Automotive Applications

• Miniature Accelerometer Triggers Safety Air Bags

ith BMDO funding, Silicon Designs, Inc. (SDI; Issaquah, WA), developed a miniature accelerometer that can navigate “smart” missile interceptors to their targets. What BMDO liked best about SDI’s device was that it consumed little power and operated over a wide temperature range and after long exposure to space radiation. But others appreciated its ability to measure changes in velocity—as in the sudden stop of an automobile in a collision—as well as its low manufacturing cost. TRW and Ford Motor Company licensed SDI’s accelerometer technology for use in air bag deployment systems. Produced at a cost of $5 each, the accelerometers made obsolete “ball-and-tube” devices, which lacked the ability to discriminate between crashes that needed the air bag to deploy and those that did not. Air bag systems using SDI’s miniature accelerometer can be found in about 25 million automobiles worldwide.

• Liquid Additive Gives a Cooling Boost to Air Conditioners

Mainstream Engineering Corporation (Rockledge, FL) developed a liquid additive that can enhance the performance of advanced heat pumps used in heat rejection systems aboard BMDO spacecraft. This additive, called QwikBoost™, is now being marketed as a performance booster for automobile air conditioners. QwikBoost circulates through the airconditioning system and increases the system’s cooling capacity. An increased cooling capacity means faster cooldowns and greater cooling capability—all the better when your car feels more like an oven on hot summer days. Once the additive is introduced into the system, it remains active for the life of the system and does not need to be replaced. It also offers environmental and energy efficiency benefits, which earned Mainstream Engineering a prestigious award from the U.S. Small Business Administration. QwikBoost is packaged in a 3-ounce can and is now available at automobile supply outlets.

• Neural Network Technology Monitors Engine Performance

Addressing guidance and control challenges for BMDO missile interceptors, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL; Pasadena, CA) has developed neural network technology that electronically emulates the learning functions of the human brain. This technology is now being applied by the Ford Motor Company to meet the stringent automotive emissions standards of the next millennium. Starting in 2001, neural network chips developed by JPL will continuously monitor Ford car engines for misfires that contribute to pollutant emissions. As these engines log more and more mileage, the chips learn how to detect and identify malfunctioning components, virtually eliminating distracting false alarms about engine misfires that vehicle dashboards sometimes signal with current diagnostic technology. Millions of Ford cars and trucks may ultimately be fitted with these chips.