Press Release
AUTOnomy is the first vehicle designed from the ground up around a fuel cell propulsion system and the first to combine fuel cells with x-by-wire technology, which allows steering, braking and other vehicle systems to be controlled electronically rather than mechanically.
According to Larry Burns, GM Vice President of Research and Development and Planning, the result is an entirely new vehicle architecture that is far greater than the sum of its innovative parts. With AUTOnomy, an almost endless variety of affordable, all-wheel-drive vehicles could be built from a limited number of common chassis – possibly as few as two or three – emitting only water from the tailpipe and using renewable energy.
AUTOnomy is about freedom – the freedom of our customers to buy cars and trucks that ignite their passion. And the freedom of our designers to develop the kinds of vehicles that our customers can fall in love with. It’s also about energy and environmental freedom – enabling GM to develop and market sustainable vehicles as part of a sustainable economy.
The AUTOnomy concept provides a vision of the potential of the coming hydrogen economy. With a hydrogen economy, we have a major opportunity for sustainable economic development, which respects the environment and creates the path to non-petroleum and renewable energy sources without constraining economic growth.
Increased customer value
Just as GM’s experimental Firebird I, II and III vehicles of the 1950s showed a daring vision of the future, AUTOnomy provides a glimpse into GM’s revolutionary vision for the 21st century: a socially responsible, infinitely adaptable and globally marketable vehicle line that has minimal design constraints.
A lot has been written about the potential of fuel cell technology and the hydrogen economy to address energy and environmental challenges. AUTOnomy has the potential to reduce petroleum consumption, decreasing emissions and increasing our energy independence.
Since a fuel cell propulsion system is about twice as efficient at an internal combustion engine, a fuel cell vehicle could provide twice the fuel efficiency of a comparably sized conventional vehicle, and an optimized fuel cell vehicle like AUTOnomy would be even more efficient. The Precept concept that GM showed in 2000 projected over 100-mpg gasoline-equivalent for a full-size car. With AUTOnomy, even better results can be expected as designers explore the opportunities afforded by this unconstrained architecture.
Unprecedented design freedom
With all of its propulsion and control systems contained within a six-inch-thick skateboard-like chassis, the vehicle body is freed from traditional design requirements.
There’s no engine to see over. People could literally sit wherever they are comfortable. Drivers wouldn’t have to sit in the traditional left-hand location. They could move to the center of the vehicle or they could move much closer to the front bumper or further back.
It will take a little getting used to, but it’s maximum freedom, maximum space for people and their stuff. There wouldn’t be foot pedals or a steering column. The body shape could be literally anything you want it to be.
This would lead to customized bodies and more individualized expression, Cherry said. In fact, a customer could lease multiple bodies and swap them out throughout the week, depending on their needs.
We’ve chosen this sleek, futuristic two-seater, but it doesn’t have to be that way at all. Next, we might do a mobility body that allows a wheelchair user to roll right into the driving position, or a 10-seat transit bus. We’ve even talked about a seating position that puts the driver right up front, like a helicopter pilot.
In developing nations, one chassis might be the common base for vehicles as diverse as luxury limousines or farm vehicles. In urban Asia, the platform might support a jitney bus; in rural Africa, it might be used as a reliable, environmentally friendly tractor.
A new way to build and sell vehicles
AUTOnomy would dramatically affect the way vehicles are built, distributed and even marketed.
All of AUTOnomy’s essential systems, including the fuel cell stack and on-board hydrogen storage system, are neatly packaged in the skateboard-like chassis. The unit is intended to last for years, much longer than a conventional vehicle. This universal “skateboard” chassis simplifies manufacturing and service, and enables a wide variety of vehicles to be built on a small number of platforms with much shorter product development cycles.
The nerve center of AUTOnomy’s electrical system is a universal “docking port,” or connection, at the center of the “skateboard” chassis. The docking port creates a quick and foolproof way to connect all of the body systems – controls, power and heating – to the rolling chassis. That makes the vehicle body lightweight and uncomplicated. With customized bodies that are easy to switch, customers could lease multiple body styles, depending on their needs.
Because computers and software control the x-by-wire systems, upgrades can be downloaded to improve vehicle performance or tailor handling to suit a particular brand character, body style, or customer preference.
The car or truck would not only be transportation, but would also be a power source. Imagine the impact of a vehicle that can provide transportation, power or heat. And we’ve only scratched the surface of what this idea might do. GM has partnered with SKF, a Swedish–based global supplier, to develop the x-by-wire technology for AUTOnomy. Italian-based Bertone is another key supplier.
New technology confers added benefits From a safety perspective, the “skateboard” chassis creates an unusually low center of gravity without sacrificing ground clearance. This gives it superior handling while resisting rollover forces, even with the tallest body attached. In a crash, the stiff chassis below the floor would absorb most of the crash forces, helping to prevent passenger compartment intrusion that can occur with today’s internal combustion engines, steering columns and foot pedals.
Because of its x-by-wire controls, the driver has no pedals to operate, merely a steering guide – called X-Drive – that is easily set to a left, right or even center driving position. This frees up the seating to be more flexible and comfortable. The interior floor is completely flat, creating more interior space, flexibility and accessibility.
With its robust 42-volt electrical system, the car is configured to run any number of devices in the passenger compartment, from homes to entire farms.
AUTOnomy’s potential
“By combining fuel cells and x-by-wire, we can explore the design, use and marketing of transportation devices that truly give our customers what they want – regardless of where or how they live now or in the future,” Burns said. “This is the first concept vehicle that captures the vision and potential of where fuel cell technology will lead the industry in every region of the world, well within the lifetimes of most of the people who will be visiting this show.
“This is a global vision because GM and its alliance partners have an unparalleled ability to design and build vehicles all over the world. “Some people think the auto industry is mature, with evolutionary innovation and slow growth,” said Burns. “But the AUTOnomy concept reinforces the incredible growth potential of the automobile industry worldwide. What if the entire world could affordably enjoy as much mobility freedom as the developed world does today? Add to that the ability to power up your home or your farm from your vehicle. With these capabilities, AUTOnomy may prove to be as important as the original invention of the automobile.
“More than 100 years after the automobile’s invention, only 12 percent of the world’s population currently enjoy its benefits. The AUTOnomy concept, we believe, could be the foundation for extending the benefits of personal transportation to the remaining 88 percent of the world’s population.”
SPECIFICATIONS
2002 GM Autonomy concept vehicle
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Height (in / mm): 49.1 / 1247.1
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Length (in / mm): 175.8 / 4465.3
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Width (in / mm): 74.0 / 1879.6
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Wheelbase (in / mm): 122.0 / 3098.8
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Front Track (in / mm): 65.0 / 1651.0
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Rear Track (in / mm) 68.0 / 1727.2
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Powertrain: Fuel cell
GM's AUTOnomy Concept Vehicle Allows Designers to Think Outside the Box
All the working parts of General Motors' AUTOnomy concept vehicle are sandwiched in the skateboard-like chassis, and the application of a new technology eliminates foot pedals, the instrument panel and the steering column. Now, the driver can sit anywhere in the vehicle.
"The fusion of fuel cells and x-by-wire technology, which replaces mechanical systems with electronic ones, opens the door to tremendous styling and design opportunities," said Wayne Cherry, GM's Vice President of Design. "It's design freedom without constraints."
By themselves, fuel cells aren't a new story. But every fuel cell vehicle shown so far has attempted to stuff the fuel cell stack, hydrogen storage unit and electric motors into the existing internal combustion architecture, often at the expense of passenger space and payload capacity.
That design goes back to the earliest days of the internal combustion engine. The cylinders needed to be together in one or two compact rows to share camshafts and other components. The engine needed to be positioned so that it had access to an abundant supply of fresh, cool air, which almost always meant the front box. And the driver needed to be able to see over it.
"But a fuel cell stack can be spread around the vehicle and can take any shape you might imagine," said Christopher Borroni-Bird, head of GM's new Design and Technology Fusion Group and program manager of the AUTOnomy concept. "It doesn't have to be bunched up like the cylinders of an internal combustion engine."
Inside the vehicle, a driver doesn't have to be seated within a comfortable reach of the pedals, because there aren't any. A hand-operated steering guide replaces the traditional foot pedals, instrument panel and steering column, modeling, in some ways, how planes, motorcycles and snowmobiles operate.
Everything the driver needs is incorporated into an adjustable steering guide called the X-drive.
"Instead of a steering column, the steering guide might be mounted on a swivel arm that affixes to the floor in the center of the vehicle," Cherry explained. "It kind of reminds me of how airplane engineers package those small video monitors in the armrest of the seat. They fold out in front of you, but they are stored in the armrest."
For instance, a driver could sit in a center driving position when driving alone, and move to accommodate passengers. Or a European driver could switch from left-drive to right-drive after crossing the Chunnel from France into England.
The new architecture also enables enhanced safety. For example, seat placement can improve side-impact protection and the instrument panel can be replaced with a bulkhead optimized for crash protection. The GM "skateboard" creates an unusually low center of gravity, without sacrificing ground clearance. This allows for superior handling, while resisting rollover forces, even with the tallest body attached. In the event of a crash, the stiff skateboard would absorb most of the crash forces, helping to prevent passenger compartment intrusion that can occur with today's internal combustion engines, steering columns and foot pedals.
On the exterior, designers can make any variety of bodies for this vehicle, from a one-seat commuter to a seven-seat minivan and everything in between. In India, it might be an open-sided, 10-passenger jitney.
In China, it might be a stake truck for hauling livestock. Customers also would have the ability to change bodies, as their needs change over the 20-year life expectancy of a chassis - even if their needs change on a weekly basis.
The GM AUTOnomy concept, revealed at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, is a sleek and futuristic two-seat roadster, inspired by motorcycle and fighter jet design.
Cherry and his design staff have been dreaming for years of revisiting a big vision statement, in the vein of GM's renowned Firebird series of the 1950s, which was inspired by the post-war aviation boom. Firebird I, II and III had long fuselages, cockpits and wings and were powered by gas turbine engines.
"When we were first presented with the power of this idea," Cherry said, "it was so exhilarating and liberating. Imagine having no constraints, the freedom to do any shape you want. Then, for a time, our designers had the artistic equivalent of writer's block. We had always worked with some boundaries. Eventually, we got past that."
The creative process was exhausting and, at times, ambiguous, and yet exhilarating, and Cherry is happy his team went through that.
"When you get that kind of creative tension, you get a wealth of ideas," Cherry added. "Remember, this is just the first iteration. There are a number of body styles to create in the future."
While the skateboard, or chassis, might be common, the body styles would be even more unique, leading to even further brand differentiation.
Brand character can be tailored not only by the body's shape, but also by the software that determines driving characteristics, such as braking, cornering and acceleration.
AUTOnomy runs on a fuel cell adapted from GM's existing HydroGen III fuel cell system. The whole package fits within a 6-inch chassis, a dimension that will ultimately be determined by the state of hydrogen storage technology. A single docking connection, or port, on the chassis provides a quick and convenient way to hook up the body's power, control, heating and cooling systems.
"When fuel cells and drive-by-wire are combined, it enables us to build and design new kinds of vehicles," Cherry said. "Until now, these technologies have been demonstrated as if they were an end in themselves.
But we look at this technology as enabling great design. "In the end, people are passionate about their cars and trucks and the potential of AUTOnomy ought to quicken their pulse. I believe we are beginning an exciting, new chapter in automotive design."
GM Seeks 24 Patents For AUTOnomy Concept Vehicle
AUTOnomy, a futuristic General Motors Corp. concept vehicle, so profoundly changes the automotive industry that GM is seeking 24 patents covering business models, technologies and manufacturing processes related to the concept.
"AUTOnomy is more than just a hot new concept car, it's the beginning of a revolution in how automobiles are designed, built and used," said Larry Burns, GM's Vice President of Research and Development and Planning. "If our vision of the future is correct - and we think it is - vehicles such as AUTOnomy will ultimately reinvent the automobile and our entire industry."
This new technology may well transform the entire customer experience - from the way the vehicle is driven, to the body (or bodies) the customer chooses to mount on the chassis. Such flexibility allows the vehicle to adapt to changing lifestyles and needs around the world, at an affordable price.
Inherent in the AUTOnomy concept - the world's first vehicle designed completely around a fuel cell propulsion system - are the seeds of a profoundly different automotive enterprise. Indeed, AUTOnomy is as much a cutting-edge business idea as it is an imaginative vehicle concept.
AUTOnomy's flexible design and technological advances offer the promise of more affordable fuel cell vehicles, and the fuel itself - hydrogen - is the most abundant element in the universe. So, how will the transition to hydrogen-fed vehicles occur?
For starters, AUTOnomy could help simplify the manufacturing process and accelerate vehicle development. This would be accomplished, in part, by decoupling the body and chassis in the manufacturing process.
Millions of chassis -- which GM calls "skateboards" -- could be manufactured to achieve economies of scale, reducing the cost of the fuel cell system. Small satellite assembly plants could make unique bodies for both emerging and established markets. These plants could operate profitably and at niche volumes - an automotive oxymoron today.
A flexible architecture, such as the AUTOnomy's, obviously offers many advantages to our customers, but it also would help shorten production time and be more responsive to global market needs.
The simplified manufacturing process would improve quality. Warranty costs could conceivably go down. Planning could become easier.
Take powertrains, for example. Typically, to amortize the heavy investment costs, companies can't afford to update engine designs, sometimes as long as 20 years. Companies get locked into a certain mix of four-, six- and eight-cylinder engines. It's difficult to be flexible and yet meet regulatory and market demands. In contrast, fuel cells are, in simplest terms, a stack of plates.
If you need to double the kilowatt output, you double the number of plates in the stack. It's very easy to scale up or down.
The skateboard would also afford GM maximum flexibility. It could likely only vary in length - short, medium and long. Issues of safety, stiffness and ride-and-handling would not have to be re-engineered to accommodate different body types.
You could envision a body docking onto this drivable skateboard and the interface is just a software interface, much like a laptop docks into a docking station, so you could steer by wire, brake by wire, or control your ride and handling by wire.
Furthermore, the feeling of the vehicle's steering, chassis and brakes, controlled simply through software, could make each GM brand even more distinctive, making a Chevy a Chevy, a Buick a Buick and a Cadillac a Cadillac.
The AUTOnomy concept also provides tremendous freedom from mechanical components and interfaces and the limitations those components place on a product's design.
You don't have to design around exhaust, steering and braking systems with their associated mechanical linkages for braking systems. Because you can handle all of this by wire, it allows you to lengthen or widen the chassis-'skateboard' without having to worry about lengthening all these mechanical couplings. That's where the cost savings and development speed would come into play, helping make fuel cell electric vehicles potentially affordable.
AUTOnomy, with its hydrogen-fed fuel cell, may be especially attractive in less developed nations, where the extensive gasoline infrastructure has not yet been built. Emerging markets might be able to launch directly into a hydrogen economy, much as China's telecommunications system went directly to wireless telephones, skipping traditional land line-type systems altogether. By generating hydrogen from the natural gas used to heat a home, a person's dwelling might become the equivalent of today's gas station. Conversely, vehicles could be used to provide standby or backup power to homes or businesses.
