CES 2024 | Show report standards and achieve affordable manufacturing along a roadmap towards market entry in 2028. The S-A2 flies on a distributed, electric propulsion architecture, featuring eight tilting rotors that provide both vertical and forward thrust (as well as redundancy and zero-emissions operations). Its hull is designed with a V-tail, as well as wings for lift generation and nacelles, which mount the tiltrotors. The aircraft is expected to cruise at 120 mph (193.121 kph) at an altitude of 1500 ft (457.2 m), and hence satisfy city-length flight requirements of 25-40 mile trips (40-64 km) at entry into service. The vehicle will additionally emit 65 dB in its VTOL phases of flight and 45 dB while cruising horizontally, hence avoiding excessive noise for passengers. Supernal anticipates leveraging Hyundai’s mass-production facilities to optimise the cost-effectiveness and quality with which the S-A2s are manufactured (and aid in its efforts to achieve certification). Ongoing research is being conducted into battery upgradability and interior modularity, with Hyundai Motor Group’s automotive designers having assisted on S-A2’s aesthetics for a clean, intuitive and comfortable interior. Lenovo Vehicle Computing announced it has been given ISO26262 certification to Level ASIL-D for functional safety management systems from TÜV Rheinland. The standard is becoming increasingly well known as a requirement for showing minimised risks of electrical and electronic system failures in vehicles, particularly autonomous, connected and electrified vehicles. ASIL-D, which is the highest level of ISO 26262, comes with the most stringent development process requirements; achieving it means a firm has established a comprehensive development process that is compliant with the highest automotive functional-safety requirements and industry standards. A month earlier, Lenovo unveiled its vehicle computing roadmap, featuring three new automotive intelligent controllers, based on the nVidia DRIVE Thor AI platform. These are the Lenovo XH1, intended as a central computer unit, the AH1, which will be a Level 2++ ADAS domain-controller unit, and the AD1, a Level 4 autonomous-driving domaincontroller unit. XING Mobility exhibited and discussed its next-generation immersion-cooling technology for battery thermal management. Rather than using conventional and well-established air or liquid cooling systems, this approach immerses battery cells in a special dielectric fluid, engineered for optimal heat transfer. It surrounds and envelopes each battery cell, thereby facilitating a uniform and rapid rate of cooling around them. As part of its display, XING also showcased its Immersio cell-to-pack architecture, which can be engineered with a gravitational energy density of up to 200 Wh/kg, as well as a volumetric energy density of up to 400 Wh/L. The Taiwanese company also exhibited the Immersio XM25, which it positions as the first mass-produced, immersioncooled battery pack, with each XM25 unit storing 25 kWh of power. XING Mobility also showcased the results of a three-nail penetration safety test, which it conducted on an Immersio pack at 100% state-of-charge (SoC). The immersion-cooling system successfully contained the resulting thermal runaway and prevented fire propagation. Kubota unveiled its New Agri Concept, an all-electric, multi-purpose vehicle, which is being developed as part of the company’s vision for autonomous and AI-powered solutions for residential or small-acreage growers. Detailed specifications are not yet available, but key aspects of the technology will include real-time remote monitoring, use of AI to identify crop problems, automatic data aggregation, and a range of grower work functions to address the labour challenges being faced by the agricultural sector. The New Agri Concept will feature six independent drive motors and a standard, three-point hitch; the latter enabling it to use a wide range of existing farming implements for tasks such as mowing and tilling. It will also run on an electric powertrain for quiet operation in residential areas or at night, with a battery that is able to fast-charge from 10% to 80% within six minutes to minimise downtime between stretches of work. 107 Uncrewed Systems Technology | February/March 2024 Kubota unveiled its New Agri Concept
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2Mzk4