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This paper aims to present the results of physical analysis that was conducted on Toyota's electronic engine control system including accelerator pedal position sensors (APPSs). The paper overviews the analyses and focuses on the discovery of tin whiskers found in the accelerator pedal assembly, which are an electrical failure concern.

Analytical techniques such as X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy are utilized to present a construction analysis of the APPS.

The use of a tin finish in the APPS is a cause for concern. Tin finishes are known to produce metal whiskers that are conductive and capable of creating unintended current leakage paths. In the analysis, a significant number of tin whiskers were found.

The methodology discussed in this paper can be implemented to inspect for tin whiskers in the APPSs.

The paper begins a construction analysis of different parts of the Toyota engine control module and APPSs and then moves on to highlight electronics design issues that can comprise the engine control system and cause unintended consequences.

This paper aims to focus on the design, analysis and additive manufacturing (AM) with two different technologies of an accelerator pedal for the Formula Student 2014 edition to reduce the weight of the original pedal in aluminium and maintain a reasonable level of performance.

The new and the original accelerator pedals were modelled in a computer-aided design application, and three finite element simulations were performed for each manufacturing technology to evaluate three different driving scenarios. Later on, two physical prototypes were manufactured using two AM technologies: poly-jet and fused deposition modelling (FDM). With these physical prototypes, static tests were carried out to verify the computational simulations and to determine the fracture load, while dynamic tests, based on an input signal from a real racing scenario, were performed to ensure their technical viability.

Simulations with poly-jet and FDM printing material show that the new design presents a maximum deformation of 4.8 and 4.09 mm, respectively, under a nominal load of 150N. The results of the static tests with the poly-jet physical prototype showed a maximum displacement of 4.05 mm under a nominal load of 150N, while the ultimate load before fracture was 450N. The FDM prototype reached 3.98 mm under 150N and the ultimate load was 350N. Dynamic tests showed that both pedals were able to withstand four Formula Student “Endurance” events without failure.

This paper states that AM approach is a feasible and economically affordable solution in comparison to exiting solutions with metallic alloys and composite materials when designing and manufacturing accelerator pedal arms for Formula Student competition cars. According to these results, the present research argues that, from a technical point of view, the AM pedals stand at a reasonable level of performance in displacements and stresses. This study suggests that AM pedals could be a viable option that must be considered in professional competitive automobiles.

In late 2009 Toyota became the subject of media and U.S. government scrutiny after multiple deaths and injuries were attributed to accidents resulting from the unintended and uncontrolled acceleration of its cars. Despite Toyota's voluntary recall of 4.2 million vehicles for floor mats that could jam the accelerator pedal and a later recall to increase the space between the gas pedal and the floor, the company insisted there was no underlying defect and defended itself against media reports and regulatory statements that said otherwise. As the crisis escalated, Toyota was further criticized for its unwillingness to share information from its data recorders about possible problems with electronic throttle controls and sticky accelerator pedals, as well as braking problems with the Prius. By the time Toyota Motor Company president Akio Toyoda apologized in his testimony to the U.S. Congress, Toyota's stock price had declined, in just over a month, by 20 percent---a $35 billion loss of market value.

Understand the strategic and reputational nature of crises Recognize the challenges of managing a crisis Learn the requirements for building trust in a crisis Understand the challenges of managing a crisis that may not be the company's fault Identify the strategic business problem in a crisis Understand how corporate structure may help or hinder effective crisis management Understand the media landscape and its impact on crisis management

The purpose of this paper is to outline the basic principles of inductive position sensors.

The paper explains one company's advances in inductive position technology in detail, together with some of the applications for which they are now suitable.

It is shown that concentrating on high volume applications in market sectors such as automotive, user interfaces, and utility metering, where the low cost of these sensors and their moderate accuracy (typically<1 percent of full scale) offers an attractive price/performance ratio.

An original and useful contribution direct from an international technology consulting, product development, and intellectual property [IP] licensing organisation with a reputation for successfully commercialising emerging science and technology. Which, for more than a decade, has made innovations in inductive position sensors and developed application‐specific sensor systems.

An investigation has been carried out by Quo‐Tec Limited, on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry's Advanced Sensors Technology Transfer Programme, to determine the opportunities which exist in the UK transportation industries for advanced sensors. The study was concerned particularly with the identification of new business opportunities for UK Small and Medium‐sized Enterprises (SMEs). The study's boundaries were defined as the automotive, aerospace, rail and marine transportation sectors and the advanced sensor technologies of optical fibres and solid state. Piezoelectric, capacitive, inductive magnetoresistive, thin film, thick film and micromachined silicon devices were all included in the term solid state. These were highlighted because of the proven strength of UK research in many of these areas and yet, in many cases, a current lack of significant UK commercial exploitation. Through literature reviews, extensive telephone interviews and face‐to‐face discussions with key individuals in over 90 transportation companies, sensor companies and research institutions, a similar number of sensor requirements were identified. From this number, those requirements best addressed by optical or solid state sensor technology were selected. A criterion applied in the selection was that the need could be addressed by a UK SME (either alone or in collaboration) with a reasonable expectation that a sensor could be commercially available within five years. Preferably, proven technology should be available — the job of a sensor company is to develop the technology into a commercial product, not to do the fundamental research work to prove the technology itself. This article comprises some “prime” opportunities, thus identified, applicable to the automotive industry.

The decade from 2000 until 2010 was a turbulent time for Toyota Motor Company. The carmaker came under significant criticism from the United States government, consumers throughout the world, and media critics amid allegations of poor quality control and vehicle safety concerns. Problems with accelerators and brake systems were found on several of its most popular models, a situation initially exacerbated by the slow and somewhat tentative response from top management. Toyota was accused of not addressing early warning signs that appeared several years before the crisis received intense negative publicity. Toyota struggled to retain the confidence of consumers and governmental regulators, eventually recalling approximately eight million automobiles.

Two-handed automobile steering at low vehicle speeds may lead to reduced steering ability at large steering wheel angles and shoulder injury at high steering wheel rates (SWRs). As a first step toward solving these problems, this study aims, firstly, to design a surface electromyography (sEMG) controlled steering assistance interface that enables hands-free steering wheel rotation and, secondly, to validate the effect of this rotation on path-following accuracy.

A total of 24 drivers used biceps brachii sEMG signals to control the steering assistance interface at a maximized SWR in three driving simulator scenarios: U-turn, 90º turn and 45º turn. For comparison, the scenarios were repeated with a slower SWR and a game steering wheel in place of the steering assistance interface. The path-following accuracy of the steering assistance interface would be validated if it was at least comparable to that of the game steering wheel.

Overall, the steering assistance interface with a maximized SWR was comparable to a game steering wheel. For the U-turn, 90º turn and 45º turn, the sEMG-based human–machine interface (HMI) had median lateral errors of 0.55, 0.3 and 0.2 m, respectively, whereas the game steering wheel, respectively, had median lateral errors of 0.7, 0.4 and 0.3 m. The higher accuracy of the sEMG-based HMI was statistically significant in the case of the U-turn.

Although production automobiles do not use sEMG-based HMIs, and few studies have proposed sEMG controlled steering, the results of the current study warrant further development of a sEMG-based HMI for an actual automobile.