SAE Tomorrow Today

Just park and charge. No cord required. That’s the future according to WiTricity, the global industry leader in wireless charging.  . Powered by patented magnetic resonance technology, WiTricity is just as fast and efficient as a plug-in charger. With global automakers and Tier 1 suppliers incorporating this technology into their electric vehicle roadmaps, WiTricity is laying the foundation for wo...

What if you had access to micron-size Legos that could build anything? It may sound like a dream from the future, but it’s happening now. From U.S. aircraft parts to medical implants, additive manufacturing is a nearly 30-year-old process that’s finally having its moment. . By definition, additive manufacturing is the technology used to build 3-D objects layer-by-layer, no matter if the material i...

A driving school for self-driving vehicles? It’s here and proving to be a game-changer. . Waabi World is the most scalable, highest fidelity, closed-loop simulator for autonomous vehicles. Powered by AI, it’s an immersive and reactive environment that can design tests, assess skills, and teach the self-driving “brain” to learn to drive on its own. This technology significantly reduces the need to...

Move over GPS. There’s a new technology in town—and it’s subterranean. . Tarik Bolat, CEO and Cofounder of GPR, shares how his company is shifting the autonomous paradigm with innovative technology that creates a 3-D map of the road's unique subsurface and removes common barriers faced by autonomous vehicles today. . As the world’s most accurate and reliable vehicle positioning system, Ground Posi...

For many underrepresented students, the possibility of a career in STEM is either unknown or out of reach. But a dedicated team at one school in Phoenix, Arizona is determined to change that. . At Sevilla Elementary – West Campus, Educator Mia DeLaRosa and Principal Jennifer Bunch are on a mission to support their students by eliminating barriers to high-quality education. Their goal? Providing an...

May Mobility’s self-driving shuttles have provided more than 300,000 autonomous rides in nine cities in the US and Japan. And CEO Edwin Olson is just getting started. He has a recipe for transforming transportation – and quality of life – worldwide: . ·        A policy of listening to people to understand the unique transit challenges they face in their communities – inaccessible public transit, f...

Can the aviation industry meet its goal to decarbonize by 2050? Safran Landing Systems engineer and innovator R. Kyle Schmidt thinks so, and he’s playing a critical role in getting there. . Safran, the world leader in aircraft landing and braking systems, equips the commercial, business, and military fleets for more than 20 aircraft manufacturers. The France-based company’s expertise spans design,...

Progress Rail is on a mission to zero emissions. . The locomotive manufacturer put the first battery-electric locomotive into service for a Brazilian mining company in 2020, and next year they’ll be hauling iron ore in Australia. Meanwhile, Union Pacific is adding 10 of these battery-powered rail vehicles to its fleet as part of the largest investment in battery-electric technology by a U.S. Class...

Traffic. We’ve all been there, and nobody likes it, and sometimes it feels impossible to get around. Joby Aviation’s solution? Going vertical. . Air Taxi Product Lead, Tom Prevot, says saving one billion people an hour a day is the mission of Joby’s aerial ridesharing service built around an electric aircraft designed to fly over the most congested highways in cities around the world. . Joby’s ele...

Tom Rucker, President of Magna Powertrain, has big plans for the future.  . “We can bring sustainable mobility for everything and everyone,” says Rucker. These may seem like enormous goals—but so is the potential payoff. . Canada-based Magna International is chasing those opportunities for equitable access to sustainable transportation hard, innovating at scale. As the world’s third-largest larges...

Every book lover has an origin story.  . Sherry Nigam’s passion for knowledge took root as a child in rural Kentucky. . Her dad printed the local newspaper and her mom drove the library’s bookmobile, often with Sherry on board chatting with people about the books they were borrowing. This inquisitive upbringing led her to a 30-year career in publishing culminating in her current role as Head of Bo...

Robots will soon occupy private garages and public parking areas where they will easily, autonomously charge electric vehicles. That’s the vision from German auto supplier Continental and Austrian startup Volterio. Their partnership to design and build charging robots promises to shake up the fast-changing EV market. . We talked with Christian Flechl, Founder and Managing Director of Volterio, and...

The path to the future isn’t just exciting; it’s electric. . Global auto supplier BorgWarner is leading the way through their aggressive electrification initiative with a plan to grow EV revenues from 3% today to 45% by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2035. . This transformation of an auto industry stalwart is built on three pillars: profitably scaling electric light vehicles, expanding into ele...

Ag tech is poised to disrupt life on the farm. John Deere’s new autonomous tractor uses stereo cameras, GPS guidance, and advanced AI to detect obstacles and navigate in the field. Farmers monitor and control it from a smartphone app. And it can free them from long days in the tractor seat, help ease labor shortages, and improve productivity and sustainability. . Deere also recently opened a tech...

You can’t fix what you don’t see. And you can’t convince consumers and regulators you’re clean without transparent supply chains. . Manufacturers need to measure their environmental and social impact, but the vision becomes murky when their supply chains are complex and opaque. How are raw materials mined and refined? What is the carbon impact of shipping? How do upstream suppliers manage producti...

The Henry Ford is a lot of things. A museum of American innovation near Detroit. An Emmy-winning TV show seen in 60 countries. An invention competition striving to reach a million students a year. Stories from the past that inspire innovation for the future. . Its transportation-related, hands-on exhibits include iconic symbols of social, cultural, and commercial transformation. The Wright Brother...

With $5B in the new US infrastructure law designated for EV charging stations, there’s a lot of work to be done—and a lot of taxpayer dollars at stake. . This federal funding coupled with strong consumer demand and innovative solutions from industry have created a perfect storm to drive EV adoption. Taite R. McDonald believes it’s going to “change the landscape of America.” . McDonald, Equity Part...

Electrify everything? Not so fast. Achieving sustainable mobility will require multiple solutions. There is no silver bullet. . In this episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, we speak with the co-authors of Racing Toward Zero: The Untold Story of Driving Green, who advocate a multi-faceted approach to a green future. Kelly Senecal, co-founder of Convergent Science, and Felix Leach, Associate Professor of...

You don't have to be a parent to know that today’s classrooms – like many things over the past two years – are being disrupted. And while emerging technology can provide new opportunities to grow, hands-on education also remains fundamental to the learning process.  . SAE International’s Vice President of Programs, Christopher M. Ciuca, has spent his career committed to empowering educators to pre...

Flying cars have been a part of public fancy at least as far back as the 1920s, when speculative author Hugo Gernsback pictured rotor-enabled “Helicars” as a remedy to the crowded streets of New York. Now, a century later, such vehicles are poised to become the stuff of reality. . Soon, as you look across the urban skyscape, you may see a sleek, fully autonomous “flying car,” cutting travel times...

When you’ve been studying mobility and advanced technology for over 50 years at one of the nation’s leading universities, you might just qualify as a go-to expert in the field. . In this episode of SAE Tomorrow Today, we spoke with the legendary Dr. Alain Kornhauser, Professor, Operations Research & Financial Engineering, and Chair, Princeton Autonomous Vehicle Engineering, Princeton University. ....

What if you could test hundreds of thousands of traffic and road scenarios before your autonomous vehicles ever even touched asphalt? Imagine billions of miles and an untold number of road events encountered in the virtual world before your car or truck even left the factory floor. . Talk about a head start when it comes to safety and efficiency. . Using a comprehensive suite of products created f...

Honeybees. Ants. 18-wheelers. What do they have in common? . The first two operate as data-sharing collectives a la a hive mind to improve efficiency and achieve their goals, and now 18-wheelers are joining their ranks. Thanks to the advent of game-changing autonomous technology enabling hive-like communications, companies can create a network of vehicles that transform how they move freight acros...

The average 18-wheeler on America’s roads is an engineering marvel, roughly 17 tons (not including freight) of transportation muscle that powers our economy and our way of life. As the old saying goes, “If you bought it, trucks brought it.” .  Picture in your mind one of these behemoths barreling down the highway—with no driver. . Can you imagine a world where that’s the safest vehicle on the road...

From Ransom Olds of Oldsmobile fame inventing the automotive assembly line all the way back in 1901 to Berry Gordy flipping the switch on Motown in 1960, Michigan has a storied history of marrying power and technology to achieve awe-inspiring results. .  But as home to scenes of unrivaled natural beauty, it is also a place whose citizens know the importance of sustaining the environment. That’s wh...