4/4/08 - Aptera crushing lots of its cars - Autobloggreen.com

[Matthijs]

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/05/04/aptera-crushing-lots-of-its-cars/

Aptera chief Steve Fambro, in his company's latest newsletter, tells us they are building "lots of cars". Hooray! And then crushing them. Oh noes! (http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/02/23/oh-noes/) We know this has been done to electric cars by the likes of GM and Toyota before and now Aptera admits it has joined the pulverizing parade. Have they gone to the dark side (http://www.autobloggreen.com/2007/11/30/friday-humor-darth-vader-behind-the-hummer-and-the-chevy-volt/)?

[CandidQuality]

Always hate to see that part of testing, Prefer the NDT myself. But it's actually a good thing to know they are doing that, and re-designing the doors to make them even stronger. I know that I've made some panels that are so tough that I've had to cut relief channels in the to actually allow them to break. This should be an amazingly tough vehicle when it rolls out the door.

[futura]

I posted something on this here: Aptera Safe Enough? (http://www.apteraforum.com/showthread.php?p=4579#post4579)
I expect the Aptera side impact structural testing to do well. Unfortunately, unless they have side-airbags, I anticipate a "Poor" rating for passenger injury.
Anyone know if side-airbags are mentioned by Aptera in past PR bullets?

[aptera1213]

mmmm, i've only heard about front...and that the passenger is able to be disabled...nothing about side...i doubt it at the moment...adds weight and cost and complexity...and they have had a tough time figuring out the windows as it is...though i guess the bags would deploy down from the roof just about the door...i haven't see anything for that from the molds

[KarenRei]

I doubt it will be the case, but I could picture a clever enough seatbelt airbag design providing some side impact protection as well.

[aptera1213]

or side bags coming from the seat itself, burst out the side of the front seats...

that wouldn't affect the mold...just sensors in the side of the door and such

still adds weight and complexity and cost, but shouldn't impact the mold process nor the aerodynamics

[aptera1213]

Most side-impact airbags deploy from the seat’s side, like in the Accord, while side-curtain airbags deploy from the headliner or top of the roof and drape over the windows.

so i was thinking curtain airbags from the roof...they could easily have side seat airbags

[futura]

I doubt it will be the case, but I could picture a clever enough seatbelt airbag design providing some side impact protection as well.
Yeah, that's sorta what I was thinking they might do except it could be more expensive than putting them in the seat or headliner. There are already OEM suppliers for the seatbelt airbag and for headliner/seat cushion types.
Perhaps we'll see a clever seatbelt only design, e.g.; front-bag mounts on the strap close to the buckle; side-bag mounts on the same strap down at the base of the spring loaded mechanism. When you pull on the strap to buckle the belt the side-bag raises to about head level and is designed to deploy along the plane of the door.
But, this kind of thing requires expensive new development (I think) instead of just integrating something off-the-shelf.

[MegaAutoBit]

so i was thinking curtain airbags from the roof...they could easily have side seat airbags

I’m surprised that this is the first time for side airbags to come up, since it’s a big issue with me. Curtain airbags are different from side airbags. Side airbags usually deploy from the side of the seat, and protect the lower torso. Curtain airbags are designed to protect the head.

If Aptera wants to live up to its claims of safety, both side and head protection are bags are a must, despite the weight gain. In addition, I think they are missing a few additional safety features, like steering wheel mounted buttons to control the radio. I have these buttons in my current car, and I can’t imagine driving without them. Especially, having to look over and try to control that touch screen while driving.

[Dolphyn]

Maybe the radio just needs non-touchscreen controls. My current car radio is covered with fabric (to hide it from woud-be thieves) and I just reach over and punch the buttons through the fabric without looking. It's easy since I can feel the buttons. :-)

[n_dawg]

I would love to see some customizable controls on the steering wheel.

What controls are on your current car, MegaAutoBit?

[MegaAutoBit]

You can definitely operate a radio with physical buttons while driving by reaching over, but it’s still a safety hazard. Unless, you have actually driven a car with steering wheel buttons you don’t realize the amount of effort required. I came to this realization after driving my parent’s car, which has no controls on the steering wheel, after purchasing my last car, which has controls.

Another realization occurred when I equipped my vehicle with a hands-free Bluetooth, in the past I was always able to dial via a voice command or feeling the spaces of the buttons. But the actual act of holding the phone while driving is very taxing, and switching over to hands-free made this very apparent.

The fact that the StreetDeck has no buttons and is a 100% visual interface adds to the taxing nature of operating the system. With that said, the StreetDeck has the capabilities of a voice command feature, which I hope Aptera implements. However, there is still the issue of activating the voice command feature, and changing the volume level. These could be accomplished via steering wheel switches. If Aptera uses a standard steering wheel, or at least standard I.P. they could interface with the StreetDeck. Since the StreetDeck has some wiring harness to interface with some manufactures steering wheels.

[MegaAutoBit]

I would love to see some customizable controls on the steering wheel.

What controls are on your current car, MegaAutoBit?


I drive a 01.5 VW Jetta. When the wheels are pointed straight, I have the Volume, and Seek/Scan on the right thumb and Set/Resume/Cancel for the speed control on the right thumb.

[KarenRei]

Streetdeck uses a gesture interface, rather than buttons, so there's less need to actually look at it when telling it what to do.

[MegaAutoBit]

But the gestures change depending on the screen you’re on.

[KarenRei]

If you're not sure what screen it's on, then just start with an "h" gesture for "Home", then go from there. But usually I'd expect you'd know what screen it's on.

[MegaAutoBit]

You’re missing the point, I don’t care what screen it’s in, I don’t want to look over at the screen and take my eyes off the road. Give me a button that always changes the volume despite the screen, and a button to give the system a voice command.

[evolutionmovement]

I never saw the point of steering wheel radio controls until I had them. Now I don't see the need for the console controls.

[garygid]

Volume control, and Voice Commands, I agree.

The center "StreetDeck" touch screen apparently does not
swivel to face the driver very well, and is difficult to interact
with it safely while driving. It is NOT something that a novice
user of the Aptera (my wife) should have to deal with at all.

I think that getting some buttons on the steering wheel
and a properly positioned and embedded microphone is
the first hurdle. Making sure that the StreetDeck system
can control the speed, the lights, the sound volume, and
the radio (etc.) would be the second important part.

Then, adding function to the buttons (by adding software
functions to the StreetDeck system) will be the second step,
but that does not need to hold up the production roll-out.

[Matthijs]

I really like the interior of the Loremo. It is also designed to be lightweight and has a nice steering wheel and center console knob like the "I drive" system. So 3 input abilities for the car computer.

http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/1335/12600748277c21590e1dgf3.jpg

[KarenRei]

You?re missing the point, I don?t care what screen it?s in, I don?t want to look over at the screen and take my eyes off the road. Give me a button that always changes the volume despite the screen, and a button to give the system a voice command.

If you can gesture to the window of choice, you don't have to look to see what window it's in; it'll always be wherever you tell it to go. I.e., if you want to adjust something on the radio, you just draw a capital "R". It doesn't matter what window you were at; you'll be at the radio controls. You can draw an "R" without looking, right?

The gestures are pretty simple. Straight line to the right = next. Straight line to the left = previous. Straight line down = play. Straight line up = stop. Etc. The whole point of a gesture interface is so that you don't have to look at the screen for common tasks. It's completely different from a button paradigm.

[garygid]

Tough to do this "gesture" control safely when your
right arm is in a sling, or missing.

[SpyderMike]

I would like to be able to text while driving at maximum speed...

[victoly]

Touchscreen stuff sounds neat, and ends up being a nightmare in actual practice. I've been involved in some distracted-driver safety tests with Toyota involving Human Factors Engineering of controls, and the data basically speaks for itself.

I'm not an engineer, but a very firm believer in the KISS principle.

(For the record, I also think the rear-view cameras are a terrible, terrible idea, but maybe I'll be proven wrong.)

[LQUAN]

I would like to be able to text while driving at maximum speed...

I am with you on this one. That's the reason why I always love the intrument pannel of the Toyota Supra. It's instrument pannel is filled with gauges from the driver side windows to past the center of the car. Why don't they make instrument pannel like that anymore. The more I know about my engine performance while driving, the better I feel. All my cars have touchscreen GPS on them. I use them very often. It really chaps me when they shut off certain features while the car is moving.:mad:

[evolutionmovement]

I've been in cars where you can hit all the buttons without looking and I can't see anything being an improvement that wasn't wired into your brain.

I wonder about the rear view cameras as well, but the aero benefit is huge. I wonder about the blind spots.

[KarenRei]

Tough to do this "gesture" control safely when your right arm is in a sling, or missing.

Tough to *drive* if your right arm is in a sling or missing. ;) Certainly tough to hit normal radio buttons.

[SpyderMike]

Certainly tough to hit normal radio buttons.


That is what my chauffeur is for...

[ApteraStorm]

I have to agree with MegaAutoBit... steering wheel controls is a must. I didn't realize how much I love the controls on the Prius until it was in a fender bender recently and I've had to do without it.

http://static.flickr.com/35/120054004_e0a3c54b91.jpg

On the left, volume control, stereo mode (AM, FM, CD, aux), up/down (either radio station or CD track), AC Auto mode with temperature control (this is a MUST-HAVE, too... omg, what a drag to have gone back to 'old-fashioned' heat/cool controls).

On the right, activate the GPS, toggle between the info screens, activate voice control (voice dialing if your phone supports it), connect/disconnect phone, defog front/rear and exterior/interior vent control.

Here's an article touting it. Link (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://static.flickr.com/35/120054004_e0a3c54b91.jpg&imgrefurl=http://priusblog.com/archive/2006_03_26_archive.html&h=375&w=500&sz=141&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=WLcNuTxaZ-QPsM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dprius%2Bsteering%2Bwheel%2Bcontrols%2 6um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN)

I also love the bluetooth... every time I get in the car, I'm hooked up automatically. I don't know for sure, but I think between the power buttons, the controls, the screen, etc., the Prius has got to be close to being the most technologically advanced every-man's car out there. :)

I'm driving a rental right now (Kia), and although the controls are very similar to a Honda (which I also ahve driven), it's just a drag to be looking for the control and using it. Even though the Prius has all the controls available via the touch screen, I never use them, always opting for the steering wheel controls because they're right at my finger tips.

[garygid]

Very nice, very helpful picture and description. Thanks

I hope Aptera will include some buttons on their steering wheel.