Category: Vehicles

Introduction

The following is a report exploring whether Unmanned Aerial Vehicles will be a better replacement for the conventional methods of search and rescue. The Unmanned Aerial vehicles, otherwise known as the UAVs, are one of the technological breakthroughs in the field of search and rescue.

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are aircraft, controlled automatically by inbuilt computers or through remote control. Initially, they were for military work, but as time progressed, they now have a variety of uses such as search and rescue, fire fighting, and non-military security surveillance.

This report will look into the dominance of the UAVs compared with other methods of search and rescue. It will delve into different methodologies used by UAVs in search and rescue missions. The report is about different scenarios in the field of search and rescue, how the use of UAV’s will offer a different contribution to extreme weather conditions, and ambiguous geographical locations. Finally, there are limitations and problems in the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the field of search and rescue.

UAV’S capabilities

The UAV’s are dominant among the other conventional methods of search and rescue because of their performance and design. They have a design in a manner that they do not require a pilot to operate. Automated computers operate them through remote using gamma or infrared rays. The Unmanned aerial vehicles are designed to travel at very high speed because they are built using missile technology. They are different from the missile because missiles have a weaponry design and not meant for reuse.

However, the unmanned aerial vehicles are built in a manner that they can return to the source. They have different kinds of capability depending on their manufacturers, but they have a minimum of two kilometers range and a maximum of over two hundred kilometers range (Singer, 2010).

The hypersonic UAV’s are some of the most efficient unmanned aerial vehicles with a capability of flying over 50000 feet above sea level. They are capable of traveling at a speed of five hundred kilometers per hour and carry the weight of over ten tones. This explains their use in military operations as they can carry heavy weaponry for long distances compared to the normal aircraft (Singer, 2010).

Convectional search and rescue methods

The convectional search and rescue methods usually involve human beings. The most popular search and rescue method involves use of helicopters manned by human beings. These helicopters are hoisted with ropes of baskets, which the victim of the disaster holds on and then lifted safely. These manned aircraft cannot land in the danger zones because they are prone to attacks by the enemies, thus posing a risk to the pilots.

They are also limited in the sense that they have no use in rescuing in the dark, as they cannot pin point where the victim who needs rescue is located. To solve this, spotlights maybe mounted to enable the rescuers to see the victims. In war zones, the search and rescue helicopters have a security person at the door to counter the enemy as well as weaken the enemy defenses. The convectional search and rescue helicopters are risky to the pilots who have lost their lives during search and rescue missions (Leonard, 2009).

The convectional search and rescue helicopters travel between five kilometers and fifty kilometers at a maximum speed of three hundred kilometers per hour. They have an altitude capability of a maximum of ten thousand feet. The modern search and rescue helicopters are advanced in the sense that they have thermal sensors that enable the pilots to have a night vision.

This has helped to trace lost persons in the mountains or forests. Irrespective of these advances, the convectional search and rescue methods are still risky to the search and rescue crews. This is because there are times when the weather not favorable, other times the victims might be too weak to hold on to the hoisted ropes or the helicopter may lose direction especially in complicated geographical zones in the sea or the cloudy mountains (Leonard, 2009).

The Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles may provide a better solution to the menace of losing pilots by searching and rescuing victims of various disasters and calamities. They are based on different features, apply different methodologies of search, and rescue with minimum risk. One of the features that they can apply is that of thermal imaging. Thermal imaging refers to the process where heat is used to view objects that are invisible in the dark, especially if the objects emit heat.

Thermal imager detects people by focusing on warm objects against a colder environment. The thermal imager provides photographic images of places irrespective of the kind of weather. The search and rescue have improved with the capabilities that have enabled detection of lost individuals whether there is fog, clouds, or rain. It has also enabled night searches with digital thermal imagers that take images during the day and at night. This method of searching for lost people has been effective for rescuing people lost in Iceland, where other people would find it hard to trace them.

The Unmanned Aircraft has been very effective in detecting and in geo localizing. The UAV’s are usually automated with radar systems that enable them to navigate any area without losing direction. The latest Google earth mapping function to locate people is already incorporated in the new versions of UAVs. The geo-mapping function enables the system to detect location, thereby minimizing the risk of getting lost in the dark or when conducting a search and rescue mission (Singer, 2009).

The geo localizing function enables the UAV’s to detect the geography in which they are and how to navigate. This is enabled by its ability to sense altitudes through artificial intelligence, which enables them to detect mountains and navigate through them. The UAV’s can land in a given place automatically and then take off automatically. This explains why they are low-risk search and rescue equipment of the future (Axe, 2011).

Scenario’s of accidents

There are different kinds of scenarios that are experienced in search and rescue operations. The first scenario is that of an accident in extreme weather conditions. A scenario of an accident during winter in a very remote place is a good example. The UAV’s would be ideal to go for the rescue mission because of their capability to detect images even in extreme weather conditions.

They can land in the scene of the accident and allow people to board easily thus allowing even individuals who are weak to board unlike the traditional helicopter that used a rope and only strong people, would manage to move from the scene of the accident. The unmanned Aircraft Vehicle can carry heavy objects. Thu,s all the people can be accommodated. Due to its high-speed capability, it can get the individuals from the scene of the accident to a place of safety where they can receive treatment within the shortest time possible.

The other scenario is when one is lost in extreme geographical conditions such as equatorial forest that has a mountainous terrain and tropical forests. When someone is lost in a thick forest, where the identifying direction is hard, and there are no roads, a helicopter will find it hard to land, as there is no space. The unmanned aircraft Vehicle is appropriate to engage in the search and rescue process because of its thermal imaging capability and the geo localizing ability

The thermal imaging capability using the infrared would enable the individual’s identification against a cold background in a location where there are a few numbers of human beings living there. The major challenge would be navigating through the mountains and landing in a forest area.

The Unmanned vehicles geo localizing ability would enable it to navigate at a low speed through the mountains. Due to its weight, the craft can crash the tree and land in the mountain slowly alerting the lost individual of its presence. Since it has artificial intelligence, it is capable of taking off in the right direction once the person gets in (Wagner, 2002).

Limitations of UAV’s

Irrespective of the high technological capabilities of the UAV’s they are still limited in several ways. The first is that most of the existing UAV’s have programs for military purposes and not for search and rescue missions. Such UAV’s may not be fully effective in search and rescue missions. The other challenge in the UAV’S is that of satellite connections. The satellites are mainly used for monitoring the UAVs. If the satellites have a problem, the UAV’s may malfunction or lose direction, which is dangerous, especially in search, and rescue missions (BWRSI, 2009).

The next challenge is that of visualizing where the thermal images are not very clear, especially when the earth is warm, and the objects of focus are warm, thus providing images, which are ambiguous. The thermal imagers are critical components, and if they malfunction, the search and rescue mission cannot be successful. Mechanical problems also develop which make the UAVs to malfunction. Dust and water fuels cause mechanical problems where water from heavy rain and storms affect the propulsion systems by slowing its speed and at times affecting the electrical system of the equipment (BWRSI, 2009).

Recommendation

The UAV’s are the future of search and rescue missions in dangerous zones that are risky for human beings. This is because they are very effective due to the technologies involved in making them. Nations allow the use of UAV’s in search and rescue operations as they save many lives that would have been lost.

The manufactures and programmers of UAV’s need to come up with UAV’s programmed for search and rescue. This would make them even better because the existing UAV’s are designed for military purposes. It is certain that UAV’s will have a great contribution to the field of search, rescue more than the convectional search, and rescue helicopters.

References

Axe, D. (2011). US drones trump china theatrics. The Diplomat, 7 February 2011.

Bushwalkers Wilderness Rescue Squad Inc (2009). A remote area search & rescue service for NSW. London: Bushwalkers Press.

Leonard, R. (2009). Black hawk: The story of a world-class helicopter. Massachusetts: American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Singer, P. (2009). A revolution once more: Unmanned systems and the Middle East. New York: The Brookings Institution.

Singer, P. (2010). How the US military can win the robotic revolution. The Brookings Institution.

Wagner, W. (2002). Lightning bugs and other reconnaissance drones: The can-do story of Ryan’s unmanned spy planes. Washington: Armed Forces Journal International.

Get the men out of the roads and we will have fewer and less fatal accidents. Since time immemorial, men took risks with their lives and lived much less carefully compared to women.

It is in-born in men to seek to appear to be macho. The expression of this tendency on the roads is in the higher instances of drunk driving, generally riskier driving habits, and fast driving. The role of men in car accidents supersedes that of women. Men are responsible for causing a larger number of fatal car accidents compared to women.

Drunk driving is one of the most common causes of road accidents. As a laxative, alcohol interferes with coordination of the body. This makes it relatively more difficult to control a vehicle on the road. Drunk drivers cannot respond quickly enough to emergencies because of the reduced coordination of the senses.

In some cases, a driver may actually fall asleep behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol. Statistically speaking, men are more likely to drink and drive compared to women. Shefer notes that, “men constitute the majority of drug abusers and are greater consumers of alcohol than women” (25).

In situations where women drink and drive, they take lesser alcohol compared to men. These makes men responsible for more of the drink and drive related accidents, and generally increases the instances of accidents caused by men.

From a risk perspective, men have a higher tendency to take risks compared to women. Arguably, risk is part of the male psyche. They tend participate to risky activities more than women.

Some psychologists suggest that the risk impulse in men results from higher levels of the hormone testosterone. This partly explains why more men than women participate in high adrenaline sports such as bungee jumping, deep-sea diving and sky diving. Nature conspired to provide men with a higher risk affinity compared to women thereby predisposing them to risky living habits.

On the roads, this risk affinity shows when men attempt risky maneuvers which at times end fatally. Men will overtake around blind corners, they will drive closer to other vehicles, and they will try to beat the train at the railway crossing, all this for the kick of it! Bartley reports that in Brazil, road accidents kill 30,000 people annually, with men accounting for 82 percent of the fatalities (226). This clearly demonstrates the results of some of the risky male habits on the roads.

Over speeding is a well-known cause of road accidents. Men tend to drive faster than women do. This explains why there are more male drivers in racing sports compared to women.

It is easier to find a group of young men racing their cars in the free way or in the suburban compared to finding young women of the same age doing the same. In mixed-sex races, men tend to dominate the motor sports. The expression of the male desire to speed on the roads shows when more men drive faster than recommended speed limits, increasing the likelihood of high speed accidents.

When discussing car accidents, Dorn states among other thing that the safety of a car depends on “their effective use” (136). It presupposes recommended driving speeds under given the environmental conditions, which men ignore, ending up in fatalities. The way to safer roads, it seems, is to reduce the number of men in our roads.

Works Cited

Bartley, Graham. Traffic accidents: causes and outcomes. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2008. Print.

Dorn, Lisa. Driver behavior and training. New York: Ashgate Publishing, 2003. Print.

Shefer, Tamara, et al. From boys to men: social constructions of masculinity in contemporary society. Capetown: Juta and Company, 2007. Print.

Hybrid vehicles such as the Honda Insight or the Toyota Prius have gained considerable market shares within the past few years due the greater fuel economy they possess which leads to fewer emissions being released into the atmosphere.

In fact recent sales reports from various dealerships scattered throughout the U.S. indicate that though hybrid car sales encompass only 3% of new car sales within the U.S. the number is expected to rapidly increase as the cost of production goes down and more models are offered to the general public (Brown, 2006). Despite this, it must be questioned whether hybrid motor vehicles can truly be considered worth it in the long run due to the technology still being in its infancy.

There are issues regarding the sustainability of hybrid car production due to the fact that the rare Earth metals that go into the construction of the magnetic engine system, such as dysprosium and neodymium, are quickly running out with their main supplier, China, using many of these rare metals for the construction of electronics rather than hybrid car engines (Hu, 2011).

It must also be noted that the main selling point of hybrid cars lies with its association with the “Green Movement” due to its non-polluting nature yet as of late new innovations in the realm of biofuels has helped to increase not only the yield of biocrude from plants such as Jatropha but also its overall quality (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008).

Due to the clean burning nature of biofuels and the fact that it takes little processing to be utilized in most vehicles currently on roads today this calls into question the ability of the hybrid car business model to actually be viable in the future especially when taking into consideration the fact that patronizing biofuels is a far more effective and efficient means for environmentally conscious individuals to “Go Green” (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008).

Lastly, there is also a matter of supposed cost savings on gas derived from the cost of a hybrid vehicle.

First and foremost what must be understood is that hybrid vehicles on average cost more than their primarily gasoline based counterparts, while it may be true that the hybrid car industry focuses on the fact that people will be able to make up on the difference in cost eventually the fact remains that based on the following graph which examines the cost of hybrid vehicles versus gasoline powered cars and the potential savings accrued over a set number of years it can clearly be seen that for Cars such as the Prius it would take up to 13 years to make the cost difference in terms of gas savings (Frugal Trader, 2008).

(Frugal Trader, 2008)

While it may be true that there are other vehicles such as the Honda Civic Hybrid which just takes 6 years to make up the cost difference the fact still remains that it would take a considerable amount of time to make up the difference in costs for a product that promotes itself as being a “cheaper” alternative to the increasing prices of gas (Frugal Trader, 2008). Based on these facts it must be quested whether hybrid cars are truly worth the cost and the hype attached to them.

As such this paper will explore aspects related to the manufacturing sustainability of hybrid vehicles in light of scarce rare metal supplies, the growing biofuel market which threatens to shut out the hybrid car industry all together and will also explore the supposed savings in gas gained from utilizing a hybrid vehicle which is one of the primary selling points of this particular industry.

From this paper’s point of view, hybrid vehicles don’t seem to be cost effective or practical at all due to new technological developments, scare resources and a faulty selling point.

Hybrid Cars and Rare Earth Metals

One of the current arguments against the use of hybrid cars are concerns related to the overall sustainability of the parts needed in their creation. What must be understood is that rare Earth metals such as dysprosium and neodymium are essential towards the creation of the electric motors and battery systems that are present in all hybrid cars today.

Unfortunately, based on studies such as those by Hu (2011 ) it can be seen in that due to the fact that nearly all rare Earth metals originate from China and that a large percentage of the supply mined goes into consumer electronic goods produced within the country the sustainability of the supply has been called into question (Hu, 2011).

In fact there have been numerous problems over the past several years of China supposedly limiting the amount of rare Earth metals exported in order to promote the manufacture of electronic goods that require such metals within China alone (Hu, 2011). On the other hand China has also been stating that the supply of rare Earth metals has actually been consistently depleting over the years with newer sources getting increasingly harder to find.

Whether China is merely hoarding metals or is running out of metals to mine is besides the point, the fact is that due to such actions the global supply of rare Earth metals which are essential in the creation of hybrid cars is temperamental at best and scarce at worse and as such this drastically affects the ability of manufacturers to meet demand or even provide replacement parts that require rare Earth metals.

On the other hand other cars types aren’t as affected by the rare Earth mineral shortage and as such prove themselves to be a more stable supply of cars and parts for consumers. Taking this into consideration, the overall sustainability of the hybrid car industry is seriously in question and as such makes it an impractical choice for consumers should the supply of rare Earth minerals run out and the parts that require such resources require replacement.

Hybrid cars and the Biofuel Industry

As of late the biofuel industry has gained considerable ground in terms of advancements in the creation, production and supply of biofuel to international consumers. In fact based on the article of Groom, Gray & Townsend (2008) it can be seen that companies such as Shell, ExxonMobile, Petron, and British Petroleum actually use biofuel in their current fuel blends in order to make them burn that much cleaner (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008).

In fact countries such as Japan, France, India and certain parts of the U.S. have increasingly started experimenting with using greater percentages of biofuel within their fuel blends with the goal of switching almost entirely to biofuel within the next decade.

The reason for this is related to the fact that most processed biofuels today are almost fully compatible with modern day engines and as such it doesn’t take much to utilize pure biofuel in a Honda Civic, Ford Mustang, Toyota Corolla etc (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008). It must also be noted that due to their inherent chemical makeup biofuels are inherently clean burning and produce nothing more than oxygen.

This presents itself as a definite problem for the hybrid car industry since the main selling point of their vehicle is that it helps to preserve the environment. Yet, as seen in the case of biofuels, utilizing hybrid vehicles doesn’t seem worth it at all since any individual could just use an ordinary gas guzzling car and utilize biofuels instead of normal gasoline in order to preserve the environment.

The main reason why biofuels haven’t been adopted on a global scale as of late is due to the inherent limitations of current methods of supply and production (Groom, Gray & Townsend, 2008). There are just too few farms and biofuel processing centers to meet the severity of global demand at the present.

On the other hand, as biofuel continues to gain popularity and agricultural centers that specialize in growing plants for biofuel continue to expand into different countries it is very likely that biofuels will become the fuel of choice in the future leaving hybrid vehicles in the dust. It is based on this that due to advancements in the creation, production and supply of biofuels the use of hybrid vehicles, from this paper’s point of view, seems to be nothing more than a passing phase.

Hybrid cars and their Selling Points

Hybrid cars have two selling points which they use in order to appeal to consumers, the first is that hybrid models have a lower carbon footprint as compared to other cars and as such help to promote environmental conservation while the other selling point is the supposed future cost benefits accrued through fuel savings. While it may be true that the hybrid cars do indeed have a far lower carbon footprint as compared to gasoline powered cars this doesn’t mean that the accrued savings from gas costs come immediately.

(Frugal Trader, 2008)

As it can be seen in the provided graph hybrid cars cost more than regular cars and the savings in gas take up to several years to accumulate before the difference in costs is actually reached (Welch, 2007). In the case of the Prius this can take up to 13 years when compared to other vehicles while the Honda Civic Hybrid takes up to 6 years to make up the difference (Frugal trader, 2008).

Within that span of time the value of the hybrid car goes down as well as additional costs related to car maintenance are included to the price of owning a motor vehicle. While some models such as the Honda Civic hybrid do present themselves as potentially viable options cars such as Prius do not since it is only after the 13 year period after the cost difference is met that savings are truly gained.

It must also be noted that some consumers like to sell their cars after a certain period of time and as such selling a hybrid car that would take up to 13 years for the difference in prices to be paid off doesn’t seem like such a viable investment due to the fact that the purchaser winds up losing a substantial amount of money on a selling point that doesn’t seem to fit with the cost of the vehicle itself (Wlech, 2007).

Another way of looking at this particular situation is to see what would happen should biofuels start entering the market and rare Earth minerals are completely mined out.

Since current estimates place the development of sustainable mass production of biofuels to roughly 10 years in the future with the same amount of time allocated for the availability of rare Earth minerals this presents itself as a situation where owning a hybrid vehicle would turn out to be bad investment.

As such the original two selling points for hybrid cars should not be taken at face value rather consumers should evaluate the current developments in the market today to determine whether hybrid cars are worth the considerably higher expense compared to a regular car.

Argument and Counter Argument for the Support of Hybrid Vehicles

One of the arguments in support of hybrid vehicles is that while there are numerous technologies which could replace hybrid cars in the future such technologies have yet to reach commercial applicability as compared to hybrid cars which can be used here and now.

The problem with this particular argument lies in the fact that it assumes these new changes and technologies are sufficiently far away in the future however as seen in the various facts presented in this paper these changes are actually in the very near future and as such hybrid cars continue to look like a bad investment when taking this into consideration.

Conclusion

Based on the points explained in this paper it can be stated that hybrid vehicles don’t seem to be cost effective or practical at all due to new technological developments, scare resources and a faulty selling point. This is supported by the data explaining problems with the current supply of rare Earth minerals, the development of the biofuel industry and the fact that the selling point of hybrid vehicles is rather moot.

As such it is advisable that consumers hold off purchasing hybrid cars in the present due to the changes that will occur in the immediate future.

Reference List

Brown, S. F. (2006). Where Is the Hybrid Car Heading?. Fortune, 153(10), 29.

Frugal Trader. (2008). Hybrid vs. gasoline vehicle comparison – are hybrid vehicles worth it?. Web.

Groom, M. J., Gray, E. M., & Townsend, P. A. (2008). Biofuels and Biodiversity: Principles for Creating Better Policies for Biofuel Production. Conservation Biology, 22(3), 602-609.

Hu, Y. (2011). Rare Security. Beijing Review, 54(31), 32-33.

Welch, D. (2007). Why Hybrids Are Such a Hard Sell. Businessweek Online, 13.

Fuel Cell Vehicles: Status 2007 (2007) was written by Rittmar von Helmolt and Ulrich Eberie, both employees at GM Fuel Cell Activities at Ruesselsheim, Germany. The paper details the developments that have been made towards the use of Hydrogen to propel vehicles.

Rittmar von Helmolt is a scientist and inventor, according to patent websites such as freshpatents.com and patentdocs.org, he has applied for several patents regarding his inventions, most of which relate to motor vehicle mechanics. He has also written several scientific articles and co-authored others, the articles center on motor vehicle mechanics and alternative fuel. Similarly, Dr Ulrich Eberle is a researcher and has written several articles for major scientific journals such as Energy Environ. Sc. and Journal of Power Sources. He is also a scientist and his work at GM Corporation is a testament to his professionalism.

The two authors’ contribution to the paper is valuable as it gives the view of professionals in fuel cell technology, this gives the paper a professional touch and hence makes it a credible source of information for academic purposes. The authors write on a topic they are well versed on. The paper was written in 2007 and this fits the widely accepted 5-year range within which scientific information remains valid. This implies that the information in the paper is up to date and suitable for use as an academic source. Besides, it is written in a scientific journal and thus the authors have a specific target.

The authors refer to several projects being undertaken by major vehicle manufacturing companies such as Opel and Honda. At the end of the paper, von Helmolt and Eberie give a list of references that show the scope of research they undertook in writing the paper, most of these references are drawn from peer reviewed journals and reports from multi-national corporations, hence their credibility.

Article Summary

The article is divided into 7 chapters. In Chapter 1, the authors give an introduction on the use of Hydrogen as fuel and the factors that have contributed to the invention, i.e. environmental concern and rising fuel costs. They introduce the audience to the science behind the fuel cell in chapter 2, giving a systematic process from the production of Hydrogen to its conversion to electricity, and the subsequent conversion of excess Hydrogen atoms to water.

The next three chapters touch on fuel (Hydrogen) storage options and safety features in the fuel tank and fuel cell. Chapter 6 gives the three phases in the development of Hydrogen as an alternative fuel by GM Corporation: Phase 1 ends in 2010, Phase 2 begins from 2010 and ends in 2015, while Phase 3 starts in 2015. They conclude the paper in Chapter 7 by giving their perspective on the use of Hydrogen for powering vehicles, the challenges, advantages, and the costs involved (von Helmolt and Eberie, 2007, pp. 842). I chose to focus on Chapter 2: Fuel cell system, as it gives a detailed analysis of what goes on inside the fuel cell.

Hydrogen Powered Cars

Due to the rising costs of gasoline and environmental concerns, the need for the use of natural, clean and renewable energy is long overdue. Automobiles are one of the leading sources of pollution, hence the need to find alternative sources of energy for running them. It is for this reason that scientists have been undertaking experiments on the use of Hydrogen as a fuel to run motor vehicles. Hydrogen gas fuel produces electricity, or the power to run motor vehicles, through an electrochemical reaction. Unlike gasoline that produces Carbon dioxide when used as fuel, the only by-product obtained from this process is clean water. Besides, hydrogen is easily available from air and water and this lowers the cost of using it as a fuel.

Hydrogen Cell Fuel

The core of a hydrogen-powered vehicle lies in the fuel cell that facilitates the production of electricity for use as a source of kinetic energy. Hydrogen gas can be obtained through catalytic splitting of a water molecule: this is done by passing electricity through water. Splitting of a single water molecule gives two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atom as shown below:

H²O → O^– + 2H⁺

The authors take us through a systematic process that produces electricity as sketched below:

Hydrogen gas enters the fuel cell through an inlet on the anode end and is mixed with a catalyst, this splits the diatomic Hydrogen molecules into electrons and protons. These electrons then flow through the system to produce electricity. Electricity that has been produced is directed to the car’s electric drive motor and converted to kinetic energy. Excess electricity is stored in a back-up battery used when the car runs out of fuel, a Lithium-ion battery is frequently used for this purpose. Protons go through a polymer electrolyte membrane to be reacted with Oxygen.

Oxygen gas enters the fuel cell on the cathode end and reacts with Hydrogen protons and excess electrons to form water as shown below:

O^– + 2H⁺ → H₂O

A Hydrogen fuel cell consists of a thin membrane encased between two electrode layers, these, in turn, are placed between two divider layers. A fuel cell consists of several layered cells linked together in series, the number of these cells depends on the type of car, for example, SUVs have more cells than light saloon cars.

Hydrogen gas is continuously pumped into the fuel cell from a tank placed at the back of the vehicle. Similar to regular gasoline engines, the fuel cell has various safety features. For example, the engine automatically shuts off in case of a fuel leak and has a system that cuts off the flow of fuel and electricity in case of a collision. The fuel cell has a safety valve to prevent reverse flow of the fuel, prevent contamination of fuel in the tank, and ensures that gas pressure in the tank remains constant.

Conclusion

Fuel Cell Vehicles: Status 2007 provides useful information towards the use of Hydrogen as a fuel. However, to obtain further information regarding this topic, I may use other sources to expand onto what the two authors have presented in the article, or to see how other authors treat the same topic. Hence, I may refer to Fuel cells: from fundamentals to applications (2006) by Supramaniam Srinivasan.

Reference

Von Helmolt, R., and Eberie, U. (2007). Fuel Cell Vehicles: Status 2007. Journal of Power Sources, Volume 165, Issue 2. 833-843.

Introduction

Technology has shaped the present-day world, and many things, which previously existed only in science fiction books, have become part of everyday reality. The next incredible invention that is about to enter people’s daily routine is a self-driven vehicle. The first driverless cars are already being tested under human supervision, but it will probably take a few decades for such vehicles to be marketed on a broad scale (Sparrow & Howard, 2017). Since the emergence of self-driving cars for a wide use appears to be only a matter of time, the public is concerned about several issues related to the proliferation of such machines. Scientists dispute about the ethical side of this innovation, namely, whether self-driving cars are safer than those operated by humans. Policy regulators argue over the question of who should be responsible for car crashes involving driverless vehicles. Further, potential consumers and investors are interested in what opportunities self-driving cars have to offer them. This paper aims at shedding light on the mentioned issues. Research into driverless vehicles shows that they may potentially benefit humanity by reducing the risk of accidents.

Benefit for the Public Despite Accidents

One of the primary concerns about self-driving cars is whether they will benefit the public despite accidents and violations related to the introduction of the new technology. In order to answer this question, scientists often compare the safety of human-driven cars and that of driverless vehicles for both drivers and pedestrians. According to Sparrow and Howard (2017), people driving cars cause deaths of 1.25 million individuals per year around the world, and 90% of all car accidents result from human errors and behaviors. Self-driving vehicles could decrease the rate of accidents by approximately 90%, thus saving more than 30,000 lives and preventing numerous crash-related injuries in America (U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform [ILR], 2018). Bob Lutz, the chairman of General Motors, explains this by the fact that “the autonomous car doesn’t drink, doesn’t do drugs, doesn’t text while driving, and doesn’t get road rage. Autonomous cars don’t race other autonomous cars, and they don’t go to sleep” (as cited in ILR, 2018, p. 1). Therefore, driverless cars that do not require human intervention in the driving process would definitely benefit the public.

However, the current state of technology development allows for producing cars that need human supervision in certain cases. Out of six levels of automation, which range from 0 to 5, present-day self-driving vehicles have level 3 or 4 (Sparrow & Howard, 2017). It implies that most control is transferred to the vehicle, but the driver should watch the situation on the road and be prepared to take action (Ryan, 2019). The problem is that ordinary people tend to stop paying attention to tasks that are irrelevant to them at the moment (Sparrow & Howard, 2017). Therefore, they are likely to be distracted from the road while driving an autonomous vehicle. It will take a driver at least 2 seconds to regain awareness of the traffic situation and respond, but, frequently, it may take more than half a minute (Sparrow & Howard, 2017). Furthermore, once driverless vehicles are considered quite reliable, people’s driving skills will worsen, which will prevent them from handling emergencies on the road effectively (Sparrow & Howard, 2017). Thus, as long as driverless cars require human intervention, their widespread use will apparently bring little benefit.

As soon as self-driving cars gain the highest level of autonomy, they will become a much safer means of transportation than human-driven cars due to the elimination of human errors. Autonomous vehicles may benefit the public not only in terms of safety. Driverless cars may also reduce traffic congestion and increase road capacity fivefold (Davis, 2016). Since self-driving vehicles are going to be equipped with electric engines, their use will also contribute to saving the environment from air pollution (Ryan, 2019). The new technology may positively affect economics since people will be able to devote time to work while sitting in a driverless car or surf the Internet, thus increasing the revenue of digital media (Davis, 2016). Furthermore, autonomous vehicles will be available for children, elderly and disabled people, as well as other individuals restricted from driving human-driven cars, which will facilitate the process of transportation for them (Sparrow & Howard, 2017). Thus, although at the beginning of the widespread use of self-driving cars, accidents and violations stemming from the introduction of new technology may occur, in the long run, this innovation will benefit the public.

Allocation of Risk

The development of driverless vehicles has made policy regulators think about who should be responsible for the accidents involving such cars. With vehicles having level 0-2 automation, this question does not arise since the car movement is completely under human control (Ryan, 2019). However, at higher levels of automation difficulties emerge because the vehicle takes at least part of control over the situation on the road. Most current laws regulating road traffic utilize the term “driver” that is defined as “a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle” (Davis, 2016, para. 25). In the case of driverless cars, this term becomes hardly applicable, which will make the enforcement of laws using it more complicated (Davis, 2016). Hence, the adjustment of legislation to the new technology requires redefining key terms in the first place.

In some states, governments have already passed some laws regarding self-driving cars. For example, in Nevada and California, the term “operator” was introduced into laws, which was defined as “the person behind the controls or who ‘causes the technology to engage’” (ILR, 2018, p. 4). The law in these states makes the operator liable for any road accident involving an autonomous vehicle (ILR, 2018). However, there is an opinion that automakers should be responsible for accidents that involve cars manufactured by them (ILR, 2018). For example, knowing that the vehicle can drive on its own, a person may engage in reading or fall asleep, thus being not able to intervene when a dangerous situation occurs on the road. Nevertheless, in such cases, manufacturers should not be liable for car crashes because, although they cannot prevent all the accidents, they still offer technology that is safer than non-autonomous vehicles (ILR, 2018). Therefore, it should be recommended that automakers should not be responsible for car crashes that happened because of operators’ negligence.

Yet, the American Association for Justice (AAJ) would not agree with this recommendation. It asserts that even though driverless vehicles can make a significant contribution to public safety, manufacturers should be liable for any car accident involving autonomous vehicles (ILR, 2018). However, if companies developing driverless cars will be blamed for all car crashes, even those occurring due to people’s negligence, it may hinder the future technology advancements (ILR, 2018). Therefore, the recommended allocation of risks may be that automakers should be liable only for accidents, in which the car itself caused damage, for example, in the case of equipment malfunction.

At the beginning of the new technology implementation, state and federal legislatures should perform the allocation of risks. So far, NHTSA has developed guidelines for manufacturers as to the design, safety, and performance requirements of autonomous cars, while making state governments responsible for regulating human drivers and the operation of driverless cars (ILR, 2018). Hence, federal and state authorities should lay the foundation for autonomous vehicles legislation and define the basic principles of liability in this field. However, when driverless cars become widespread, there will be more work for courts. Since lawmakers cannot predict all the possible accidents that may involve self-driving vehicles, courts will have to decide on the liability in specific cases, thus establishing precedents and improving autonomous vehicles legislation.

Required Information for Customers

Driverless cars are still a novelty for many people, so potential customers may need more information about such vehicles before buying them. The first thing to consider is whether it makes sense to buy a car rather than rent it. Experts say that by 2030, people will have shifted from the model of car ownership to “mobility as a service” (Silver, 2017, para. 9). The next concern is the type of motor that a vehicle possesses. So far, not all automobiles are electric due to the large oil industry, but the oncoming development of lithium-ion solid-state batteries can significantly increase the number of electric cars (Silver, 2017). Customers will still be required to pass driving tests, but they will be different (Silver, 2017). New tests will make sure that drivers know how to operate a particular system used in their driverless cars (Silver, 2017). Buyers will also need insurance as car owners, the terms of which may be specified by manufacturers (Silver, 2017). It is also necessary to know that driverless vehicles can be hacked (Silver, 2017). However, automakers are likely to take measures to handle security breaches.

Data Necessary for Investors

The development of driverless cars has attracted the attention of investors to the automotive industry. For example, in 2017, there were 190 investments in companies developing autonomous vehicles, and the total amount of investments was more than $4.4 billion (Krpata, Ferrari, & Geiger, 2019). Before investing in the driverless vehicle industry, investors should consider terms of intellectual property agreements between their preferred company and its partners (Krpata et al., 2019). Furthermore, they should pay attention to how the company deals with security issues related to the use of software in autonomous vehicles. (Krpata et al., 2019). Potential investors have to be aware of the policy regulations regarding the issues with driverless vehicles and watch how the company follows them (Krpata et al., 2019). Finally, it is necessary to make sure that the company protects its technical and confidential information so that it does not fall into the hands of competitors (Krpata et al., 2019). Autonomous vehicles are a new industry, so potential investors should get familiar with its features before making investments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, self-driving cars are the latest development that is going to change the way people move along the roads. Despite accidents that are inevitable at the early stage of the new technology introduction, autonomous vehicles will benefit the public in terms of safety, road capacity, environmental improvement, and economic gains. Driverless cars make policy regulators concern about the allocation of risks, and it may be recommended that automakers should not be liable for accidents occurred because of drivers’ negligence. There are still many issues related to autonomous vehicles, such as insufficient regulations and the possibility of security breaches. However, further development of this new technology is likely to bring the world to a safer future.

References

Davis, K. (2016). Preparing for a future with autonomous vehicles.The Police Chief, 83. Web.

Krpata, K. C., Ferrari, J., & Geiger, M. (2019). The race to autonomy: Investor considerations for investments in autonomous vehicle companies. Web.

Ryan, M. (2019). The future of transportation: Ethical, legal, social and economic impacts of self-driving vehicles in the year 2025.Science and Engineering Ethics. Web.

Silver, J. (2017).Twelve things you need to know about driverless cars. Web.

Sparrow, R., & Howard, M. (2017). When human beings are like drunk robots: Driverless vehicles, ethics, and the future of transport. Transportation Research Part C: Emerging Technologies, 80, 206-215.

U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. (2018). Torts of the future: Autonomous vehicles. Web.

Introduction

With recent changes in people’s attitude toward fuel vehicles, more and more drivers substitute traditional cars with electric models. As noted by Tomberlin (2019), such a decision is not only beneficial for the environment but also cost-effective.

The proportion of New Energy Vehicles

According to “EV market share by state” (2019), in Alabama alone, the market of electric vehicles experienced a 127.30% growth rate, shifting from an average of 381 to 866 sales per year. While the numbers seem relatively low when compared to the leading states, such as California (153,442) and New York (15,752), Alabamian statistics indicate an ongoing process of increasing environmental awareness among state residents (“EV market share by state,” 2019).

Share Sold in the US and Alabama

As supported by Bolton (2018), the market share also depends on the brand of electric cars. While Tesla remains the most selling vehicle on the east coast, Alabama Power gains popularity in the South, hitting a one-million selling rate, and constituting 20% of the entire Alabama fuel vehicles (Bolton, 2018). Such proportion leaves hope for the continual process of transition from gasoline to electricity in car production.

Policies, Plans, Evaluations

To encourage the development and distribution of new energy vehicles, the local government in Alabama introduces incentive policies. As explained by Tomberlin (2019), Alabama Governor, Kay Ivey, suggested increasing state fuel taxes while reducing taxes on energy-efficient vehicles for drivers who choose electric and hybrid cars. With such legislation, the official hopes to lower the flat fee, motivating state residents to take action against air pollution. However, as pointed out by Tracy (2019), the new bill raised several controversial comments from the public. While some people labeled the initiative an unfair tax, others complimented the law as a fair share for the harm done to the environment (Tracy, 2019).

Concluding Sentence

Despite the current heated debate among drivers, it is clear that Alabama takes a direct course to substitute fuel vehicles with more energy-efficient options.

References

Bolton, K. (2018) Alabama Power celebrates 1 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads. Web.

EV market share by state (2019). Web.

Sharp, J. (2019) ‘Unfair tax’ or ‘fair share’? New fees for electric and hybrid vehicles prompt debate in Alabama. Web.

Tomberlin, M. (2019) Alabama electric vehicle owners praise benefits of going electric. Web.

Tracy, K. (2019) Alabama, reject electric vehicle and hybrid taxes. Web.

Before the emergence of service-oriented architecture (SOA), the term middleware would often be equated with an application server (Footen and Faust 162). However, today with the degree of progress on service-oriented architecture the term middleware will often be equated with Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). This is because if the application server is the foundation for middleware then ESB represents the largest and most important part of middleware in Service Oriented Architecture.

According to Footen and Faust, “ESB is a term used to describe a wide variety of products whose primary goal is to extend the simple messaging capabilities of an application server to allow the inclusion of enterprise functionality needed to support SOA” (162). It has also been observed that a major difference between ESB and middleware is the fact that ESB is Service-Oriented whereas middleware has functions that are applicable outside the realm of services in a distributed system (Footen and Faust 163).

The ESB can accomplish business communication by implementing one of many communication models. An SOA enterprise may need to send a single message to many recipients who may be operating on various systems. Given that confidentiality and security are essential when sending data over a public channel the sender may require confirmation of delivery even under the most extreme conditions (Footen and Faust 164). Businesses have begun to combine application servers such as CORBA to integrate web applications to existing systems for greater productivity in e-commerce (Gibson 65). Common Object request broker architecture or CORBA acts as an application server with the main objective being to support communication between distributed objects (Flenner 114).

The CORBA interface takes things a step further is step to make distributed systems integrate and operate. The CORBA interface performs this task by abstracting network communication and programming languages that are useful for an object to object interaction. The CORBA system has become fairly well recognized when industries such as telecommunications started to rely on the system as the integration glue for distributed systems.

In addition to the above use of an advanced application server that can allow for communication between distributed systems another useful part of ESB is the use of various advanced database resources. The system has been described in a manner that indicates the use of a Microsoft SQL server for storing information on products and sales. One major advantage that comes with the use of advanced database products is the access to some stored procedures (Guerrero and Rojas 246). These are useful in that they can be used to encapsulate and enforce business rules in stored data. This is especially useful because once created these procedures can be stored and used to reproduce a data at any time thus reducing the time taken to synthesize data and provide useful results (Guerrero and Rojas 246).

Further advantages that the system can find accessible via SOAP-based back-end interface include improved security (Townsend, Riz and Schaffer 182). With this interface in place, none of the standard methods for security will be used. Instead a SOAP message is used to transfer the required set of credentials with each message. This log-in information can be placed either in the message header or in the message body. These credentials will then be analyzed using the back-end system. Each SOAP-based message includes two transactions namely a request and a response. This suggests that when this messaging mechanism is used the two systems can maintain a certain degree of security due to the constant authentication required (Lazakidou 104). This constant authentication between the requesting computer and the back-end server is useful in ensuring information is submitted to a trusted destination. This procedure effectively integrates requested information as well as requested parameters and values for the secure transfer of information between two points.

Another strong point of the current system is the use of CSV format to transfer spreadsheet data from one computer to the next. CSV or comma-separated value format is one of the few available cross-platform formats. The simplicity of the CSV format can ensure that the organization will be able to share its data across platforms (Smith 366). The CSV files are also readable by most database software which commonly uses proprietary file formats. Another valuable improvement could be the use of platform-independent formats for archives. As it has been observed that the current system has reasonably good security and good cross-platform database mechanisms, a suitable cross-platform archiving system may be useful in ensuring large amounts of data can be transferred between machines operating on different platforms (Smith 366). It should be noted that whereas these platform-independent approaches involve some loss in functionality the transfer of the data is more crucial than the losses. This approach can allow for a normal spreadsheet with formulas to prepare the automatic bonus reports and send them to many locations.

Due to the increased demand for suitable middleware products for the service-oriented architecture IBM has released a product known as WebSphere (SOA 14). The product message broker supports such services standards as SOAP and WSDL. It also provides messaging services such as Biztalk and Java message service (SOA 14). In the more recent versions of the product, the message broker provides advanced ESB capability such as universal connectivity and data transformation.

Among the ESB products available Cape Clear is among the options that could provide a suitable solution to the enterprise (Barck 10). This product has been rated as one of the ESB middleware products that are capable of steering towards more flexible and affordable service-oriented solutions. The current release includes features such as a process orchestration language that provides enterprises with the capacity to weave multiple services into workflows with partners (Barck 10). In addition to this, the product also offers an integration server, facilities for data transformation and support for data created by long-running processes (Barck 10). However, in selecting an appropriate ESB solution for this set of problems the most appropriate solution would be IBM’s WebSphere. This is because one shortcoming of Cape Clear is it does not provide a messaging backbone although it provides support for messaging using other vendors’ products.

Works Cited

Footen, John and Joey Faust. The Service-Oriented Media Enterprise. Burlington, MA: Focal Press, 2008. Print.

Flenner, Robert, et al. Java P2P Unleashed. Indianapolis: Sam’s Publishing, 2003. Print.

Gibson, Richard, G. Object oriented technologies: Opportunities and Challenges. London: Idea group publishing, 2000. Print.

Guerrero, Fernando, G. and Carlos Eduardo Rojas. Microsoft SQL Server 2000: Programming by example. Printed in USA: Que Corporation, 2003. Print.

Barck , J. R. (2005). Building on the Services Bus. InfoWorld. Vol. 27 No. 9, 1-56.

Lazakidou, Athina. Web based applications in health care and bio medicine. New York: Springer, 2010. Print.

Smith, Roderick, W. The Multiboot Configuration. Printed in USA: Que Corporation, 2000. Print.

SOA. (2005). IBM finally leaps in to ESB camp. InfoWorld. Vol. 27, No.38. 1-62.

Townsend, James, J, Riz Dmitri and Schaffer, Deon. Building Portals, Intranets and Corporate web sites using Microsoft servers. Boston, MA: Pearson education Inc, 2004. Print.

Nowadays, there is a rapid development of technologies in many spectra of human life. Modern developments’ main task is making a man’s life convenient and safe. However, it is also essential to remember the impact of human life on nature and the environment. Thus, the development of electronic vehicles provides additional comfort for movement and positively affects the environment. With the evolution of industry and traffic systems, one should understand that human influence on nature has become destructive. It is primarily due to the consequences of the development of transportation, especially cars, which has become a cause for concern and elaboration of alternatives. In particular, electric vehicles are gaining popularity as a replacement for internal combustion engines. Electric cars are better for the future due to the absence of negative impact on the environment since not have harmful substances emission.

Carbon dioxide emissions, the main reason for which is the widespread use of vehicles with internal combustion engines, have a negative impact on the environment. It is formulated not only by air pollution but also by the destructive effect on the atmosphere. In turn, it has an effect on the climate, namely on the increase in average temperature, since the layers of the atmosphere have a protective function. Thus, the technologies of electric vehicles are essential to the automotive industry and the user due to better fuel economy and positive environmental impact (Mi and Masrur 11). In other words, electric cars will save humanity from the threats of warming-related cataclysms and help in the economic aspect. Electric cars reduce fuel consumption, which will positively impact the exhaustive energy sources issue.

The main argument for the necessity to replace cars with internal combustion engines with electric ones is the degree of influence of vehicles on the environment. Moreover, one should consider the number of engines and other types of vehicles: buses, trucks, and tractors. Passenger cars rank first in terms of the number of units used, respectively, having the most significant impact. In addition, passenger cars are ahead of other types of transport in terms of quantity, namely, airplanes, ships, and rail transport. Although passenger cars are used in most cases for trips up to 200 kilometers, they still have a significant degree of negative impact. It is stated by the fact that the number of simultaneously used units is large, which leads to the accumulation of emissions.

All modes of transport, except for road transport, have lower carbon dioxide emissions, and the smallest share goes to rail transport. As can be seen in Figure 1, road transportation has 72% of overall emissions, and 60,7% goes to automobiles (See Fig. 1 above) (MLA 8th, 3). One may also notice that water and air transport have a fairly high share of emissions, although less compared to road transport. Thus, one may identify that replacing internal combustion engines with electric ones will significantly improve the situation.

In regards to car-related issues, one should consider the long-term implications and results. It includes two aspects: the impact on the environment and the use of natural resources. In recent years there has been a significant increase in oil extraction (Vilches and Jonatan 164). This is primarily due to the increased demand for gasoline extracted from oil. In turn, it is connected with the growth in the number of cars, especially personal ones. In other words, one may notice that the existing indicators showing the degree of negative impact on the environment may increase. Thus, the prospect of switching to electric engines, at least in passenger cars, is an effective way to solve the problem in the long term. At the same time, it will affect the two above-mentioned aspects, namely the impact on nature and the problem of using resources.

Electric cars have another advantage in terms of consumables, energy savings, and machine functionality. It was possible to identify that the technologies of the interaction of mechanisms in electric cars, which reduce the degree of friction, could reduce energy losses by 18-40% (Holmberg and Erdemir 2). It is connected with the principle of operation of electric cars, namely the reduction of the pistons and levers quality, which wear out quickly in usual cars. In turn, applying electricity will reduce emissions and resource utilization for the construction of these parts.

It was also possible to establish the advantage of electric cars in terms of carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional cars. In combustion engine cars, the CO2 emission is 4.5 higher compared to electric cars (Holmberg and Erdemir 3). One may notice that the degree of difference is significant, considering the number and degree of modern vehicles usage. Moreover, the electricity used to charge electric cars may come only from inexhaustible sources of energy in the future. Green energy, or energy produced with the help of natural forces, cancels the impact on the number of existing resources. It includes energy from wind, water, ebb and flow, sunlight, as well as geothermal energy, which is obtained using geothermal sources.

Moreover, nowadays one has some outlines of switching to electricity not only in cars. Electric vehicle technology is applicable for locomotives, off-road vehicles (construction and mining vehicles), ships, and to some extent to, aircraft (Mi and Masrur 13). Certainly, it is necessary to apply technologies that are not yet available to people for such developments. However, it will be possible in the future, which in turn would entail a revolution in the context of energy use. Additionally, one will significantly improve the condition of the environment due to the fact that the number of emissions will approach zero. It would solve the climate issues and improve the air condition, which would positively affect the health of the population and flora and fauna. In other words, the use of electric transport has local and general long-term advantages.

The application of electric engines will reduce the need to process materials and transport them to extract fuel and gasoline. Similar to burning gasoline in car engines, the refining oil process emits carbon dioxide. Moreover, a significant amount of pollution of the world’s oceans was provoked by waste from oil refining and accidents during the transportation of oil or fuel. Oil spots resulting from spills due to accidents have a devastating effect on the flora and fauna of the ocean. Additionally, it negatively affects the microflora of the sea, which can lead to long-term negative consequences. Besides, harmful substances settled on the surface of the water due to fuel burnout during water transportation also negatively affect both the condition of the water and flora and fauna. Thus, the transition to electric cars has a positive impact not only on the air, usage of resources, and energy but also on the world’s oceans.

Reducing car emissions around the world will have a significant positive impact on air quality, acid rains, smog, and climate change. The health effects of vehicle emissions are also of concern. Car noise is harmful to people since it affects not only hearing but also the development of hypertension. Carbon and nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, compounds containing sulfur formulate the dangerous mix that one consumes every day on the streets of one’s city. Road transport’s other environmental impacts include traffic congestion and urban sprawl that can occupy natural habitats and agricultural land. The exhaust gases of cars contain a large amount of lead, which, together with salts of other metals, enters the soil, surface, and ground waters and is absorbed by plants. During the operation of a car with internal combustion engines, the sources of emissions of harmful substances are exhaust gases and uncontrolled spillage of operating materials onto the ground.

To conclude, electric cars are better for the future for a number of reasons, both local and general long-term causes. Modern researches, as well as the work of scientists, formulate arguments for the positive impact of electric cars on the environment and on the future life. Moreover, it is possible to switch to electric engines not only in cars, which provoke the most of emissions among transportation types. There are plans to use electricity instead of fuel in trains, ships, and airplanes. It was found that the difference between the impact on the environment and air of electric cars and ones with combustion engines is significant. Moreover, it will have positive consequences in terms of the use of energy and natural resources.

Works Cited

European Environment Agency. 2019, Web.

Holmberg, Kenneth, and Erdemir Ali. “The Impact of Tribology on Energy Use and CO2 Emission Globally and in Combustion Engine and Electric Cars.” Tribology International, vol. 135, 2019. ScienceDirect, Web.

Mi, Chris, and Masrur Abul. Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Principles and Applications with Practical Perspectives. 2^nd ed., John Wiley & Sons, 2017.

Vilches, Gomez, and Jonatan J. The Impact of Electric Cars on Oil Demand and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Key Markets. KIT Scientific Publishing, 2019.

In practice the SOA is used to improve or enhance operations across different platforms. In line with this there is the option to use services to complete various tasks. This function is commonly referred to as the (ESB). The main role of the ESB is to enhance interoperability due to the fact that it integrates different platforms and programming languages (Josuttis 48). In this case there is a company interested in scheduling automatic bonus payments based on the monthly sales volume.

For the construction of services that can increase or improve interoperability the company can make use of some popular software products such as BEA and Cape Clear (Infoworld 24). These approaches have been developed to ease the creation of services in a SOA. The Sierra Strategy developed by BEA is useful in that they are targeted at reducing the cost and complexity of service creation. Cape clear on the other hand has produced an SOA editor aimed at easing the development of services.

For the purpose of this company Cape clear appeared to provide an appropriate solution to the task the company intends to include in its list of services. The company intends to automate the process of scheduling bonus payments. Cape clear was found to be useful in that this product contains wizards that can automate routine tasks (Infoworld 24).

The other service that the company would like to include is a reporting system that allows for the use of data from all four systems at the same time. For this purpose the use of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) may be an apt solution. A lot of XBRL software available today is standalone where this means you must use several applications to complete a task as opposed to just one application (Hoffman, Watson and Watanabe 2009). Through the use of XBRL the enterprise will be able to improve its reporting capability and interoperability to allow all four systems to deliver reports without any significant changes to the system (Hoffman, Watson and Watanabe 2009).

Due to an increase in pressure to integrate among enterprises using disparate systems several companies have begun to develop various ESB products. In this section of the report the discussion will introduce and recommend two such solutions. One such solution is known as Sonic ESB 5.0 which is based on standards such as XML and SOAP (Infoworld 34). Traditional software was connected via point to point links whereas ESB’s propose connections based on various SOA standards. This position allows or enhances interoperability between distributed and different platforms (Infoworld 34). This is because it allows for systems that provide essential operations to be incrementally added to the ESB.

Another good ESB product is the system known as WASP produced by Systinet (Infoworld 38). This is a development framework that revolves around web services. The product is favorable because despite it being a commercial product it is also available to no charge thus providing small enterprises an opportunity to access the product (Nash 161). The system is developed for use within the Sun Forte integrated development environment. The WASP software allows the creation of a web service using three components; its interface, which is embodied by the WSDL file for the service, the actual implementation of the service (e.g. the logic behind the application) and deployment information; specifying the deployment portion of the WSDL description of the service (Nash 161). A finished application is made up of a group of web services that make up a complete deployment package. Systinet provides a series of products that make up the WASP package. These include WASP developer, WASP server, WASP UDDI and WASP security (Nash 161). The WASP software is recommended because web services are fast becoming a very crucial component of a distributed system. It is for this reason that any software such as WASP which can quickly and reliably produce services is considered essential for the future.

Works Cited

Hoffman, Charles, Liv Watson and Eiichi Watanabe. XBRL for Dummies. Printed in the USA: For Dummies, 2009. Print.

Infoworld. BEA, Cape Clear Support SOA’s. Infoworld, 2005. Vol. 26, No. 23. 1-76.

Infoworld. BEA, The rise of the integration architect. Infoworld, 2003. Vol. 25, No. 13. 1-68.

Josuttis, Nicolai, M. SOA in Practice: The art of distributed system design. Sebastopol: O’Reilly Media Inc, 2007. Print.

Nash, John. Java Frameworks and Components: Accelerate your Web Application Development. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Print.

In the highly competitive European automotive market, staying ahead of the competition is an important requirement for business survival. However, from a project management perspective, the changing and unpredictable nature of the business environment has made it difficult for managers to make effective decisions regarding the fulfilment of their market development plans (Pavlínek, 2016). In this context, the goal of project management has been to deliver a company’s objectives within the specified cost, time and scope criterion (Nijhuis, Vrijhoef & Kessels, 2018). Unpredictable market dynamics have made it difficult to achieve these objectives. Furthermore, limited research is available to explain how business analytical tools can be used to understand the impact and effectiveness of strategic management decisions made by key players in the car industry. Particularly, this is true for the European automotive market, which is affected by uncertainties regarding the legal status of trade among European nations, in the wake of the “Brexit” aftermath, and growing uncertainties regarding the state of the global economy (Kalverkamp & Raabe, 2018). Consequently, there is a gap in literature that has made it difficult to accurately understand the effectiveness of strategic decisions made in this environment.

This paper is a research proposal to explain how business analysis methods can be used to understand strategic decisions in the European automobile market. The impact of business analysis tools on strategic development will be discussed within the context of risk analysis, quality control, communication effectiveness and project outcome assessments. Additionally, the proposed research will be designed to expose how project management can be used to navigate the aforementioned market uncertainties affecting the automotive industry to meet organisational goals. Therefore, the final assessment will outline the linkage between project management plans and the accomplishment of organisational goals.

Background

Business analysis is geared towards improving the effectiveness of a company’s use of its resources to accomplish core goals. Therefore, associated tools can be used to develop appropriate plans that will be instrumental in developing solutions for daily problems affecting a business’s operations. Prior to the use of technology-based business analytical tools, companies were confined to the use of generic models of environmental assessment, such as the SWOT analysis, which assesses an organisation’s internal environment by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Companies have also used the PESTLE model to analyse their external business environment by evaluating the political, environmental, social, technological, legal and economic factors impacting a business’s strategies (Perera, 2017). Based on the past use of these techniques in project management, it could be argued that project management and business analysis are two interrelated concepts. By merging the two, a business can benefit from the realisation of project goals and an increase in business value.

In the proposed project, a team of four people will simulate ideas regarding the market development strategy using a business game tool. Team members will discuss and evaluate the merits and demerits of new ideas with the view to improve the quality of collective decisions regarding the project plan. Each team member will play a distinct role that will be geared towards the overall attainment of organisational plans and goals. The four roles assumed by each team member will be based on tasks assigned to project, finance, marketing and production departments. Each team member will assume the role of the head of a management branch. Table 1 below highlights key roles and responsibilities assigned to each team member

Table 1. Team members’ roles and tasks (Source: Developed by Author)

The business game tool will be instrumental in evaluating the effectiveness of team decisions. The data inputted in the game will be sourced from the European automotive market with a keen emphasis on highlighted key information relating to sales strategies and market changes that have happened recently. The analysis will be based on the use of business analysis techniques to determine the company’s product orientation, strategy, cost determination, market segmentation, and managerial decision-making processes. The analysis will be from multiple angles.

Project Objectives

The overall aim of the proposed study is to use business analytical methods to understand strategic decisions in the European automobile market. The following objectives are expected to be achieved:

1. To identify risks that may affect sales strategies used in the European automotive market
2. To find out factors that influence market decisions adopted in the European automotive market
3. To estimate the impact of the changing European automotive market environment on project management and business performance

Limitations and Mitigation Plans

Although the proposed study will be geared towards the achievement of the aforementioned objectives, the research process may be affected by several limitations that stem from the nature of the investigation. For example, it will be difficult to guarantee the authenticity of the report findings generated from the business game analysis because the data obtained will have no grounded basis for implementation. Consequently, it will be important to review related literature from reputable peer-review journals and books to authenticate the game report and integrate their findings in the overall project management analysis. Therefore, the final analysis will not only be based on the game report, as it will contain information from other sources as well. Additionally, it may not be physically possible to have all team members meet in one location. Therefore, video conferencing tools, such as zoom and skype, will be used to facilitate virtual discussions.

Lastly, the quality of findings generated from the report may be impacted by differing opinions among team members because it is naturally expected that individuals will have varied views regarding the strategic directions to be followed in implementing marketing plans. Consequently, one team leader will be selected to guide discussions. Impasses can be resolved through voting. Overall, the findings of the proposed study would be instrumental in helping managers to make better decisions regarding market entry and expansion in lieu of the uncertainties in the European automotive market. The findings of the proposed study would be pivotal in serving the needs of “other” stakeholders, such as community members, whose interests are typically ignored in major business discussions. Lastly, by making better decisions, companies would better improve their profitability and set up new controls that improve accuracy and accountability across different levels of management.

References

Kalverkamp, M., & Raabe, T. (2018). Automotive remanufacturing in the circular economy in Europe: Marketing system challenges. Journal of Macromarketing, 38(1), 112-130.

Nijhuis, S., Vrijhoef, R., & Kessels, J. (2018). Tackling project management competence research. Project Management Journal, 49(3), 62-81.

Pavlínek, P. (2016). Whose success? The state–foreign capital nexus and the development of the automotive industry in Slovakia. European Urban and Regional Studies, 23(4), 571-593.

Perera, R. (2017). The PESTLE analysis. New York, NY: Nerdynaut.