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VTC Solution collects the latest news, breakthrough and information on technological advancement. Click on the links below to go to each article.
FEATURED NEWS
Shell Eco-Marathon Asia 2011 Results
This year's Shell Eco-Marathon was successfully held at Sepang, with impressive outcomes such as Thailand's Dhurakij Pundit University squeezing 2213.4 km/l of ethanol out of their internal combustion engine.
Shell Eco-Marathon is an event in which teams from different countries attempt to design and fabricate the most fuel-efficient vehicle from scratch. The two main vehicle types are: Prototype - futuristic and streamlined vehicles, typically three-wheeled, designed to minimize any resistance to the vehicle motion; and Urban Concept - cars designed to be conventional and marketable.
Energy sources for this year includes internal combustion (using either conventional fuel like gasoline or diesel; or alternative fuels like ethanol), solar, hydrogen or plug-in electricity.
This year's competition sees new records being set, most notably the Thai team's impressive 2213.4 km/l result, which essentially means that a litre of fuel is enough to take the vehicle from Kuala Lumpur to Chang Mai in northern Thailand.
Vehicle design for this year has improved dramatically from the previous competition, with most teams being able to pass the stringent safety and technical testing and requiring less last-minute field modifications. This represents a general increase in the knowledge and experience of vehicle design and robust design by the competing teams, a promising scene as they will likely be the vehicle designers of the future.
For the complete set of results, click on the following link. read more
AEROSPACE NEWS
Scramjets riding the supersonic wave
Successful tests of Boeing's X-51A Waverider aircraft takes development of the light, fast and far-reaching scramjet aircraft technology forward. The X-51A reached speeds of Mach 5 in the test flight. read more
Hovering robot uses cameras to navigate through buildings
The dinner-plate-sized hovering robot built at the Queensland University of Technology shows potential of various applications such as delivery, inspection, repairs and agriculture. read more
Sun shines on Solar Impulse at Paris Air Show
Combining 200 metre-squared of solar cells, 400kg of batteries, 63.4m long wingspan and the dedicated work of 70 technical personnel, Solar Impulse preparing to fly their second solar plane around the world. read more
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
Ferrari prefers aluminum over carbon fiber
Ferrari highlights the current state of technology in manufacturing that allows aluminiun to remain as the more feasible method of automated vehicle production compared to carbon-fiber material. read more
Field reports confirm EV, hybrid technology progress
Real-world performance data confirms the usefulness of hybrid and electric vehicle technologies, such as regenerative braking, start/stop systems and so forth. read more
Volve to test flywheel-KERS hybrid cars
Instead of hybrid-electric propulsion methods, Volvo is moving towards another direction for energy efficiency - flywheel-based kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) similar to those used in Formula One racing. read more
Perodua Eco Challenge 2011 Results
Politeknik Ungku Omar emerged as the winner for this year's event at Melaka International Motorsports Circuit, followed by Universiti Industri Selangor and Universiti Sains Malaysia. read more
GREEN TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Recycled composites could be re-used in aircraft and cars
Using recycled composite materials at non-critical parts of aircraft and cars may face various problems such as reduced strength and stiffness. However, efforts are undertaken to make the recycling more practical. read more
Design for recyclability
Recycling is vital to sustainability, and design for disassembly is vital to recycling. Will design engineers and corporate decision-makers put more emphasis into "design for disassembly'? read more
Inkjet method could lower cost of producing solar energy cells
An inkjet printer spitting out solar panels at 25 pages per minutes? If you think it is perposterous, read on... read more
SOFTWARE NEWS
modeFRONTIER version 4.4 out with major improvements
New algorithms, improved features, more powerful and user-friendly integration nodes. Check out what's new in modeFRONTIER version 4.4 at ESTECO. read more
2011 GT-SUITE Conference
Gamma Technologies is inviting GT-SUITE users worldwide to present or participate in the next GT-SUITE Conference. read more
ADSTEFAN running on parallel CPUs
Developers of ADSTEFAN has released the parallel version of the casting simulation system which can benefit from utilizing multiple CPUs. In addition, a scalability chart has been published. read more
Dassault Bridges Mechanical, Electrical Design
Recently acquiring electrical engineering suite provider Elsys, Dassault Systemes improves the multi-disciplinary aspect of their product development. read more
OTHER NEWS
High society: a new airship paradigm
After many decades of inactivity, will the airship return to us as a practical solution to some of our transportation problems? read more
Are you an interdisciplinary engineer?
In this time and age where responsiveness and ability to adapt and work in teams are appreciated, are interdisciplinary engineers dominating the market? Where do specialists and domain experts stand? read more
Developing autonomous fighting machines
Ignoring the warnings highlighted in the "Terminator" films, the defense industry is steering towards development of automated war machines, sparking ethical concerns. read more
OLDER NEWS
Engineers design and fly 'world's first printed aircraft'
Laser-sintering machine has made it possible to fabricate plastic or metal aircraft components by 'printing' individual layers. read more
Wingless aircraft could usher in UAVs that enter buildings
IAT21, in conjuction with Cranfield University, unveils the next generation of unmanned aerial vehicles. read more
Fiat wins 2011 International Engine of the Year Award
Fiat's 875cc two-cylinder engine wins the best engine award, impressing judges with its low emission, high fuel economy and power. Along the big prize, it is also the Best New Engine, Best Sub 1-litre and Best Green Engine. read more
Recovering exhaust heat to generate electricity and boost efficiency
General Motors, Ford and BMW investigate the possibility of using thermoelectric semiconductors to recapture energy lost in engine exhaust by converting waste heat into electricity. read more
Solar panels use custom plastic part
Spanish company employs proprietary plastic bearings for solar panels. read more
Heat-treatment discovery that makes steel 7 percent stronger
As a 'mature technology', material scientists and engineers think that everything about steel is well-known and established. Enter the Flash Bainite. read more
Is 'Engineer Programmer' an oxymoron?
With engineering design and simulation software rapidly gaining importance, should engineers be taught programming skills or does programming still remain within the domain of software experts? read more
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Toyota eyes magnesium batteries for EVs
In comparison with gasoline vehicles, all-electric vehicles have poor travel distance per recharge cycle. Toyota believes the solution is to replace conventional Lithium-ion cells - with magnesium. read more
Putting a new face on CAD interoperability
Focuses on the problem of integrating different CAD software and possible solutions. read more
Human hand controlled by cyborg attachment
University of Tokyo have crafted a device to control a human hand - precise enough to play musical instruments. read more
Research on the robotic hand of the future
HANDLE, a large scale integrated project by EU, seeking to imitate human hand with robotic systems. read more
Materials battle for aircraft bodies heats up
The struggle between composite and alloy as aircraft body material continues as aluminium giant brings out their latest development. read more
Engine Expo revs-up
Engine Expo 2011, which took place 17-19 May at Stuttgart Messe, was a success, receiving impressive reviews from visitors and exhibitors alike. read more
Normal Air Could Halve Fuel Consumption
Hybrid cars powered by air is now perfectly possible. read more
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