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Volvo Cars and Uber Join Forces To Develop Autonomous Driving Cars

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Volvo Cars, the Swedish premium car maker, and Uber, the world’s leading ride-sharing company, are to join forces to develop next generation autonomous driving cars.

The two companies have signed an agreement to establish a joint project that will develop new base vehicles that will be able to incorporate the latest developments in AD technologies, up to and including fully autonomous driverless cars. The base vehicles will be manufactured by Volvo Cars and then purchased from Volvo by Uber. Volvo Cars and Uber are contributing a combined USD 300M to the project.

Both Uber and Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of their own autonomous car strategies. This will involve Uber adding its own self-developed autonomous driving systems to the Volvo base vehicle. Volvo will use the same base vehicle for the next stage of its own autonomous car strategy, which will involve fully autonomous driving.

The Volvo-Uber project marks a significant step in the automotive business with a car manufacturer joining forces with a new Silicon Valley-based entrant to the car industry, underlining the way in which the global automotive industry is evolving in response to the advent of new technologies. The alliance marks the beginning of what both companies view as a longer term industrial partnership.

Håkan Samuelsson, president and chief executive of Volvo Cars, said: “Volvo is a world leader in the development of active safety and autonomous drive technology and possesses an unrivaled safety credibility. We are very proud to be the partner of choice for Uber, one of the world’s leading technology companies. This alliance places Volvo at the heart of the current technological revolution in the automotive industry.”

The new base vehicle will be developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). SPA is one of the most advanced car architectures in the world and is currently used on Volvo Cars’ top-of-the-line multiple award winning XC90 SUV, as well as the S90 premium sedan and V90 premium estate.

SPA has been developed as part of Volvo Cars’ USD11bn global industrial transformation programme, which started in 2010, and has been prepared from the outset for the latest autonomous drive technologies as well as next generation electrification and connectivity developments. It is these capabilities that attracted Uber to Volvo.

The development work will be conducted by Volvo Cars engineers and Uber engineers in close collaboration. This project will further add to the scalability of the SPA platform to include all needed safety, redundancy and new features required to have autonomous vehicles on the road.

Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, said: “over one million people die in car accidents every year. These are tragedies that self-driving technology can help solve, but we can’t do this alone. That’s why our partnership with a great manufacturer like Volvo is so important. Volvo is a leader in vehicle development and best-in-class when it comes to safety. By combining the capabilities of Uber and Volvo we will get to the future faster, together.”

Volvo Car Group in 2015

For the 2015 financial year, Volvo Car Group recorded an operating profit of 6,620 MSEK (2,128 MSEK in 2014). Revenue over the period amounted to 164,043 MSEK (137,590 MSEK). For the full year 2015, global sales reached a record 503,127 cars, an increase of 8 per cent versus 2014. The record sales and operating profit cleared the way for Volvo Car Group to continue investing in its global transformation plan.

About Volvo Car Group

Volvo has been in operation since 1927. Today, Volvo Cars is one of the most well-known and respected car brands in the world with sales of 503,127 in 2015 in about 100 countries. Volvo Cars has been under the ownership of the Zhejiang Geely Holding (Geely Holding) of China since 2010. It formed part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when the company was bought by Ford Motor Company of the US. In 2010, Volvo Cars was acquired by Geely Holding.

As of December 2015, Volvo Cars had almost 29,000 employees worldwide. Volvo Cars head office, product development, marketing and administration functions are mainly located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo Cars head office for China is located in Shanghai. The company’s main car production plants are located in Gothenburg (Sweden), Ghent (Belgium), Chengdu and Daqing (China), while engines are manufactured in Skövde (Sweden) and Zhangjiakou (China) and body components in Olofström (Sweden).

100 Year Old Environmental Solution – Stainless Steel Products

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Stainless steel – the Centenarian Environmentalist…

Stainless steel is 100% recyclable. It is the ideal material for a multitude of applications. Indeed, from the very outset, all stainless steel products that leave the factory already have their own history attached to them. ‘New’ stainless steel products typically contain recycled content of around 60%. That laboratory sink or stainless steel splashback may have enjoyed a previous life as a water pipe or catering canopy.

As it nears its centenary year, this highly recyclable material is proving to be more popular than ever, with a growing demand for consumer goods forged out of this corrosion-free alloy. Indeed, it is now one of the oldest kids on the block; since its discovery in Sheffield in 1913, a further 18 metals have been discovered by mankind. In addition, there’s the small matter of two world wars that have been fought, not to mention the arrival of nuclear fission. While there are many superlatives that can be used to describe this high quality metal – shiny, lustrous, durable, elegant, impervious – ‘new’ is not one of them. So why is it that this centenarian metal has found a new lease of life, and is now being utilised in everything from stainless steel worktops to stainless steel shower trays? Modern, minimalist homes are increasingly being kitted out with stainless steel fixtures and fittings throughout. Stainless steel fabrication is booming. When exactly did steel become so essential and so, well, sexy? To answer that question, it is necessary to first consider the state of 21st-century consumer culture.

Our throw-away society – where does stainless steel fit in…

We live in a disposable society. Consumer goods which were traditionally meant to last for years are now designed to be used once and then binned. Disposable mobile phones, chucked out when the credit’s run out. Disposable tents, £15 from your local supermarket. Take it to your music festival of choice, trash it and leave it for someone else to clean up. Six-packs of socks, £2 from the discount fashion emporium. Wear them once then chuck ’em out; what’s the point in doing the laundry when you can simply buy a new set?

Nothing lasts forever, but nowadays it would appear that nothing lasts, period. The disposable nature of consumer goods would appear to fit with the mood of the times. Since the rise of the internet generation, attention spans can now be measured in seconds rather than minutes or hours. There’s a reason why YouTube videos are capped at 15 minutes and Facebook updates at 420 characters. We like the world condensed into bite-sized chunks for our amusement; that way, as soon as we get bored, we can simply move on to the next one, and the next one, leaving a trail of discarded phones, cars and kitchen appliances on our wake.

Convenient as the ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ policy may be, it’s not quite so beneficial to the entity we affectionately refer to as Mother Earth. In recent years, the rise of environmentalism has made the plight of the planet everyone’s concern. Whether willingly involved, or begrudgingly cajoled, there is no avoiding the environmentalist agenda; it’s everywhere, from recycling bins in the supermarket car park, to cashiers inside the store, guilt-tripping you into foregoing your plastic bag. Thus, paradoxically, at a time when half of mankind is discarding more junk than ever, the other half is intent on recycling, reusing and reducing our carbon footprint. Is it possible to be a consumer while still being mindful of the planet’s welfare? Is it possible to bin our unwanted junk without feeling compelled to pay penitence for our sins against the planet? Yes, is the short answer. But – and there’s always a but – it really depends on what happens to that detritus when you’re done with it. Waste matter that ends up as landfill is no use to anyone; digging a hole and burying humanity’s rubbish will only obfuscate the problem for as long as it takes for the noxious gases to be released into the atmosphere and the heavy metals to seep into the soil. As our planet’s precious resources are steadily diminished, it is imperative that as much waste as possible is recycled. It is for this reason that stainless steel has suddenly found itself at the forefront of the environmental agenda.

Stainless Steel Products tick all the recycling boxes…

Recycling isn’t just a one-off process however: it is a never-ending cycle that sees one man’s junk turned into another’s treasure, until that man’s treasure finally fades and is then relegated to the guest bedroom, and then the attic, until one day it is taken to the appropriate recycling receptacle to be turned into treasure for the next generation.

Stainless steel may be wholly recyclable, but the period between its exiting the electric arc furnace and returning to be melted down is likely to be decades. Given the metal’s imperviousness to corrosion, it is generally recycled, not due to degradation, but because it is no longer required for the purpose it was designed for. Tastes and trends change rapidly; one man’s trendy stainless steel kitchen may be another’s industrial hell. Aesthetic interpretations aside however, the future of this versatile material would appear to be assured. As natural resources such as oil become scarcer and less cost-effective, manufacturers will begin seeking alternatives to plastics and PVC. Given the all-round versatility of steel, coupled with its environmental credentials, the future of manufacturing would appear to hinge upon forging steel alloy with 11% chromium. From this heady concoction, this multi-faceted metal is born.

For consumers requiring disposable tents and cheap disposable socks, metal is not much use. For most other applications however – domestic and commercial – it can hold its own, while ticking all the right boxes: durable, easily-cleanable, aesthetically-pleasing and, of course, environmentally-friendly. Stainless steel doesn’t do too badly for an inert metal that’s knocking 100.

Samuel Davies is an expert in stainless steel fabrication with extensive experience in manufacturing bespoke stainless steel products, and is the author of this article about Stainless Steel Products and their benefits to environmental protection. To find out more about stainless steel fabrication visit this Stainless Steel Products Blog.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Samuel_E._Davies/1173591

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The Causes for an Overheating Car Engine

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When your check engine light illuminates, it is often the first sign of car trouble. There are various reasons why your car’s check engine light could come on, from a loose gas cap or faulty chip, to a blown head gasket or something much worse. But when it comes to your engine overheating, there are 5 probable causes behind the problem. And the signs are not hard to see.

One of the first signs of an overheating car engine is usually seeing the temperature gauge nearing or exceeding the maximum internal engine temperature level illustrated on the dial. But most often, you just see smoke coming from the hood! You might also smell burning oil or fuel, which is another sign of your car engine overheating. Continue reading to learn five likely reason why your car engine is overheating.

Radiator Issues

There are two common radiator defects that can lead to a car engine overheating. First, you could have a bad radiator fan. This fan blows air over the radiator fins in order to help control the temperature of the coolant. If it comes loose, has broken shrouds, or spins freely when the engine is off, it cannot perform its intended duties, causing the coolant temperature to raise and overheat the engine. But if the fan is not the problem, it could just be a faulty radiator. Leaks, clogs, and broken lines can cause a radiator to malfunction, and subsequently cause a car engine to overheat.

Cooling System Issues

A vehicle’s cooling system lines can get blocked or clogged with rust, dirt, or sediment. This inhibits the cooling system from being able to do its job, thus causing the engine overheat. This is why regular fluid flushed and replacements are imperative. Another common cause of an overheating car engine in terms of a vehicle’s cooling system are leaks. Leaks in the cooling system are a frequent cause for overheating car engines. Also, if you use the wrong concentration of coolant, it can have the same effect. Be sure to get an even water-to-coolant ratio.

Thermostat Issues

A bad thermostat is another common reason for overheated car engines. It is a heat-sensitive valve that opens and shuts in accordance to engine temperature. If something goes wrong and the thermostat gets stuck in the closed position, the car engine’s temperature will skyrocket.

Water Pump Issues

The water pump is colloquially known as the “heart” of the vehicle since it pumps coolant much like a heart pumps blood. But a vehicle’s water pump pressurizes and propels coolant through the cooling system, so it plays a major role in a car’s temperature control. If something goes wrong, the coolant can’t make it to the engine, and the engine gets too hot.

Belt and Hose Issues

Broken and loose belts, as well as, worn or burst hoses, are common causes for overheating car engines. Belts turn the water pump, which is essential for the cooling system and more. If they stop working, so does the cooling system. A faulty hose means leaks, which means a lack of coolant. This also causes a car to overheat.

Call Spitzer Automotive Services at 317-253-3331 for import auto repair in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are highly trained and ASE licensed British and European auto technicians with more than 25 years of experience in the industry. They service and repair all make and model import cars, at the most competitive prices in town. Call 317-253-3331 for a free estimate, today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sarahbeth_Kluzinski/1326228

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