Electrical & Wire Harness Design Blog

  It used to be relatively easy to drive into a large city and find a place to park, but as with so many things, that was then and this is now. It’s much harder now to find a place to park, but on the other hand, help is available now that wasn’t there back in the day. At least three parking software companies – Best Parking, ParkMe, and Parkopedia – were exhibiting at Telematics Detroit earlier … Read More

Audi Connect, Best Parking, Audi, Telematics Detroit, ParkMe, Parkopedia

If you’re familiar with the “Transformers” franchise (movies, toys, games, et al) you may be pleased to know that “Transformers 4,” directed once again by Michael Bay, is scheduled for release in late June next year, and a featured player – the semi trailer truck Optimus Prime – has a link to Mentor Graphics. Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, previously based on a Peterbilt Model 379, … Read More

Transformers, Michael Bay, Western Star, Camaro SS, Corvette C7 Stingray, Bugatti Grand Sport Vitesse, Mark Wahlberg, Mentor Graphics, Daimler Trucks North America, Lamborghini Aventador

  The global market for automotive electronics is set to climb to $240 billion in 2020, up more than 50 percent from $157 billion in 2010, according to the new report from IMS Research, “The World Market for Automotive OEM Electronic Systems – 2013 Edition.” “The massive growth of automotive electronics in the space of a decade reflects the field’s rising importance to the car industry at large, … Read More

Automotive Electronics, electronic stability control (ESC), advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), Infotainment, tire pressure monitoring systems (TPMS), head up display (HUD), IHS Automotive

Mars One management in the Netherlands has outlined the not-for-profit foundation’s goals and mission plan for 2013 through 2025. It is an interesting read and exciting proposition. Can Mars One and its global sponsors achieve the lofty goal of the first human settlement on Mars? They will, if all goes to plan: 2013 – Build a replica of the proposed Mars settlement in a cold, arid, desolate environment … Read More

Mil-Aero, Mentor.com, Milaero, Dragon, Falcon Heavy, Aerospace, spacex, Mentor, Mentor Graphics, Technology, Geek, Mars One

Not-for-profit organization Mars One in the Netherlands is offering a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: a one-way trip to Mars. Human space flight is expensive. It’s a fact that Americans and many others throughout the world have heard over and over. During trying economic times in the U.S., NASA’s budget often comes under scrutiny and, lately, human space exploration has taken an economic hit—yet, commercial … Read More

Mil-Aero, Mentor.com, Milaero, Geek, IMG, Aerospace, nasa, Mentor, reality TV, Mentor Graphics, Interplanetary Media Group, Technology, Mars One

  Airbiquity came out with a new version (5.0) of their Choreo mobile integration platform this week and it sounds quite impressive for a few reasons. Besides giving automakers more information on connected vehicle usage, the new version more than doubles the number of geographic markets the platform covers. Chief revenue officer David Jumpa explains that in each of those markets Choreo is … Read More

China Unicom, connected cars, Airbiquity, Vodafone, Sprint, Telenor Connexion

  Telematics Update has published its Automotive HMI Report 2013, containing an analysis of human-machine interface (HMI) features by vehicle segment and an overview of “best in market” HMI designs, including those from automakers such as BMW, Audi, Ford, and General Motors. The report includes insights from more than 40 HMI experts from firms such as Continental, DENSO, Fiat, Garmin, GM, Harman, … Read More

University of Warwick, Telematics Update, NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration), Automotive HMI Report, Nokia, Tata, Telecommunication Systems Inc., Audi, DENSO, GM, Harman, Fiat, Human-Machine Interface (HMI), Jaguar Land Rover, Garmin, Ford, General Motors, Visteon, Volvo

  Compared with, say, microcontrollers, there’s relatively little cutting-edge innovation in wiring harnesses, as indispensable as they may be. The wiring harness business, as Rick Burns describes it, is highly competitive and very cost-sensitive, with tight margins. Submit a quote a tad too high and you’ll likely lose the business, says Burns, Mentor Graphics’ product line director, System Integration … Read More

Capital software suite, Mentor Graphics, Capital Harness TVM, Wiring Harness

  Chevrolet has just unveiled a new high-end pickup, the 2014 Silverado High Country. It has a chrome grille with horizontal bars, halogen projector headlamps, body-color front and rear bumpers, 20-inch chrome wheels, all-season tires, and chrome body side moldings, door handles and mirrors. Inside, Silverado High Country has a saddle brown interior and heated and cooled perforated premium … Read More

iPad, MiyLink, Chevrolet, park assist, Silverado High Country

Aerospace engineers and enthusiasts, as well as science-fiction fans, are the latest Eagleworks experiment. The White-Juday warp field interferometer was designed and developed to record warped space and help scientists better understand the space-time bubble that would be required to break Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Albert Einstein theorized that a particle cannot travel faster than … Read More

Mentor Graphics, Mentor, Mentor.com, Albert Einstein, Quantum Vacuum Plasma Thruster, QVPT, Alcubierre drive, Aerospace, Mil-Aero, Geek, Milaero, Harold "Sonny" White, nasa, Eagleworks, plasma, Engineer

Volvo says that beginning this summer, European leasing customers will be able to drive and evaluate an upgraded demo fleet of Volvo C30 fully electric cars. Developed in partnership with Siemens, the cars boast a peak power output of 89 kW (120 hp) and a torque of 250 Nm. They can go from 0-70 km/h in 5.9 seconds. The cars are also equipped with a 22 kW fast-charger that Volvo says is the world’s … Read More

electric cars, fast-charging system, C30 electric fleet, Siemens, Volvo

  It used to not be such a big deal to buy a car and drive it for several years without feeling that much is missing. There were advances, of course, but models were more or less similar from year to year. That was then; this is now: In its annual survey of what vehicle owners want in their next car,  J.D. Power and Associates says there’s a lot of interest in device and application linking for … Read More

J.D. Power and Associates, Smartphones, buy a car, vehicle owners, wireless connectivity

This mil/aero geek is ecstatic that NASA has the resources, since the decommissioning of the shuttles, to start acting as a catalyst for the development of game-changing, space-related technologies. A couple really interesting stories have surfaced recently that have intrigued aerospace geeks, myself included. The most noteworthy is…wait for it…warp speed research! That’s right. You read that correctly. … Read More

SR-71 Blackbird, Skunkworks, Mil-Aero, Eagleworks, electrical, Milaero, Military, nasa, Aerospace, F-117 Nighthawk, John Applewhite, Mentor, F-22 Raptor, Mentor Graphics, Electronic, Mentor.com, Engineer, Geek, F-35 Lightning II, Harold "Sonney" White, U-2, Warp Speed

  Here’s an opportunity to help launch an intriguing company/technology. Mi Alerts is launching mobile technology that will send an alert to a customer’s mobile phone when the customer’s car is hit, damaged, or stolen. The complete Mi Alerts system will take photographs and videos of accidents or hit-and-runs, making it easier for insurance companies and law enforcement to settle disputes. Mi … Read More

GPS, hit & run, car, Indiegogo, Mi Alerts

During the Mentor Graphics Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum (IESF) 2013 last month, Teal Group Vice President of Analysis Richard Aboulafia delivered both good and bad nws related to current and future aerospace market trends. The commercial passenger jet airliners (or jetliners) to watch are the Airbus A320neo and the Boeing 737 MAX. “This is a well-run duopoly brought to you by Airbus and Boing,” … Read More

Military, Milaero, Mentor, aerospace market, Mentor Graphics, Mentor.com, Mil-Aero, Aerospace, china, Geek, IESF, CS300, Integrated Electrical Solutions Forum, Bombardier, Japan, C-Series, Electronic, electrical, Engineer, Richard Aboulafia, Richard L. Aboulafia, Russia