Continental AG

About: Continental AG is a company organization based out in Hanover, Germany. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Natural rubber & Tread. The organization has 855 authors who have published 609 publications receiving 7863 citations. The organization is also known as: Continental.

Autonomous Driving in Urban Environments: Boss and the Urban Challenge.

Abstract: Boss is an autonomous vehicle that uses on-board sensors (global positioning system, lasers, radars, and cameras) to track other vehicles, detect static obstacles, and localize itself relative to a road model. A three-layer planning system combines mission, behavioral, and motion planning to drive in urban environments. The mission planning layer considers which street to take to achieve a mission goal. The behavioral layer determines when to change lanes and precedence at intersections and performs error recovery maneuvers. The motion planning layer selects actions to avoid obstacles while making progress toward local goals. The system was developed from the ground up to address the requirements of the DARPA Urban Challenge using a spiral system development process with a heavy emphasis on regular, regressive system testing. During the National Qualification Event and the 85-km Urban Challenge Final Event, Boss demonstrated some of its capabilities, qualifying first and winning the challenge. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Autonomous driving in urban environments: Boss and the Urban Challenge

Abstract: Boss is an autonomous vehicle that uses on-board sensors (global positioning system, lasers, radars, and cameras) to track other vehicles, detect static obstacles, and localize itself relative to a road model. A three-layer planning system combines mission, behavioral, and motion planning to drive in urban environments. The mission planning layer considers which street to take to achieve a mission goal. The behavioral layer determines when to change lanes and precedence at intersections and performs error recovery maneuvers. The motion planning layer selects actions to avoid obstacles while making progress toward local goals. The system was developed from the ground up to address the requirements of the DARPA Urban Challenge using a spiral system development process with a heavy emphasis on regular, regressive system testing. During the National Qualification Event and the 85-km Urban Challenge Final Event, Boss demonstrated some of its capabilities, qualifying first and winning the challenge. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Recent Advances in the Theory of Filler Networking in Elastomers

Abstract: The viscoelastic properties of (mostly carbon black) filled elastomers are reviewed with emphasis on the strain-dependence of the complex dynamic modulus (Payne effect) Considerable progress has been made in the past in relating the typical dynamical behavior at low strain amplitudes to a cyclic breakdown and reagglomeration of physical filler-filler bonds in typical clusters of varying size, including the infinite filler network Common features between the phenomenological agglomeration/deagglomeration Kraus approach and very recent semi-microscopical networking approaches (two aggregate VTG model, links-nodes-blobs model, kinetical cluster-cluster aggregation) are discussed All semi-microscopical models contain the assumption of geometrical arrangements of sub-units (aggregates) in particular filler network structures, resulting for example from percolation or kinetical cluster-cluster aggregation These concepts predict some features of the Payne effect that are independent of the specific types of filler These features are in good agreement with experimental studies For example, the shape exponent m of the storage modulus, G′, drop with increasing deformation is determined by the structure of the cluster network Another example is a scaling relation predicting a specific power law behavior of the elastic modulus as a function of the filler volume fraction The exponent reflects the characteristic structure of the fractal filler clusters and of the corresponding filler network The existing concepts of the filler network breakdown and reformation appear to be adequate in describing the deformation-dependence of dynamic mechanical properties of filled rubbers The different approaches suggest in a common manner that there is a change of filler structure with increasing dynamic strain However, in all cases additional assumptions are made about the accompanying energy dissipation process, imparting higher hysteresis to the filled rubber This process may be slippage of entanglements (slip-links) in the transition layer between bound rubber layer and mobile rubber phase, and/or partially release of elastically ‘dead’ immobilized rubber trapped within the filler network or agglomerates

Comparison of Several Methods for Determining the Internal Resistance of Lithium Ion Cells

Abstract: The internal resistance is the key parameter for determining power, energy efficiency and lost heat of a lithium ion cell. Precise knowledge of this value is vital for designing battery systems for automotive applications. Internal resistance of a cell was determined by current step methods, AC (alternating current) methods, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and thermal loss methods. The outcomes of these measurements have been compared with each other. If charge or discharge of the cell is limited, current step methods provide the same results as energy loss methods.

Rubber Friction on Self-Affine Road Tracks

Abstract: A basic theoretical concept of rubber friction on rough surfaces is presented that relates the frictional force to the dissipated energy of the rubber during sliding stochastic excitations on a broad frequency scale. It is shown that this is of high relevance for tire traction and allows for a prediction of the likely level of friction of tread compounds on the basis of viscoelastic data. The impact of both, the frequency dependent loss- and storage modulus on the frictional force during sliding of tires on rough tracks, is demonstrated quantitatively for different sliding velocities. The effect of the surface roughness of road tracks is described by three characteristic surface descriptors, i.e., the fractal dimension and the correlation lengths parallel and normal to the surface. These descriptors can be obtained from a fractal analysis of the road texture via stylus- or laser measurements. In particular, it is shown that the applied model of rubber friction is in agreement with the classical f...