MAROKO133 Hot ai: Mercedes-Benz pushes aerodynamic design, reduces drag coefficient, boost

📌 MAROKO133 Eksklusif ai: Mercedes-Benz pushes aerodynamic design, reduces drag co

German automaker Mercedes-Benz continues to make aerodynamics central to its engineering, and the latest electric CLA with EQ Technology highlights that effort – by streamlining airflow, the company improves driving range and lowers cabin noise, which are key gains for EV buyers seeking efficiency and comfort.

Mercedes says a 0.01 drop in drag coefficient (Cd) can increase long-distance range by about 2.5 percent, adding roughly 230 miles a year for someone driving 9,300 miles. The brand’s pursuit of low drag spans decades, from the 1984 W124 (Cd 0.29) to the 2014 CLA Coupe (0.22) and the EQS (0.20). 

The new CLA reaches 0.21 with reshaped wheels, refined underbody panels, and tighter seals, while the VISION EQXX concept pushes to a remarkable 0.17.

Chasing lower drag from the 1930s to the electric era

Mercedes-Benz has refined aerodynamics for nearly a century, starting with Wunibald Kamm’s streamlined “Kammback” designs in the 1930s. Its first full-size wind tunnel opened in 1943 and is still used for airflow and wiper testing. After the 1979 oil crisis, efficiency became a priority, leading to cars like the S-Class W126 (Cd 0.36) and the E-Class W124, the first production model under 0.30.

Record-setters followed – the 1938 W125 “Streamliner” reached Cd 0.16 and 268 mph, while the 1978 C111-III diesel logged nine world records with Cd 0.18. More recent concepts keep pushing limits, from the 2015 IAA’s shape-shifting 0.19 to the VISION EQXX’s 0.17 and the AMG GT XX’s “aerodynamics by wire” plasma system, the EV Report writes.

For the all-new electric CLA, engineers focused on airflow across all variants, using aerodynamic wheels with bicolored full covers that reduce drag slightly more than standard wheels. Furthermore, the underbody builds on designs from the EQS and EQE, with nearly complete coverage and protected suspension arms.

Aeroacoustics and airflow improvements enhance comfort

The German car giant is also paying as much attention to cabin quietness and comfort as it does to reducing drag. Engineers use CFD simulations and full-scale models in the Sindelfingen aeroacoustic tunnel, where 350 microphones identify wind noise around A-pillars and mirrors. Human perception is assessed with psychoacoustic metrics like loudness and sharpness, measured using binaural artificial heads that replicate ear placement.

Aerodynamics also supports safety and visibility. In Untertürkheim’s wind tunnel, fluorescent liquids track how rain or road spray moves across the car, guiding adjustments to pillars, mirrors, and seals to keep key sightlines clear.

Furthermore, Mercedes-Benz’s Sindelfingen aeroacoustic wind tunnel, in operation since 2013, tests airflow and high-speed performance. It can simulate speeds up to 165 mph and uses a treadmill-balance to measure forces accurately, while probes cover a large testing area and a powerful blower circulates air efficiently.

Two climate-controlled tunnels recreate temperatures from -40°F to 140°F for prototype testing. Untertürkheim’s “Large Wind Tunnel” also handles other projects, from bobsleds to stadium roofs. Along with tools like the “Tanja” dummy and 64-microphone arrays, these facilities support Mercedes-Benz in improving both efficiency and cabin comfort, continuing the brand’s long focus on aerodynamics.

🔗 Sumber: interestingengineering.com

📌 MAROKO133 Hot ai: Fed Boss Concerned About AI's Effect on Job Market Terbar

One of the key questions swirling around economics circles is the effect artificial intelligence will have — or perhaps is already having — on the job market.

While most tales of “AI automation” are anecdotal at best, preliminary data appears to show at least some level of job market disruption for young workers in fields vulnerable to the current capabilities of AI software.

Whether or not AI is actually taking those jobs is another question. Real-world performance of the software remains dreadful, leading to a number of automation disasters — in fact, data shows that AI rollouts is now plummeting across major companies. There’s also ample reason to believe that businesses executives are using AI as cover for otherwise typical outsourcing and downsizing strategies.

In short, AI automation is a huge grey area caught between hyped up tech PR on the one hand and an objectively dismal job market on the other.

Muddying the waters even further is US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, who said at the conclusion of the Fed’s September meeting that he believes AI is effecting the labor force — at least to some degree.

“I think my view, which is also a bit of a guess, but widely shared, I think, is that you are seeing some effects but it’s not the main thing driving it,” he said, with a dizzying number of qualifiers.

First reported by Business Insider, Powell said his take is that AI is making the job market more challenging for recent college grads, though he was wishy-washy on how significant its impact really is.

“It may be that companies or other institutions that have been hiring younger people right out of college are able to use AI more than they had in the past,” the Fed chair said. “That may be part of the story. It’s also part of the story, though, that job creation more broadly has slowed down.”

Whether that’s true or not, the fact that Powell believes it is significant — he’s now among the most prominent US officials to comment on the question of AI automation, as BI observed.

For months, the central banking authority has faced a major contradiction in balancing the need to cut lending rates with the need to keep inflation from spiraling out of control. It’s a situation which could lead to a dreaded “stagflation” crisis, which would arguably be far worse for workers than AI currently is.

The Fed finally issued a small rate cut just days ago after a tumultuous summer, though the question remains whether more are to come, when they might arrive, and what effect Powell’s AI anxiety will have on those decisions.

As Powell himself put it following the September meeting, “it’s not incredibly obvious what to do.”

More on labor: Man Applies for Job, Sits for Interview, Then Realizes They’re Trying to Peddle “Mock Interviews With an AI Interviewer”

The post Fed Boss Concerned About AI's Effect on Job Market appeared first on Futurism.

🔗 Sumber: futurism.com