International Conference and Exhibition on Automobile Engineering September 01-02, 2015 Valencia, Spain

Ever since the innovations of Étienne Lenoir in 1859 and Siegfried Marcus in 1864, the internal combustion engine has been in fore front of mechanical engineering research. Since its advent, the IC engine has undergone several modification and design configurations. Study of various engine parameters such as Engine dynamics, Engine thermodynamics, Engine Electronics, Supercharging, Turbocharging, Engine Cycle and Efficiency is now one of the major topics of innovation in modern day automotive engineering. Also, transmission and powertrain are also crucial to successful operation of an automobile. Under transmission and powertrain, several important topics can be found like Transmission System and Driveline, Powertrain Controls, Car engineering etc.

With growing concerns about our natural resources and environmental protection and restoration, one of the major global automotive issues nowadays is that of fuel economy and emission. One of the primary objectives of automotive manufacturers is to design cars which are highly fuel efficient and also cause considerable less air pollution. Topics like Fuel Injections and sprays, Fuels and Lubricants, Alternative fuels, Flow and Combustion diagnostics, Advanced combustion systems, Vehicle Energy Management etc are being extensively researched into various mechanical engineering and multi-disciplinary research institutes and research groups.

Manufacturing and testing of automobiles is the primary operation of the global automotive industry. The manufacturing process of car incorporates mechanical engineers, industrial engineers, manufacturing engineers etc., who utilize topics like Advanced Vehicle Manufacturing Technologies, Advanced Materials, Multi-Material Design and Concepts, Applications of Composite Materials, Cost-Effective Light-weighting Strategies, Joining Technologies etc. The testing and diagnosis of automobiles is far more related to areas such as Product and Performance Development, Vehicle Testing Technologies etc.

Modern industrial operations are nowadays almost completely dependent on the use of digital techniques and specialized softwares. Because of the ease of conducting production and precise engineering which is guaranteed because of digitalization of production process, global automotive industry utilizes digital softwares extensively in almost every step of the automobile manufacturing process. Current trends in digitalization related to automotive industry are Designs, Concepts and simulation, Telematics, Internet of Vehicles and ITS, By Wire Technologies, Advanced Simulation Systems etc.

Road safety and Automobile safety are very important multidisciplinary topics which have been in constant innovation since the production of commercial automobiles. Areas like Vehicle Dynamics and Handling, Advanced and Combined Braking Systems, Automated Safety Technologies, Advanced Safety Systems (including human factors), Pre-Crash, In-Crash and Post-Crash Accident Analysis, Crashworthiness, Damage Mitigation and Occupant protection, Functional safety of alternative propulsion vehicles, Safety of elderly drivers, Safety effects of reduced-mass vehicles etc. are just few of lines of investigation for research institutes involved in the field of accident analysis and automotive safety. Government legislations regarding automotive safety, Crucial drivers in changing trends of vehicle safety, Commercial and societal concerns related to automotive safety etc. are also major areas of concern in the field of automotive safety.

The concept of autonomous cars has been around the field of automotive research since the early 1920s. The first truly successful autonomous vehicle was Carnegie Mellon University’s Navlab project which travelled 3,100 miles cross-country, of which 98.2% was autonomously controlled. The major areas of research in the autonomous vehicle concept are Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Local Dynamic Maps and Navigation Applications, Object Tracking Applications, Integrated Vehicle Roadside Software, Innovative Automated Driving, Closed Loop Automated Systems, Cooperative Driving Applications etc. Also several legal and social issues are also associated with these driverless cars like Driver Interaction and Influence with Automated and Assisted Driving and legal aspects of autonomous vehicles.

Use of ergonomic and cognitive concepts and their application has long been utilized by automobile manufacturers to make the experience of automobiles as much as comfortable and relaxed to the customer. The primary objective of interior design of any automobile is to maximize the comfort and satisfaction of the passengers. Concepts like HVAC Systems and Climate Control, Anthropometric databases, Driver Interfaces, Comfort Factors, Ergonomics and Comfort Design, Driver Friendly Systems, Driving Simulators and Field Studies, Digital Human Body Modeling etc. are primarily considered when designing the interior of an automobile.

Noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH) is the study and modification of the noise and vibration characteristics of automobiles. While noise and vibration can be readily measured, harshness is a subjective quality, and is measured either via personal evaluations, or with analytical tools that can provide results reflecting human subjective impressions. Interior NVH deals with noise and vibration experienced by the occupants of the cabin, while exterior NVH is largely concerned with the noise radiated by the vehicle, and include drive-by noise testing. Several factors influence the overall NVH rating of a car like Engine and powertrain NVH, Transient NVH Phenomena, Aero-Acoustic Noise, Experimental NVH analysis method, Advanced NVH simulations, Pedestrian warning sound by Electric Vehicles, NVH of light-weight vehicles etc.

Motor vehicle emissions contribute to air pollution and are a major ingredient in the creation of smog in some large cities. A 2013 study by MIT indicates that 53,000 early deaths occur per year in the United States alone because of vehicle emissions. According to another study from the same university, traffic fumes alone cause the death of 5000 people every year just in the United Kingdom. Ever since the advent of automobiles, the persistent problem of air pollution has been in the forefront of environmental research. It includes topic like Impact of air pollution on environment, Recyclable materials in manufacturing, Development of clean combustion and low emission engines, After treatment and emission monitoring, Emissions Control etc.

Due to global concern regarding dwindling natural resources and overwhelmingly negative impacts of air pollution, the most lucrative and important sector of automotive research is the research involving hybrid and electric vehicles and also Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). As research in this field is being most sought after, it includes topics like Power Electronics and Electric Motor Drives, Electric Machines and Actuators, Energy Storage and High Voltage Charging, Electric, Hybrid Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle System Architectures, Smart Grid, Grid to Vehicle (G2V)/ Vehicle to Grid (V2G), Electrical Infrastructure, Fuel Cells and Applications in Transportation, Modeling, Simulation, and Control of Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, Standards, Policies, and Regulations for Hybrid, Plug-in Hybrid and Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Solar Cars etc.

The automotive industry is a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's most important economic sectors by revenue. Around the world, there were about 806 million cars and light trucks on the road in 2007, consuming over 980 billion litres (980,000,000 m3) of gasoline and diesel fuel yearly. With the total global production at 89,747,430 commercial vehicles, 2014 saw the highest output of the global automotive industry ever. Several aspects of the automotive industry have been deemed critically important like Business Aspects of automotive Industry, Financial aspects of automotive industry, Global Powerhouses in automotive industries, Potential high value products and innovative strategies, Auto Recalls - Impact on automotive industry and its management, Automotive Industry Statistics, Automotive industry Analysis, Automotive industry standards and regulations, Automotive Industry – Europe market etc.