Automotive and Transportation | Engineers' Insight

From personal automobile to large commercial fleets, transportation is undergoing significant technological advances, especially in the areas of electrification and advanced driver assistance systems. Explore our resources to stay up to date with transportation trends and technology.

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Fibre optics - the hidden enabler of our daily lives

August 3, 2023

Fibre optic systems are well-known for their role within the telecommunications industry.

When your next tractor is a Tesla

By Alessandro Mastellari - January 25, 2022

The automotive industry is rapidly shifting toward Electric Vehicles (EVs), but there’s another category of vehicles ripe for electrification: ‘Non-Road Mobile Machinery’ (NRMM), as the regulators put it.

Investigating the design challenges of EV charging

March 10, 2023

As we emerged from lockdowns across the region, the shift in consumer preferences for buying an electric vehicle became very apparent.

An introduction to EV charger design: the power stages

September 19, 2022

EV chargers operate in a sometimes-harsh environment, but must be efficient and reliable with a long service lifetime. This blog picks out and discusses some components that are critical to achieving these goals.

What does miniaturisation mean for connector selection?

By Paul Jones - February 9, 2022

As electronic systems become smaller, they also require more component parts in increasingly space-constrained environments to meet extra expectations on functionality. Here Paul Jones explores what they means for connector selection across markets.

Engineering better railways

By Philip Lechner - January 25, 2022

The pressure to decarbonise the economy affects every aspect of our lives, from what we eat to how we travel. It is driving innovation throughout the transport sector, and particularly in railways.

The robots are coming

By Hagen Goetze - January 25, 2022

Industrial robots can be enormously effective for automating high-value, repetitive, and often unsafe processes, such as handling heavy castings or welding body seams on vehicle production lines.

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Making farming smarter with next generation connectivity

By Paul Jones - January 18, 2022

Paul Jones looks at how the latest technological advances will help to make the global agriculture sector function more efficiently - and what the implications will be on connector selection.

How will connectivity enable next generation autonomous vehicles?

By Sascha Spillner - December 6, 2021

It’s clear that the car of the future is autonomous, but what does that autonomy look like, and how will connector technologies play a role in enabling it?

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Next Generation PCB-mounted relays in EV charging systems

By Adam Losonczy, Avnet Abacus - November 25, 2021

2021 is shaping up to be the year in which adoption of the Electric Vehicle takes off. First half sales in the key markets of China, the USA and Europe, accounted for 26% of all new vehicle sales, globally and, in the UK alone.

What to consider when specifying cable assemblies for high reliability applications

By Marco Enge - August 10, 2021

Sourcing or building cable assemblies for high-reliability applications isn't always a straight forward process. Here, Marco Enge takes a look at the options.

Emergency stop button on an automated assembly line

How can relays keep your electronic systems safe?

May 27, 2021

Relays play a key role in switching electrical signals, but with the right specification, these devices can also provide safety and circuit protection.

Product compliance after Brexit: UKCA and what you need to know

By Andrew Hutton - March 17, 2021

From the end of 2021, the CE mark will no longer be recognised in the UK. Andy Hutton gives a run down of what you need to know about the new UKCA mark.

Robots working on a factory production line

Connecting the IIoT: an introduction to single-pair Ethernet

By Martin Keenan - February 17, 2021

Single Pair Ethernet is the perfect power delivery and data networking method for IIoT. Learn why in this introduction to SPE.

From trace to interconnect: a quick guide to optimising high-speed signal-path design

By Martin Keenan - November 23, 2020

In high-speed applications, effects such as common-mode noise, crosstalk, and losses due to signal-path impedances can challenge signal integrity. Here Martin Keenan explains how connector choice and signal path design can offset these issues.

Autonomous vehicles communicating with each other on roads

How automotive Ethernet and 5G will power autonomous driving

September 22, 2020

Automotive Ethernet and high-performance 5G communication systems will form the backbone of autonomous vehicles, enabling safety, and increased comfort for drivers and passengers.

An electric vehicle charging cable being plugged into a charging station

An introduction to EV charging infrastructure design

February 7, 2020

With demand for faster charging of EV vehicles increasing, the design of charging stations and infrastructure becomes ever more important.

V2X: The future of vehicle communications

By Martin Keenan - December 10, 2019

Vehicles are about to become a lot more communicative: with other road users, with the infrastructure they pass on their journeys, with cloud-based services, and even with the energy grid. This communication should make vehicles more economical to operate...

Switching high voltages and currents with PCB-mounted relays

By Martin Keenan - November 8, 2019

The growing demand for safe, robust and energy-efficient ways to switch relatively large amounts of power means that relays have an important role to play in a wide range of modern applications.

The complex electronic architectures of hybrid and electric vehicles have required engineers to rethink power requirements. Here's why 48V DC systems are key to modern automotive systems, and some considerations on powertrain component selection.

The shift to 48V in automotive systems: What you need to know

October 18, 2019

The complex electronic architectures of hybrid and electric vehicles have required engineers to rethink power requirements. Here's why 48V DC systems are key to modern automotive systems, and some considerations on powertrain component selection.

While connectors are not the most interesting components in automotive systems, they can make or break a design. Here, Mathias Goebel looks at the four main factors affecting connector choices in modern automotive applications.

4 factors steering connector choices in today's automotive applications

September 16, 2019

Connectors are critical components in any automotive systems, and their selection can make or break a design. Here, Mathias Goebel looks at the four main factors affecting connector choices in modern automotive applications.

With more and more applications combining data from multiple sensors, Alessandro Mastellari looks at how sensor fusion is being applied with pressure sensors.

How can combining different types of sensors result in more accurate data?

By Alessandro Mastellari - May 9, 2019

With more and more applications combining data from multiple sensors, Alessandro Mastellari looks at how sensor fusion is being applied with pressure sensors.

To give the electronic systems we design the ability to detect changes to what is around them we need analogue sensors. But the processing that sits behind those sensors is in almost every case going to be in the digital domain.

Pressure sensors: Why you should consider going digital

By Martin Keenan - May 9, 2019

To give the electronic systems we design the ability to detect changes to what is around them we need analogue sensors. But the processing that sits behind those sensors is in almost every case going to be in the digital domain.

In the second installment of our pressure sensor series Alessandro Mastellari explores how manufacturers are developing smaller and smaller devices.

Pressure sensor miniaturisation: How smaller sensors are enabling better healthcare

By Alessandro Mastellari - May 8, 2019

In the second installment of our pressure sensor series Alessandro Mastellari explores how manufacturers are developing smaller and smaller devices.

Pressure sensors became to automotive systems in the early 1990s, but as the rate of adoption of these components increases Martin Keenan investigates why.

What the growing pressure sensor market means for electronics

By Martin Keenan - May 8, 2019

Pressure sensors became to automotive systems in the early 1990s, but as the rate of adoption of these components increases Martin Keenan investigates why.

Cars used to be little more than four wheels, four seats, an internal combustion engine, and enough electronics to get a spark to each plug at the right time. Today’s vehicles are radically more complex.

Design trends: Automotive passives

By Martin Keenan - November 29, 2018

Cars used to be little more than four wheels, four seats, an internal combustion engine, and enough electronics to get a spark to each plug at the right time. Today’s vehicles are radically more complex.

Transportation vehicles pose a challenging environment for the power supply designer. DC-DC converters are used to power on-board sensors, communication radios, positioning and location sensing, lighting, and information systems. Huge voltage variati

DC-DC power conversion challenges in transportation applications

By Andrew Hutton - November 22, 2018

Transportation vehicles pose a challenging environment for the power supply designer. DC-DC converters are used to power on-board sensors, communication radios, positioning and location sensing, lighting, and information systems. Huge voltage variati

As electronica 2018 prepares to open its doors, here are three reasons you should visit Avnet Abacus on stand C5 101 this week.

3 reasons to visit Avnet Abacus at electronica 2018

November 12, 2018

As electronica 2018 prepares to open its doors, here are three reasons you should visit Avnet Abacus on stand C5 101 this week.

Traditional battery technologies are being challenged by a relatively new kid on the block, the supercapacitor, and forcing developers across a range of battery-powered applications to examine just what and when power is needed for their system.

A supercapacitor in every system? Potential is turning to probability

By Ekaterina Rachel - August 24, 2018

Traditional battery technologies are being challenged by a relatively new kid on the block, the supercapacitor, and forcing developers across a range of battery-powered applications to examine just what and when power is needed for their system.

Thermal runaway can happen as a direct result of component failure and cause a lot of damage, but there are ways to protect against it.

Identifying ‘hot spots’ before they cause thermal runaway

By Juliette Whithair - August 16, 2018

Thermal runaway can happen as a direct result of component failure and cause a lot of damage, but there are ways to protect against it.

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