When it comes to electric cars, engineers have no shortage of opinions.
A few weeks ago, we asked readers of our print magazine a simple question: What would it take to make you buy an EV? Not surprisingly, our readers weren’t shy about expressing some very emotionally-charged opinions. Many balked at the idea of ever owning an EV, while others said their EVs are already on order. A large cross-section of readers suggested that hybrids – particularly plug-in hybrids – are the most logical powertrain alternative, at least for now.
Since the volume of mail far exceeded the available space in our print magazine, we’re posting the best of the responses as comments below. Scroll through a few of them. If they make your blood boil, let us know. Post a comment here or send me an e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.org.
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This discussion will examine what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.