Fully compatible with electric vehicle and hybrid platforms Yet another revolution in mobility is in the offing. Visteon Corporation, one of the leading global automotive suppliers, is showcasing its e-Bee vehicle concept to customers and media in Japan as part of an Asia tour. The e-Bee is designed to explore new and alternative ways of using a vehicle, including car-sharing, private ownership and short-term rental. Using touch display-based controls and cloud-centered profile storage, Back to the future with the e-Bee the e-Bee’s features are designed to be familiar and intuitive for each individual user. Fully compatible with electric vehicle and hybrid platforms, the e-Bee demonstrates intelligent mobility – gathering and disseminating useful driving-related data by integrating technology and design. The technologies featured range from advanced development to application- and commercialisation-ready. The concept range challenges conventional vehicle architecture by re-thinking the position of the climate system, resulting in reduced weight and substantially increased cabin space. The integrated climate module combines the heating, ventilation and air- conditioning (HVAC) unit with the refrigerant system, including an energy-efficient heat pump. Its position outside the cabin allows for new interior design options, including an easy user experience with the vehicle’s electronics and comfort features, designed to mitigate distraction. The driver has three displays: a main display for journey information and two smaller screens with touch-sensing capability. The touch screens are located on either side of the steering wheel, providing simple and immediate interaction with both vehicle controls and social connections. The car also features a projected head-down display for accessing basic driving information. In place of the traditional rear-view mirror, a display shows images from an 180-degree rear-view camera. Using a global base interior structure, the control architecture can be customised for each region. An ideal environment can be created by adding a range of ‘physical apps’ – or clip-on modules – each providing a style element and a particular function. These can include cup holders, wireless charging devices, cameras and other items. A set of preferences for each user can be stored in the cloud and retrieved when the driver enters the car. These preferences are used to define the look, colours and layout of the display-based humanmachine interface (HMI). Each occupant has access to a door-mounted control module, allowing for control of the climate system and individual climate zones, as well as a personal headrest-mounted audio system. Audio content can be played from a Bluetooth wireless technologyenabled personal device set in its own wireless charging bay in the door.
Visteon designs, engineers and manufactures innovative components and systems for most of the vehicle manufacturers across the world and these businesses generated more than USD 12 billion in sales in 2011, including unconsolidated operations. The company is present in 28 countries including India. Continental, the international automotive supplier, has developed its first air suspension system for an all-electric vehicle. The air suspension system had to meet strict electric driving requirements but without neglecting aspects like comfort, range and driving pleasure. This placed great demands on the air suspension system: low weight and low energy consumption with at least the same functionality as in other projects, and all to a tight schedule. In order to meet all these requirements the company resorted to closed air supply system with a high-performance compressor and solenoid valve block. The closed air supply system pumps the air at high pressure back and forth in a circuit between the reservoir and the air springs. This allows a virtually unlimited number of rapid, consecutive changes in pressure levels. Changes to the ride height are either made automatically by the control electronics depending on the vehicle’s speed or by the driver at the touch of a button.
