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MSL in Taiwan Working to Turn Futuristic Intelligent Vehicles Into Reality
2007/10/30
Many science-fiction-type functions of future vehicles in movies may be fantasy for many of us, but the Mechanical & System Research Laboratories (MSL, formerly MIRL (Mechanical Industry Research Laboratories), a unit of the government-backed Industrial Technology Research Institute, or ITRI, is eagerly trying to turn them into reality by integrating the island`s strong information and communication technology (ICT) and electronics industry infrastructures with auto sub-systems and high-tech parts.
In short, the ultimate goal of new-generation intelligent vehicles is to utilize computer-aided mechanisms to minimize human-caused accidents on roads, according to James Wang, a key man in the development of Taiwan`s intelligent vehicles and director of the Intelligent Mobility Technology Division of MSL.
With subsidies from the Department of Industrial Technology (DoIT) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), MSL has been actively developing the lane departure warning system (LDWS), an advanced automotive-electronic safety system to prevent vehicles from drifting across into other lanes, warning drivers in different ways when vehicles are detected in lane crossovers.
According to Wang, MSL has successfully transferred its LDWS technology to a private company in Taiwan and the advanced technology has won a gold medal at this year`s Pittsburg invention contest.
 | | James Wang, a key man in the development of Taiwan`s intelligent vehicle and director of the Intelligent Mobility Technology Division of MSL. |
By utilizing advanced imaging techniques, the MSL-developed LDWS can precisely identify in real-time lane markings and warn via lights and sounds when vehicles are detected in unintentionally crossing over into other lanes. In addition, the system has been fully tested under various weather and road conditions, proving that it works.
According to Wang, the biggest challenges in developing the LDWS include finding the best approach to develop a system that can effectively analyze, judge, and transfer detected images into useful information quickly. In addition, another key factor is to achieve an acceptable balance between hardware price, image-identification rate, system stability, and response time.
For example, the expert says, different weather and road conditions will affect the correct identification of lane markings; while to achieve the best identification rate under various factors but simultaneously consider the real needs of automakers and drivers will be a challenge too to achieving system practicality and stability.
Safety is Priority
"Safety is the top priority in the process of intelligent-vehicle development," Wang says, "and it also creates the biggest added-values. The successful development of the advanced LDWS in Taiwan is expected to create new and comprehensive technical and service value-chains on the island. So, the successful development of the LDWS core technology will help local ICT companies step into the automotive electronics fields from consumer electronics. The LDWS is both a new milestone of ITRI`s R&D achievements in the research process of intelligent vehicles and a bridge linking local ICT, electronics industries with the booming automotive electronics businesses."
According to Wang, some local companies are applying MSL-developed LDWS technology to also truck and bus application market and such efforts are expected to greatly upgrade the safety level in public transportation on the island. In addition, the home-grown safety system also attracted a tier-one international parts supplier to the island for business evaluations, with the parts maker recognizing the system`s functions and overall performance.
MSL is actively trying to set up cooperation ties with the tier-one parts supplier, which is expected to provide some most advanced product specifications and key know-how to help local companies achieve breakthroughs in future development and mass production, while also commercializing such system globally.
"In the future, the LDWS will be integrated with vehicle-tracking functions, which can measure inter-vehicular distances front and rear to achieve collision-warning and lane transfer-assistance functions," Wang points out, "while ITRI will continue to work on image safety technologies and aims to complete development of a 360-degreee vehicle image-sensing safety system by 2010."
Hybrid Trend
Facing the global oil drain, Wang says, the development of energy-saving technologies in automobile industry has become a necessary trend. In recent years, many global major automakers have been actively developing and pushing hybrid-power (mainly gasoline- and electricity-powered) car models, triggering feverish development in related fields.
After the successful development of an 18kw small hybrid propulsion system, ITRI continued to push a 100kw hybrid powertrain system (equipped with a 2.0L gasoline engine) in 2006. According to Wang, the 100kw hybrid powertrain is also matched with a power-recycling system that can use the electricity generated from a vehicle`s brake system to achieve better fuel-consumption performance. In addition, he adds, the noise of the engine is reduced as well as the size of the powertrain to adapt to smaller engine-compartment space.
 | | The 100kw hybrid powertrain system developed by ITRI. |
Currently, the division director explains, vehicles equipped with hybrid powertrain command less than 2% of the global vehicle sales so the supplies of key systems and parts have not been well developed. So, Wang says, such market leaves ample room for Taiwanese companies.
"Taiwan is globally competitive with its small-vehicle and auto-parts industries," Wang says, "and ITRI is expected to play an increasingly important role in developing world-class powertrain systems that may help local automotive and electronics/electrical-machinery lines to carve out more new and niche markets, with such niche markets expected to create higher added values and profit margins as well as brighter future for local players."
Electric Vehicles
"From a viewpoint of environment protection, the better fuel-efficiency hybrid powertrain system will be short-term and tentative solutions," Wang says, "while fuel-cell and pure-electricity vehicles with zero emission can be the best environmentally-friendly products."
The consensus is, Wang says, that all industrially advanced nations have chosen pure electric vehicles as their long-term development goals and mapped out policies to encourage and promote related advancements. However, he adds, there is still a distance ahead for overall promotion of pure electricity-powered vehicles in the world because such vehicles still fall short in terms of shorter cruise range, longer recharging period, slow commercialization, difficult battery recycling, etc.
"This scenarios will not change if we all sit and wait," Wang says, "and ITRI is actively working on electric vehicles so as to take a leading position."
In core battery techniques, the most vital part of development of electric vehicles, Wang says, ITRI has been aggressively developing the most advanced materials, techniques, and partnerships with global leading players. For example, ITRI recently signed an agreement with ExtraEnergy of Germany to jointly push a common interface and some safety standards, which are expected to standardize some key parts for electric vehicles.
According to Wang, ExtraEnergy is a non-profit organization headquartered in Tanna, Germany. Its activities are focused on independent information, promotion and testing for light electric vehicles (LEV) around the globe. The German partner owns the world`s first lithium-ion battery module test and inspection equipment and is the authority in global LEV safety testing. "With the cooperation ties with ExtraEnergy," Wang says, "Taiwan- developed LEVs can be more easily integrated into the organization`s common interface and safety standards, making them safer, more reliable, and more competitive."
Wang also outlined the guidelines for the future successful development of LEVs in Taiwan, in which the government plays a vital role.
 | | LEVs are expected to be a development target for Taiwan. (photo from Tesla Motors` website)
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According to Wang, to cultivate a sound environment for developing the LEV industry on the island, the government has to first map out policies to construct comprehensive infrastructures around the island, such as assigning LEVs as the major public transit vehicles in cities as well as in long-distance commuting.
The division director is very optimistic about the future LEV industry development in Taiwan because there is a big group of superior-quality and innovative manufacturers of vehicle parts that can support the development of various key sub-systems of LEVs. In addition, he adds, various conditions on the island, including the mild climate, concentrated populations, relatively-small land area, etc., make Taiwan an ideal place to develop and test-run LEVs.
(by Quincy Liang)
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