Editor’s Note: A group of engineers from National Instruments, called Waterloo Labs, created an iPhone app that can drive a car. See below. In part 2, they give a detailed explanation of how they designed and implemented our control system. This video provides more details about the motor assembly, the wireless communication and it also shows how they use potentiometers and […]

Editor’s Note: A group of engineers from National Instruments, called Waterloo Labs, created an iPhone app that can drive a car. See below. Part 1 includes an overview of how NI turned an Oldsmobile Delta 88′ into a remote control car in just a few weeks.  They built their control systems using a few motors, potentiometers, a CompactRIO embedded controller, and LabVIEW. They then set up […]

  The automobile is changing and so, too, are the electronics that make them run. The most radical example is the plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) where a 300-400V Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery replaces the gas tank, and a three-phase propulsion motor replaces the combustion engine. Sophisticated battery pack monitoring, regenerative braking systems, and complex transmission control […]

Editor’s Note: The history of development and deployment of alternate-energy vehicles underscores the problems facing the American Auto industry. Where and what are the big three’s plans for next-generation vehicle development? Do you feel that Hybrid technology is a “bridge” tech, or one with a viable future? IMHO, Hybrid tech provides the refuel capability (and operating […]

Hall-effect Sensors Measure Up For the last half-century, sensors based on the Hall effect have provided a low-cost, solid-state option for sensing any object that incorporates a magnetic field. Hall effect sensors are based on the discovery by Dr. Edwin H. Hall in 1879. He found that a thin conductive material, placed in a magnetic […]