Futuristic automotive features picked up PACE Awards. Why I liked them.
Mark PhelanInnovative features that may show up on your next car or truck took center stage recently as Automotive News presented its annual PACE Awards in Detroit.
Judged by experts in current and evolving automotive technology, the awards recognized features ranging from a paper-thin material to make electric vehicles safer and more powerful to sensors that will allow each passenger to have personalized climate control in Cadillac’s upcoming ultra-luxe Celestiq.
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The awards focus on technologies and components developed by automotive suppliers, companies that are responsible for far more new ideas than most vehicle owners suspect.
“The PACE Awards are a great way to celebrate the innovations that are essential to driving progress in the industry — so much of which comes from suppliers or their collaborations with automakers,” said Automotive News executive editor Jamie Butters.
“From fuel-efficiency and electrification to automated driving and manufacturing processes, the PACE Awards highlight how technology improvements are constantly making the industry — and the cars of the world — better.”
Automotive News began presenting the awards in 1995.
Here’s a look at a few of this year’s winners:
Carbon fiber wheels
Strong and light, carbon fiber’s been a mainstay of aerospace and racing vehicles for decades, but making large numbers of big parts affordably has been a challenge that limited the wonder material to luxury and high-performance specialty vehicles. Australian supplier Carbon Revolution worked with General Motors to bring it to mass-produced wheels.
“Carbon Revolution’s carbon fiber wheels are up to 40%-50% lighter than conventional aluminum wheels,” Carbon Revolution CEO Jake Dingle said. “Our technology can reduce unsprung weight by more than 100 pounds across a vehicle. (Automakers) are seeking out our technology to improve range or fuel efficiency. ... At the same time, customers benefit from better performance, NVH and driving dynamics.”
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Personalized climate control
Cadillac hopes to deliver new levels of personalization and technology in its 2025 Celestiq ultra-luxury electric vehicle, and that includes a radical new climate control system. Supplier Gentherm created ClimateSense, which monitors each occupant’s temperature individually and creates a multi-zone climate in the vehicle.
“The ClimateSense system on the Celestiq marks a turning point in how automakers can view cabin comfort by providing rapid and efficient heating and cooling to the occupant while maximizing energy efficiency and optimizing driving range and comfort,” Gentherm President and CEO Phil Eyler said.
Lighter, safer EV batteries
Aspen Aerogels developed PyroThin to keep electric vehicle batteries from overheating with a very thin sheet of insulation between battery cells. That translates to batteries that are lighter and less likely to overheat. PyroThin also frees up room for more battery cells, enabling longer driving range.
The award “showcases the hard work and dedication of our entire team to revolutionize battery performance and safety to drive the wider adoption of electric vehicles." Aspen Aerogels President and CEO Don Young said.
Electromechanical continuously variable transmission
Designed to automatically shift among internal combustion, hybrid and pure electric modes, the new continuously variable transmission from Dana reduces carbon dioxide emissions, improves efficiency and cuts cost of operation. Dana developed the CVT with defense and specialty vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh.
It's already in service in vehicles including fire trucks and aircraft recover vehicles.
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Intelligent driver and occupant monitoring
Supplier Magna built a high-resolution infrared camera into the vehicle’s rearview mirror. It can detect and predict distracted driving based on movements of the driver’s head, eyes and body.
Lightning-quick sensing for autonomous vehicles
Supplier Valeo’s third-generation lidar supports high-speed autonomous driving by using artificial intelligence to recognize unusual shapes and avoid unidentified objects. Called Scala 3, it increased sensing from 44,000 points per second to 12.5 million, “unlocking high-speed Level 3 and urban Level 4 (autonomous driving) … thanks to our state-of-the-art hardware and perception algorithms, leveraging Valeo's software expertise and artificial intelligence," according to Chief Technology Officer Clement Novel.
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Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.