Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021 - 37

AUTOMOTIVE/TRANSPORTATION
CATEGORY WINNER
Winner of an HP Workstation
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Hairpin Motor Using Aluminum
Hairpins
Michael Durack, Ultimate
Transmissions, Saraburi,
Thailand
Variable Conductor Area Tech -
nology allows copper to be
replaced by aluminum in EV
motors without any loss of efficiency,
saving considerable cost. VCat
is a form of hairpin motor winding in which the end-windings
and slot conductors are formed in aluminum using conventional
die casting.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10973
AFREECAR E-KIT: SUSTAINABLE
AND AFFORDABLE MOBILITY AND
POWER FOR ALL THE WORLD'S
PEOPLE
Chris Borroni-Bird and Rich Saad
Afreecar LLC
Rochester Hills, MI
A
briefcase-sized e-kit comprising a lithium-ion battery module,
motor, and electronics is designed to be easily attached to a
wide variety of non-motorized vehicle types (vehicles that are
pushed, pulled, or pedaled). It can be applied to vehicles in several
applications such as agriculture, healthcare, urban mobility,
warehouses, and campuses.
The kit can be attached vertically or horizontally and provides
electric power assist, which reduces effort and risk of injuries. The
kit also provides a source of electric power so electrical devices
can be powered (e.g., cellphones, water pumps, ventilators, dialysis
ma chines, etc.) and has mechanical power takeoff.
As automakers develop autonomous vehicles and cities consider
car-free zones, a similar solution (small, shared, short-range EVs
that do not have to meet crash safety standards) may also proliferate
in the developed world. Cities around the world could design
and build their own vehicles and then use them to provide door-todoor
sustainable mobility for their people.
By eliminating the need to purchase all-new electric vehicles, the
e-kit promises to be a low-cost solution in the developing world (with
the addition of solar panels for off-grid rural applications). This type
of vehicle could " steer " rural mobility in poor regions along a path
very different from what happens today. Instead of importing relatively
few and expensive 1500-kg cars that were designed for affluent
societies, the world's poorest communities can develop their own
affordable, lightweight, renewable vehicles that are safe for all road
users because they operate in isolation from cars.
Moreover, the e-kit also has applications in the developed world
because it can be shared among several different types of vehicles
- a fleet operator, for example, would not need to retrofit all of their
vehicles or buy new vehicles.
For more information, visit
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10865
Tech Briefs, November 2021
Cov
www.techbriefs.com
ToC
HCCI Fickett-Jacobs Cycle
Double Acting Internal PDE
Sky Huddleston and Roger
Richard, Liberator LLC/
Eternal Engines, Bourbon,
MO
A double-acting FickettJacobs
cycle internal detonation
engine has only two moving parts and can use unrefined
biomass-derived fuels. The 49-cc design can produce over 60
horsepower. Lifespan is projected to exceed 100,000 hours.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10870
3D Printing Boosts SiC Inverter
Performance
Peter Wilson, Oliver Holt, and
Richard Gotch, University of
Bath, United Kingdom
The application of additive
man ufacturing has allowed im -
provement of the achievable
performance of SiC and other
wide bandgap semiconductor
devices, enabling an increase in inverter performance that will
improve the efficiency, packaging, and energy density of electric
vehicle powertrains across all transport sectors.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11404
SERS: Suspension Energy
Recovery System
Aditya Deshpande, Saroja
Siddamal, Amankumar
Saha, and Vivek Kumar,
KLE Technological
University, Karnataka,
India
SERS is a suspension en -
ergy recovery system that employs a patented reciprocation technique
to increase the input frequency to a linear generator,
improving vehicles' energy harvesting efficiency and producing
electrical energy.
https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11098
37

https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10973 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10870 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11404 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/10865 https://contest.techbriefs.com/2021/entries/11098 http://www.techbriefs.com http://info.hotims.com/79419-902

Tech Briefs Magazine - November 2021

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