Check out which new car technology is the best in the year. Cars also have black technology

    Preface: New Year's Day has passed, and everyone is not only finishing their work, but also summarizing their work and life. This time we will take stock of high-tech for everyone, so the question is, which car high-tech is the best? Today we will count the black technologies on those newly unveiled/listed cars.

    Interpretation: "Which one is the best" was originally a slogan for Lanxiang Technical School's enrollment, and later evolved into a popular online term. "Which one is the best in excavation technology" and other phrases have become the most frequently used by joke makers for a period of time, and have evolved into various genres such as ancient Chinese style and academic style on the Internet. The usual way of using it is to tell a story seriously first, and then at the end of the story, lead to related words such as "excavation", "digging holes", "burying", and then ask "Which one is the best in excavation technology", which later evolved into "Then the question is, "making the word more widely used.

Check out which new car technology is the best in the year. Cars also have black technology

Black technology: laser headlight system

The biggest highlight: The illumination reaches 170 lumens per watt, the length is only 10 microns, and the irradiation distance is twice that of traditional LEDs

The i 8's headlights seem to be no different from LED headlights, but in fact they use a set of advanced laser headlights.

    The headlight design of the BMW i8 is a highlight of the whole vehicle. Not only is the slim shape very special, but more importantly, the technology behind it. This set of headlights is no longer the popular full LED headlights, but it has used more advanced laser headlights. As long as the laws of the country allow it, the i8 can be equipped with this set of laser headlights (US regulations do not yet allow vehicles to use laser headlights).

Lasers are brighter and can illuminate farther than LEDs, but are smaller in size

    From the appearance, the laser headlights of the i8 do not seem to be much different from the full LED headlights that are currently widely used, but in terms of technology, there is a huge performance gap between the two. Compared with LED technology, the biggest improvement of laser technology lies in its integration. It is only one percent of the volume of LED, but has 1,000 times its brightness. The illumination of the laser light equipped in the BMW i8 reaches 170 lumens per watt, which is 70% higher than the 100 lumens per watt of traditional LEDs. The irradiation distance is twice that of traditional LEDs. In terms of size, the length of the light-emitting diode of this laser is only 10 microns, which is 100 times shorter than the current small LED. This means that cars using laser headlights do not need to leave a large area of ​​headlight space like traditional cars, and designers can play more freely, so we see that the i8 has a more energetic "eyes", and the square design also echoes BMW's latest angel eye shape.

From left to right, comparison of the illumination distance of xenon headlights, LED headlights and laser headlights

    In addition to its extremely compact size and high brightness, laser light sources are also highly efficient and stable, requiring only about half the energy of today's LED lights, and this energy saving ultimately saves fuel. The small size, lower energy consumption and brighter characteristics of laser headlights complement the energy-saving i8 sports car.

It does not cause any harm to human eyes and conforms to human visual habits.

    The performance of laser headlights is indeed very advantageous, but as we all know, lasers can cause great harm to human eyes due to their energy-gathering characteristics. However, BMW's laser headlights do not have to worry about this at all. The reason is that BMW's laser headlights do not directly emit laser beams toward the front of the vehicle, but first use three laser beams to shoot at a set of reflective lenses. After reflection, the laser energy will be gathered in a lens full of yellow phosphorus. At this time, the yellow phosphorus will be stimulated by the laser and emit a strong white light. This beam of white light will then shine on a reflector and finally shoot a bright white light toward the front of the vehicle. This white light will not cause irritation or harm to the eyes of humans and animals, and the brightness and color temperature of laser headlights have been studied, and the irradiation effect is in line with the visual habits of the human eye. Finally, it should be pointed out that the laser headlights currently equipped with the BMW i8 are not completely based on lasers, because its low beam is still based on LEDs, and only the high beam is based on lasers as the light source.

Laser headlight internal components

    Of course, BMW's laser headlights are definitely not developed specifically for the i8 hybrid sports car. As early as 2011, BMW began to study the application of laser lights in civilian cars. The many advantages of laser headlights are very attractive. They are energy-saving, small in size, and can emit brighter light. They are environmentally friendly and safe. Designers can make greater breakthroughs in headlight design compared to current headlight design and even the front face design of today's vehicles. I believe that this laser headlight installed on the i8 is just the beginning. BMW will configure this technology in other models in the future, and the next heavyweight model of BMW with laser headlights will be the new generation of BMW 7 Series.

Black technology: iQ aluminum alloy platform

The biggest highlight: lightweight, modular body, energy saving and environmental protection

The new mid-size car XE becomes the first model to be built on the Jaguar iQ aluminum modular platform

The new XE is made of more than 75% aluminum alloy composite materials.

    In order to make the new generation of models more competitive, Jaguar has carried forward its skills in ASF aluminum alloy body and launched the iQ (intelligent aluminum architecture) aluminum alloy modular platform. The new mid-size car XE naturally became the first product of this new platform. This is a modular, variable-proportion body structure, which can be derived to create models of different sizes and levels, and this has become the current mainstream car manufacturers' usual practice of saving car manufacturing costs. But compared with other modular platforms, the biggest feature of Jaguar's modular platform is that it has the most extensive application of aluminum alloy materials, and also uses a lighter new aluminum alloy. This new aluminum alloy called RC 5754 is not only more rigid than traditional aluminum alloys, but also can greatly reduce weight. Take XE as an example, its entire vehicle is made of more than 75% aluminum alloy composite materials, and the weight of the car will be 1474 kilograms. So XE has become the most energy-saving and environmentally friendly car in Jaguar's history, with a comprehensive fuel consumption of only 3 liters per 100 kilometers and carbon dioxide emissions per kilometer of less than 100 grams.

The new aluminum alloy material is not only more rigid than traditional aluminum alloy, but also has a significantly lower weight.

The chassis setting of the new XE emphasizes the perfect balance between excellent ride comfort and handling.

    In addition, this platform model will also pay more attention to handling performance. For example, the front suspension system of the new XE introduces a set of all-aluminum alloy double wishbone front suspension system borrowed from the F-Type sports car to ensure excellent handling, while the multi-link independent rear suspension is used to ensure better compatibility between sportiness and comfort. I believe that most models of this platform in the future will be based on such suspension settings.

    Jaguar's new Ingenium engine is also an important part of the iQ platform. It combines with the lightweight advantages of the iQ platform to make the new generation of Jaguar cars even more powerful, not only more economical and more environmentally friendly, but also more powerful. The new Ingenium series of engines are jointly designed, developed and produced by Jaguar and Land Rover. This engine series has two types of gasoline and diesel engines, and all engines in the series are equipped with turbocharging, variable valve timing system, direct fuel injection technology and start-stop engine starting system and other technological equipment.

The new Ingenium engine family is designed, developed and produced jointly by Jaguar and Land Rover

    The reason why this goal can be achieved is mainly through reducing the engine's running resistance. For example, the 2.0-liter diesel engine that was first put into production has a 17% lower running resistance than the previous 2.2-liter diesel engine. To this end, Jaguar will first

    The bearings of the camshaft and crankshaft are replaced with roller bearings with less resistance. The lubricating oil pump and cooling water pump are changed to electronic control design. The system will adjust the most appropriate oil pressure and water pressure according to the engine speed, load and temperature, which can effectively shorten the cooling time and CO2 emissions. At the same time, the camshaft drive system design is simplified, the crankshaft is changed to an offset design, and the cooling nozzle is changed to an electronic control design. The system will only spray lubricating oil to cool the piston and provide better lubrication effect when the piston temperature is detected to be too high.

    In addition, the excellent compatibility and flexible design of the Ingenium series engine are also its important features. It can be installed on any new JLR model, and the displacement can be increased or decreased according to the needs of different markets and models. At the same time, it can correspond to models with different drive modes such as front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive, and supports manual, automatic transmissions and hybrid power systems. The Ingenium series engines use the same cylinder diameter, stroke and cylinder center distance regardless of gasoline or diesel engines. The displacement of each cylinder is 500 ml, and both gasoline and diesel engines use lightweight aluminum alloy cylinder bodies and have many components that can be shared with each other. Therefore, its lightweight is also very good. Compared with the same level engine currently used by Jaguar Land Rover, its weight is reduced by 80 kg. Specifically, from the 2.0-liter diesel engine under the new generation Ingenium series that has been announced, its maximum horsepower is 163Ps (120Kw), the maximum torque is 372N·m, and the carbon emissions per kilometer are only 99 grams, which has met the European 6 emission standards.

Black technology: one of Volvo's three latest safety technologies: inflatable child safety seat

The biggest highlight: It is portable and can be easily used in any situation

The portability of the inflatable child safety seat solves the problem that ordinary safety seats are too limited in use.

    Nowadays, although the current situation of the use of child safety seats in China is still not optimistic, with the improvement of parents' safety awareness and the promulgation of relevant laws and regulations, the safety of children riding in cars urgently needs to be taken seriously by all parents. Children must ride in child safety seats that match their age. For parents who have used child seats before, these generally large and heavy guys are often really entangled: after using the child seat, it is quite difficult to take it down and carry it home; if you leave it there, it will take up a seat position in vain, and a good five-seater car will have to become a four-seater car; if you put it in the trunk, it will take up cargo space, and it seems that nothing is appropriate; and it is even impossible to carry it for non-self-driving travel.

    Now, Volvo has solved this problem for everyone. Their latest developed inflatable child safety seat is truly portable. You can put it in an ordinary backpack and go out. What's more important is that the seat made of new materials can also provide more complete safety protection for infants and young children.

40 seconds to complete inflation or deflation

When fully deflated, it can be put into a backpack and weighs only 5 kg

    The new inflatable child safety seat developed by Volvo is very easy to use. Through the device integrated in the seat, parents can inflate the seat in 40 seconds. Before the seat is used, it also takes only 40 seconds to deflate. What's more convenient is that the seat itself can also access the Internet via Bluetooth wireless, and parents can even inflate it remotely, which is very user-friendly. After the seat is completely deflated, its volume will shrink to about 45cm X 50cm X 20cm, and the weight is only 5 kg, which is only about half the weight of the child safety seats currently on sale. Parents can easily put it in a backpack and take it out at any time, whether they drive themselves or take any public transportation such as buses, planes, trains, etc., which can be used very conveniently, ensuring the safety of children in various situations.

Black technology: One of Volvo's three latest safety technologies, infrared detection and anti-fatigue system

The biggest highlight: The driver's driving status is detected through infrared technology, and infrared technology can also be combined with more technologies

    Infrared sensors are also a new safety technology developed by Volvo. Through sensors installed on the dashboard, the computer can automatically determine whether the driver is tired or distracted, and give timely reminders, thereby reducing the incidence of traffic accidents. Volvo plans to install this safety technology in all its models by 2020.

Install a set of infrared sensors on the dashboard

    According to statistics, 25% of car accidents in Germany are caused by driver fatigue. Therefore, Mercedes-Benz first installed the Attention Assist driver attention assistance system on the E-Class in 2009. The system mainly detects the driver's hand movements when operating the steering wheel through the sensor in the steering wheel, analyzes whether the driver has made abnormal steering wheel rotation, and reminds the driver to pay attention to safety through the display on the instrument panel and special sound effects.

A set of infrared sensors is installed on the dashboard

    Unlike the Mercedes-Benz system, Volvo does not place sensors in the steering wheel to detect driver fatigue through motion detection, but installs a set of infrared sensors on the dashboard. This set of sensors will continuously emit infrared rays to detect the driver's eye movements. When the driver's eyelids are drooping or the eyes are staring at the direction of the non-lane, the computer will give a reminder, such as issuing a warning sound to warn the driver. It is worth mentioning that since infrared rays are invisible light, this system will not interfere with the driver's driving vision at all.

This set of sensors will continuously emit infrared rays to detect the driver's eye movements

Infrared sensors can create more convenient and practical security systems

    In addition to detecting driver fatigue, Volvo also uses infrared sensors in combination with other devices to create more convenient and practical safety systems. For example, if the sensor is combined with the automatic brake system, the computer can determine the early or late intervention of the brake system based on whether the driver is fatigued or distracted. If the driver is detected to be distracted, then the brakes will be helped earlier; if no distraction is detected, the intervention time will be delayed, giving the driver greater control autonomy. In addition, infrared sensors can also make it easier for drivers to use the in-car equipment. For example, if the driver's line of sight is blocked by the steering wheel, the seat height will be automatically raised to an appropriate position.

Black technology: one of Volvo's three latest safety technologies, Volvo Vehicle Safety Interconnection System

The biggest highlight: Design based on cloud technology

    In Nordic countries, due to the geographical environment, vehicles often have to deal with slippery snowy roads, so the probability of road accidents is also very high. For this reason, Volvo is working with the Swedish Transport Administration and the Norwegian Road Administration to develop a vehicle interconnection safety driving system. Through the system, vehicles can share real-time driving information through the cloud system, so that other drivers can also be aware of dangerous road conditions in real time.

Information is shared in the cloud, and vehicles can be connected to each other

The operating principle of this system is based on cloud network

    The operating principle of this system is based on the cloud network. When a vehicle equipped with the driving system detects that the road is icy or slippery, the computer will transmit the driving information to Volvo's database via the mobile network, and the database will immediately transmit the road condition information to the vehicle that is also equipped with the driving system and is approaching the dangerous area, warning the driver in advance and thus avoiding accidents. The warning method is also very user-friendly. A reminder screen will be placed on the dashboard. The system will automatically adjust the intensity of the warning based on the driver's driving speed and distance from the dangerous road conditions.

The computer will transmit the driving information to Volvo's database via the mobile phone network.

    The driving system also enables the government to quickly handle road repairs. When the database receives reports from many vehicles about the road conditions at the same location, the government can quickly dispatch personnel to repair the road. At the same time, the government no longer needs to randomly spread salt on the ground to melt snow, but can treat the road conditions that are most severe, which is more environmentally friendly.

    In fact, in addition to Volvo, which is developing a vehicle interconnection safety driving system, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen also have their own vehicle interconnection technologies, and the common point of these technologies is that they are based on cloud technology to transmit driving information. The United States plans to make V2V (Vehicle To Vehicle) a standard feature of factory vehicles before 2016, which means that it is very close to us. And it is obvious that the slippery road warning is only the first step of Volvo's interconnection safety driving system. In the future, there will be more important driving information to analyze road conditions, such as engineering on the road or vehicle collision, which can be used to give car owners advance warnings through this system. Currently, 50 Volvo test vehicles have been installed with the system, and more vehicles will be put into testing before next winter. Volvo expects to configure this safety driving system to its various models before 2020.

Black technology: Mercedes-Benz's latest 9AT automatic transmission

Biggest highlight: small size, high efficiency, more linear shifting

    Undoubtedly, the biggest highlight of Mercedes-Benz's 9G-Tronic gearbox is that it has the most 9 gears among all current gearboxes. These 9 gears are realized by 4 sets of planetary gears and 6 sets of speed change components, so the transmission ratio reaches 9.15 (Mercedes-Benz 7G-Tronic automatic transmission is 6.01). The high gear ratio means that during daily driving, the gearbox can help the engine always stay in the most ideal speed range to improve the vehicle's fuel economy, and the gear shifting process will be smoother and less noticeable. However, it should be pointed out that although the high gear ratio can also better exert the performance of the engine and obtain better acceleration, this feature is also closely related to the actual adjustment of the gearbox, which will be explained later.

Mercedes-Benz 9AT automatic transmission anatomy

    Compared with the seven-speed automatic transmission, the 9AT transmission can better convert the engine power into actual acceleration force because it has two more gears and a finer gear ratio distribution. In addition to the first and second gears, which have large deceleration ratios and are mainly used for starting and pulling the speed, the connection from the third gear onwards is gradually tighter, especially the gear ratio difference from the fifth to the ninth gear is very small, so it has better and smoother thrust when driving at high speeds, and there are as many as three overdrive gears, so the fuel economy is excellent.

Lightweight design, high integration, almost the same size as a 7-speed gearbox

    In order to avoid excessive increase in the size and weight of the gearbox, this gearbox uses a torque converter made of lightweight aluminum alloy, and also uses a lighter magnesium-aluminum alloy as the material for the gearbox housing. In fact, these materials are not the first to be used in Mercedes-Benz automatic gearboxes. The current 7G-Tronic Plus gearbox has already used them, but the latest 9AT gearbox uses new materials more comprehensively and thoroughly.

The switch components, lubrication system and control operating components are all integrated in the gearbox housing

    All switch components, lubrication systems and control operating components are integrated into the gearbox housing, thus reducing some unnecessary components, and the control valve, solenoid valve, speed, temperature, pressure, and position sensors are also installed in the housing, reducing unnecessary wiring and failure rates, and improving reliability as much as possible. Mercedes-Benz officials said that although this gearbox uses a number of lightweight materials, it can still withstand a maximum torque of 990Nm, which is much better than the maximum torque that the ZF 9-speed gearbox can support (480Nm), and the volume is almost the same as the 7G-Tronic Plus.

More sophisticated computer control components

    After solving the weight and volume problems, the next step is to provide more sophisticated computer control components for the increase in gears, so that the most suitable gear can be selected according to the driving conditions. The computer control components in the new 9-speed transmission system will receive various parameters sent back by 3 sets of speed sensors, and after high-speed calculation, they will perform the most efficient gear shifting action based on these parameters to minimize unnecessary waste in power transmission.

This transmission system is also specially designed with two transmission oil pumps

    In addition, in order to more accurately control the flow of transmission oil and coolant, this transmission system is also specially designed with two transmission oil pumps, one of which is an off-axis, chain-driven mechanical oil pump, which is installed at the front end of the transmission system and behind the torque converter; and the other is an auxiliary electronic oil pump installed at the bottom of the rear of the transmission.

Can realize skip gear shifting action, higher efficiency

    Similar to the 7G-Tronic, this new 9-speed transmission system can skip the middle gear during acceleration or deceleration and directly enter the gear you want to switch to. The gearbox can shift up from 3rd gear to 5th gear to 7th gear to shorten the shifting time and improve efficiency. In fact, overall, the main design of the 9G-Tronic manual transmission system is similar to most current automatic transmissions, but in order to enhance energy-saving performance, it uses a more advanced intelligent control module and a more compact and lightweight design.

Possess excellent adaptability

    For a gearbox, its outstanding performance is only one aspect of its consideration, because in this era of a wide variety of car models, a good gearbox must also have good adaptability. And Mercedes-Benz's 9AT gearbox also performs very well in this regard. According to official introduction, in addition to being matched with rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive models, it can also be matched with hybrid vehicles, plug-in hybrid vehicles and other new energy vehicles. The maximum torque performance of 1000Nm also makes this 9AT gearbox have the potential to correspond to Mercedes-Benz's high-performance models, especially AMG models. Therefore, it can be foreseen that this 9AT gearbox will be widely used in various models of Mercedes-Benz in the future, which is quite worth looking forward to.

Black technology: BMW's new ActiveAssist active assisted driving system

The biggest highlight: In dangerous moments, the vehicle can be completely taken over to ensure higher safety

    BMW brought the ActiveAssist active assisted driving system to CES. The core function of this technology is to assist the driver to achieve higher driving safety, especially when turning at high speed or changing lanes urgently, it can temporarily take over the vehicle, always maintain the safety of the vehicle and avoid danger. At the same time, BMW also claimed that this technology fully takes into account the needs of BMW drivers for driving pleasure, and it can bring the best driving pleasure under the premise of ensuring safety.

Based on multiple electronic programs

New 2 Series Coupe prototype equipped with ActiveAssist

    BMW demonstrated a new 2 Series Coupe prototype equipped with ActiveAssist. The vehicle can calmly deal with emergency lane changes or high-speed slalom. This experiment is also a more realistic simulation of the situation where the vehicle encounters obstacles while traveling at high speed. For many ordinary drivers who do not have enough experience, it is very easy to make mistakes in this situation. However, with BMW's ActiveAssist system, when the vehicle encounters such an emergency on the road, the detector will adjust the torque output of each wheel at any time according to the information obtained, autonomously control the cornering angle, and automatically correct the steering wheel to maintain stability if it encounters understeer or oversteer. BMW's technology mainly relies on powerful multi-point detectors, powerful electronic control stability systems and electronic control special systems, and is composed of independent high-speed computing modules for rapid calculations, and finally completes the corresponding auxiliary actions.

Introducing a dedicated driving pleasure experience program

BMW plans to launch a dedicated program to help ordinary people reach the driving limits of their vehicles

    BMW also announced that ActiveAssist will be continuously upgraded and improved in the future to achieve more functions. The current demonstration is still based on prototype equipment. When it is officially applied to mass-produced cars, it will have more functions. For example, it can also cooperate with other sensors of the vehicle to detect the surrounding environment and prepare for various risks in advance. As for people's concerns that the introduction of too many auxiliary systems will reduce driving pleasure, BMW will highlight the driving pleasure experience of the BMW brand in a new way. They plan to launch a special program. The wonderful thing about this program is that it can help ordinary people reach the driving limit of the vehicle, so as to experience the ultimate control pleasure, and ensure absolute safety.

A key link in autonomous driving technology

    As we all know, due to the restrictions of current road regulations, it is still unrealistic for BMW's autonomous driving technology to be put on the road immediately, so like some other manufacturers, BMW is also separating some core technologies from autonomous driving technology. ActiveAssist active assistance technology is undoubtedly another key technology for BMW to achieve fully autonomous driving technology, and through the actual application and improvement of these technologies, it will eventually form a real autonomous driving function through integration.