his own Top 10 list for testing the mettle of our own sound systems.

  1. “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones. Listen for Norah’s voice to sound natural, and centered in front of you.
  2. “Diamonds and Rust” by Joan Baez. Listen for strong vocals, and for the instruments to be set across a wide sound stage.
  3. “No One” by Alicia Keys. Listen for clarity in Alicia’s vocals and spacious background sound.
  4. “Hotel California” by the Eagles. Listen for the clarity and dynamic range during the opening guitar solo, and of course the powerful drum beat.
  5. “Boom Boom Pow“by the Black Eyed Peas. Listen for powerful, accurate bass beats, even at full volume.
  6. “Rock that Body“by the Black Eyed Peas. Listen clear, intelligible lyrics over the powerful, persistent bass beat.
  7. “Hide and Seek“by Imogen Heap. Listen for the enveloping ambience of the song, building on the openness and dynamic vocals.
  8. “He Mele No Lilo” by Mark Keali’i Ho’omalu from Lilo and Stitch.Listen for the ambience and staging as the children’s chorus is offset by powerful bass.
  9. “Bird on a Wire” by Johnny Cash. Listen for the clarity in Johnny’s distinctive voice, and his guitar to sound natural and free of any coloration.
  10. “Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box” by Radiohead. Listen for the punch from the percussive bass, and the ring of the steel drums.

The list is varied between genres and decades, and it’s jam packed with a plethora of instruments to stretch the legs on your tweeters, mid-range units and on down to the subs. Finding music with high highs and lovely lows is necessary to experience the complete auditory road trip, and Kirsh’s playlist does just that. Don’t believe us? The General posted the playlist on iTunes so you can see for yourself.

[Source: USA Today]

Audio engineer lists top 10 songs to test a car stereo originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 16:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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