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(Mon 11 Jun 07) Scientists on the south coast have developed a wheel with artificial intelligence.
This is a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project funded - to the tune of £200,000 - by the Department of Trade and Industry and operated by the University of Portsmouth and Hampshire-based PML Flightlink Ltd. The idea is that a car (a MINI in this particular case) has a battery pack which is charged by a 250cc petrol engine. Power from the battery goes to each of the four wheels. In itself, this is not new. Back in 1901 there was a Lohner-Porsche which operated on the same principle. What is new in the MINI is that microcomputers in the wheel make 4000 calculations per second, and transfer information about speed and road conditions between themselves, and also to the suspension, steering and brakes. The intended end result is a car which can adapt to corners and uneven road surfaces, and even memorise this behaviour in case a similar situation arises in future. "Traditional suspension means the vehicle dips when the wheels detect poor road surfaces and you get a bumpy ride, while a tight corner means the drag will slow the vehicle down," says Dr David Brown of the University's Institute of Industrial Research. "Electronic traction control and suspension will counterbalance this kind of drop and drag effect but the driver won't even know it's there. It means a faster car but a safer one. "Conventional wisdom says you can't reinvent the wheel. We have done just that. We have taken the wheel, given it brains and the ability to think and learn. It's a huge breakthrough." For more information visit www.pmlflightlink.com. |
