Here’s a novel idea: rather than installing air quality sensors in fixed locations, why not use mobile sensors to collect data in an evenly spread-out area?

OpenSense, a project run by EPFL, a federally funded institute of technology located in Switzerland, and ETH Zurich, a science and technology university in Zurich, Switzerland, aims to study the feasibility of installing sensors on the roofs of buses and trams, thus taking advantage of existing public transportation vehicles to form an extensive network of mobile air quality data collection sites.

OpenSense describes the potential benefits of its project like this:

Using the data from these sensors, a person with asthma would know what time of day the pollution was at its lowest in the neighborhood, and thus pick this moment do his or her shopping, for example. Parents would know where to take their children to play on a summer day, because they would be aware of zones with low ozone concentrations.

OpenSense designed air quality sensors that aren’t affected by motion or severe climates. These sensors will transmit data over a network that can be accessed by the public using mobile phones. As a test, sensors were installed on the roof of a bus in Lausanne and on a tram in Zurich. These devices are currently collecting and transmitting atmospheric data. The next task is for the Nokia Research Center in Lausanne to develop a smartphone app equipped with an air quality warning system.

[Source: TreeHugger, EPFL | Image: EPFL]

Continue reading Switzerland to equip buses, trams with air quality sensors

Switzerland to equip buses, trams with air quality sensors originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Sun, 10 Jul 2011 17:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog Green

London’s Congestion Charging Scheme (CCS), which was implemented back in 2003 to reduce traffic volume in central London, has had virtually no impact on air quality, according to a study published by the Health Effects Institute (HEI). The study, “The Impact of the Congestion Charging Scheme on Air Quality in London,” was led by professor Frank Kelly of King’s College London as part of HEI’s research into measures that could positively impact health by improving air quality.

Although London’s CCS was implemented strictly to ease traffic flow and not necessarily reduce pollution, early projections had hinted that air quality in central London could improve because of CCS. However, HEI’s study did not find consistent evidence of improved air quality resulting from the CCS, probably because air pollution respects no boundaries. Therefore, any benefit of the CCS appears to have been lost or offset by increasing regional pollution. HEI claims that any CCS-related changes in pollutant levels at roadside monitoring sites were barely even measurable.

At the time of its implementation, London’s CCS was a world-leading traffic intervention program aimed at controlling excessive congestion in central London. However, the findings presented by HEI suggest that such a scheme is most successful at reducing traffic, and should be promoted as such.

[Source: Green Car Congress | Image: Cristiano Betta - C.C. License 2.0]

Study: London’s congestion charge lessens traffic; has not improved air quality originally appeared on Autoblog Green on Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog Green

Toyota has a long history of building high-quality cars and trucks, but the recent recall of over eight million vehicles for unintended acceleration-related issues showed that no company is without flaws. Toyota has since worked hard to correct the chinks in its armor, adding 40 quality engineers in Toyota City and another three chief engineers at its technical center in Ann Arbor to help prevent defects from reaching its customers in the future. At the same time, Toyota is in the process of auditing its most critical suppliers to ensure that quality checks are being properly executed; a process that has uncovered some inconsistency.

Bloomberg is reporting that Toyota has discovered that some of its suppliers aren’t performing as many component quality checks as the company thought. Dino Triantafyllos, vice president of North American product quality, told the news agency that there was a “misunderstanding” as to how many checks were being performed, with some suppliers doing one quality check per year instead of the required four. Triantafyllos feels that the audit is working, adding “these improvements we’re making, if we’d made them two years ago, maybe some of these issues wouldn’t have happened.”

Triantafyllos isn’t alone in his efforts to eliminate future quality problems. The Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers, led by Hiroshi Osada, is also working with Toyota to improve quality. Osada claims that the problems that led to the recall of millions of vehicles occurred in the design development stage, adding that closer inspection of components “should be able to help prevent quality defects.”

[Source: Bloomberg | Image: Toshifumi Kitamura/AFP/Getty]

Report: Toyota audit uncovers ‘misunderstanding’ among suppliers about quality checks originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog

As part of its efforts to improve its responsiveness to customer complaints, Toyota is adding six new product quality field offices (PQFO) around North America starting this month. The new offices are to be co-located with Toyota Motor Sales regional offices and focus on investigating and addressing customer issues like reports of unintended acceleration.

The first PQFO opened earlier this year in New York as a pilot project to address cold weather and corrosion issues. The San Francisco PQFO will open in July with a specialization in hybrid issues. The Jacksonville office will focus on heating and cooling while the Houston office will target truck issues.

Each office will be able to look into any issue and will be staffed with engineers and technicians that will work with dealers and Toyota’s U.S. headquarters in Torrance, California to gather data from customers and determine the root cause of complaints. Understanding what customers are doing in the real world is a major component of Toyota’s new quality efforts. That customer usage data will be incorporated into future test and development procedures in order to try to avoid the same problems on other products. Full details are available in the press release after the jump.

[Source: Toyota | Image: Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty]

Continue reading Toyota to open six new product quality field offices

Toyota to open six new product quality field offices originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog

Just when we thought China’s automotive industry had made some headway in the quality department, we get word that complaints about new car quality in the country have risen significantly over the past few months. During the first quarter of this year, complains on vehicles purchased within the last six months climbed 15 percent over last year’s figures. Those numbers come courtesy of the China Association for Quality.

Even more surprising, the increase marks a nine-percent jump over the number of complaints filed during the fourth quarter of 2009. By and large, the defects concerned engine issues as well as small parts. A total of 94.6 percent of the complaints were lodged against cars costing less than $44,000.

[Source: Gasgoo]

Report: Chinese car quality complaints on the rise originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog

When news of Toyota’s recent recall woes began spreading across the U.S., many loyal customers were shocked at what they were hearing. But some customers that were experiencing the very issues that lead to those recalls were likely less surprised, as tales of poor and frustrating customer service showed that Toyota may not have always acted in the best interests of its customers. Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda is looking to eliminate the bad behaviors and inefficient processes that put Toyota in this uncharacteristically poor situation, starting with giving U.S. executives the authority to act upon safety issues.

A report by Automotive News reveals that Toyota is well on its way to establishing the Quality Task Force that Toyoda promised in his many apologies to U.S. customers. The Quality Task Force will work more closely with U.S. customers to catch problems that could lead to recalls before they go viral. Steve St. Angelo, vice president of Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, will reportedly lead the Quality Task Force in the U.S., while Quality VP Dino Triantafyllos has been tasked with improving management of product safety issues and expediting safety discussions. St. Angelo claims the task force will “open the lines of communication globally and enable us to respond faster here in North America to any concerns about our vehicles.”

The VPs will also work with other Toyota executives from around the world to improve global quality, while also interacting with former U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater, who is leading the independently operated North American Quality Advisory Panel.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req.| Image: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty]

Toyota names leader of North American Quality Task Force originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog

An independent advisory panel has been formed to help Toyota get a handle on its quality issues. With all of the current headlines relating to Toyota recalls and defects, the independent North American Quality Advisory Panel has been convened to study and give the automaker advice on quality and safety issues affecting its North American operations. Besides working closely with the North American leadership team, the panel has been promised direct access to the head honcho, Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda. Heading the group will be former U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Rodney E. Slater, who worked under President Bill Clinton to pass safety legislation for the automotive and aviation industries.

Among the many things this group of experts will be looking at will be the electronic throttle control system (ECTS-i) found throughout the Toyota and Lexus lineup. The group has pledged transparency and says they will make their findings public, although it seems they will be relying mainly on an analysis of Toyota’s own investigations and those of another independent consulting group, Exponent, of Palo Alto, California. But Toyota has given the panel “an unlimited budget to pursue its mandate” and “will be able to commission any additional outside reviews it deems necessary,” according to the press release you’ll find after the jump.

[Source: Toyota Motor North America]

Continue reading Former U.S. Sec. of Transportation to lead Toyota Quality Advisory Panel

Former U.S. Sec. of Transportation to lead Toyota Quality Advisory Panel originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog

In a press conference on Wednesday in Tokyo, Toyota Motor Company’s president Akio Toyoda (grandson of the company’s founder) revealed new details of his plan to reform the automaker’s quality standards. Toyota has been beset by a trio of high-profile recalls, two of which involve unintended acceleration caused by either floormats or a sticking accelerator pedal and another having to do with the brakes on the 2010 Prius hybrid.

In addition to heading up what’s being called a Special Committee for Global Quality, Toyoda remarked that his company will also establish a “chief quality officer” for each geographical region in which the company’s vehicles are sold. Those officers will each have a seat on the committee led by Toyoda, which holds its first meeting March 30. New local technical offices will also be opened to help better investigate customer complaints, the goal reportedly being to have an on-site inspector there within 24 hours after a complaint is made.

In addition, Toyoda reaffirmed the automaker’s commitment to outfit all of its vehicles with a brake-override system. This system would prevent acceleration if the gas and brake pedals were applied at the same time. Finally, the Japanese automaker also plans to make better use of onboard data event recorders in its vehicles. Like the black box in an airplane, these devices record critical data the seconds before an accident happens.

His third time speaking to the press in less than two months, Toyoda also confirmed that he would not be attending a February 24 Congressional hearing before the House Oversight Committee. Instead, Yoshimi Inaba, president of Toyota’s operations in North America, will appear on behalf of Toyota to answer the U.S. government’s questions. This will be the second of four Congressional hearings related to Toyota’s recent recalls, and while Toyoda does not plan to attend any himself, he is planning a trip to the U.S. to speak directly with workers, dealers and suppliers.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req. | Image: Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty]

Akio Toyoda outlines quality reform, won’t attend U.S. hearings originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

View full post on Autoblog