Soap Bubbles to Decrease Drag of Future Cars

We've heard a lot of different ideas about different fuel types to use instead of gas and other things we could use to make cars work better and pollute less. But could something as small as the bubbles from your soap actually be enough to decrease the drag in your car? The Engineers at Mira, an automotive research company in Nuneaton, UK seem to think so.

According to the studies by Mira, helium filled soap bubbles are helping to improve fuel efficiency. The 3-millimeter bubbles swirl around cars in a wind tunnel. The bubbles have a natural buoyancy due to the helium in them. If left to themselves, the bubbles will simply float in place, neither rising nor falling. Therefore, any movement in their position can be directly attributed to the air flow around the car.

According to aerodynamics specialist and lead developer of the soap bubble system Angus Lock, "There aren't any tools in use today that can give such insight into what's going on in the fluid around a vehicle."

Two of the biggest factors consumers are considering when buying a new car these days are fuel economy and carbon emissions. This being the case, aerodynamics have become a more important factor to car manufacturers. Instead of reworking a car's drive train or the entire engine, cutting a vehicle's air resistance is usually cheaper.

Although it sounds great, the bubble technique isn't exactly a new idea. People have used the bubble technique to see how air flows around different structures. However, Mira uses a 12 camera system to get intricate details about the bubbles and how they move. The system captures the movements of the bubbles which can be transformed into 3D images for later analysis.

The gold standard for looking at a cars aerodynamics is still full-scale wind tunnel tests. "It is simple to try out new ideas for improving streamlining by simply swapping parts of the car in the tunnel." , Lock says. Sensors in the tunnel measure how the car interacts with the air rushing past it.

One problem, according to Lock, is that they can not visualize the whole field around the vehicle which means you don't know what is behind those forces. Using the bubble tracking method, the speed and direction of the air flow can be captured. This makes it more useful than existing tracking techniques such as injecting smoke trails around the car.

The infrared camera system from Vicon that Mira uses is the same kind typically found in a motion capture studio for video games and movies. Mira pushes the cameras to their limits in order to track the light reflected from the bubbles. "We are are thinking about what we can do to the bubbles to make them easier for the cameras to see," says Lock.

One idea the team is considering is building a machine able to produce larger bubbles. These larger bubbles would have to be filled with a mixture of helium and air in order for them to achieve natural buoyancy. Another machine Lock's team is working on is one that produces more bubbles as well.

Even though computer simulations are as sophisticated as ever, finding different ways to show complex air flows visually is a critical part in understanding aerodynamics. Finding ways to accomplish this in large wind tunnels is also very valuable. According to Alex Liberzon of Tel Aviv University in Israel, "You can not solve everything completely in space and time on a computer. Simulations do not capture the full complexity of wakes and other features, which can exhibit large changes in behaviour caused by very small changes."

Fuel efficiency is one of the biggest concerns for people all over the world. In recent years people have been working extremely hard on finding better ways to power not only our cars but also everything else we use. With techniques like the bubble technique, we are just that much closer to finding a solution.

Chevy Volt Gains 230 MPG Rating

Full economy is one of the biggest concerns with people today. Stretching that take of gas as far as you can to get the most out of it before you get ripped off at the pumps has become a day to day occurrence for some people. The good thing is, most car companies are working extremely hard to find cheaper, alternate fuels and are even working on replacing fuel all together with new electric cars. Most electric cars have had a decent boost in mpg over regular gas burning cars, but no car in the history of automobiles has achieved a mpg rating with triple digits until now.

Fresh off their money problems, GM is working hard to climb back up in the ranks of the car world and their newest vehicle, the Chevy Volt, could very well do it. According to GM CEO Fritz Henderson, the new Chevy Volt has achieved an incredible 230 MPG rating in the city. But, even though 230 MPG is amazing, it may not be as "perfect" as GM is making out to be.

While 230 MPG looks like the best thing ever tagged onto a car, it may not be the same based on the same rating that we have grown accustomed to. The EPA has released a new basis for determining a car's draft fuel economy standard for extended-range EV's like the Volt. Under this new system is where the Volt gets it's 230 MPG rating. According to Frank Weber, Chief Vehicle Engineer for the Volt, "the number is based on combined electric only driving and charge sustaining mode with the engine running." But the bad news for GM doesn't stop there. Last Sunday, GM submitted a regulatory filing with the U.S. Treasury. Although it isn't confirmed, this could mean that the November release date promised for the Volt could be delayed to an undisclosed month and year. In order for GM to develop advanced fuel technology vehicles, they have based their entire business plan around getting loans from the U.S. Department of Energy. GM has already put forth three applications for loan of $5.7 billion of a $25 billion fund and has been denied all three times but plans on putting in a fourth application this month.

According to the GM report, "There can be no assurance that we will qualify for any remaining loans or receive any such loans even if we qualify." The report also added that "The U.S. Treasury (who is majority owner of GM) is able to to exercise significant influence and control over our business if it elects to do so, but so far this has not been the case." And as if that wasn't enough of a downer on the already struggling GM, other wealthier competitors could knock off the 230 MPG Volt before it even gets on it's feet. According to GM, "Our competitors and others are pursuing similar technologies and other competing technologies, in some cases with more money available. There can be no assurance that they will not acquire similar or superior technologies sooner than we do."

So even though the news about GM's 230 MPG beauty may not be as good as it is first made out to be, we have seen some good things come from it. We see other companies working hard to get the same technology if not better technology in the very near future and we can now see that a car has the very real possibility of having an incredible MPG rating that could make the cost of everyday life that much better for everybody.

Tom Tom Donates GPS Devices To Pan-Massachusetts Challenge

The Pan-Massachusetts Challenge (PMC) is an annual bike-a-thon fundraiser that supports the Jimmy Fund. The Jimmy Fund is an organization based out of Boston, Massachusetts that supports cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The Pan-Mass Challenge is the leading athletic fundraiser in the country and raises more than 50% of the Jimmy Fund's annual revenue.

The Pan-Mass Challenge is a fully supported bike-a-thon that has varying paths available to take depending on your cycling skill and time availability. There is the traditional two day rides that have the original 190-mile trip, 180-mile trip, 163-mile trip and the 153-mile trip. Riders can also choose one day trips which encompass a 110-mile trip, 84-mile trip and 47-mile trip. The Pan-Mass Challenge runs through 46 towns throughout Massachusetts and has an expected 5,500 cyclists this year.

Monitoring the Pan-Mass Challenge is a daunting task. keeping track of the cyclists and efficiently getting to problem areas or downed cyclists could prove very difficult. However, this year at the Pan-Mass Challenge, Concord-based Tom Tom, makers of the popular GPS systems, are donating portable navigation devices to all of the emergency workers and officials helping in the Pan-Mass Challenge. with these devices emergency workers will be able to quickly navigate to the incident scenes and assist the cyclists efficiently.

The donation by Tom Tom is nothing new to the people of the Pan-Mass Challenge. Tom Tom has ongoing commitment to the Pan-Mass Challenge. For the past four years Tom Tom has contributed by two different means. Tom Tom has had both a team of riders and has had employee fund raising for the event. With donations, like the GPS devices from Tom Tom, are some of the key factors that make fundraisers like the Pan-Mass Challenge so productive and that take us one step closer to a better life for people all over the world.

BMW Motorcycle Navigation Unit Announced By Garmin

Ever wanted a special GPS system specially designed for your motorcycle? Well now you can have one thanks to Garmin. Garmin has just announced a new product they are creating which is a navigation unit designed specifically for use by motorcyclists. The new product will be called the Garmin BMW Motorrad Navigator IV. The Navigator IV is based off of a previous GPS by Garmin, the Garmin zumo 660 but it adds features that are BMW specific.

Some of these BMW specific features are a BMW dealer database, bluetooth capabilities, a customized mount, and audio. Functionality is simple to use with the device's 4.3 inch, glove friendly touchscreen. The Navigator IV also has a ton of preloaded maps as well as millions of points of interest.

The Navigator also has a few other features. You can pair the Navigator IV with a bluetooth helmet headset which also allows the rider to make and receive mobile calls while riding. For quick functionality, the Navigator IV has a four button mount which also provides extra control capabilities. The Navigator IV is waterproof and protected against UV rays. The device is also vibration-tested to withstand the vibrations of the motorcycle and the road. According to Garmin, the GPS should be available in the third quarter of 2009 in Europe and North America but no price level has been announced yet.