Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Monday 16 July 2018

Formula E paves way for electric cars on and off racetrack

By TERRIN WAACK average — is going to be
NEW YORK (AP) — Unplug the time it takes to charge
and go. Filling up a car is your car," Gill said.
as simple as that, even if Teams are given identi-
it's not gas flowing through cal batteries. The chas-
the nozzle. Electricity is ef- sis, or bodies, of the cars
ficient. are also the same. Where
Formula E, a global electric teams can get creative are
auto racing series, steers places such as the electric
the way — toward the fu- motor, inverter, powertrain
ture of not only its sport but and gearbox. Manufactur-
also its industry. ers get involved here.
"You don't realize it," Mahin- Everyday car names occu-
dra Racing team principal py pit lane. Audi and Jag-
Dilbagh Gill said, "but the uar already have teams.
second car from today that Nissan and BMW will next
you're going to buy is going season. Mercedes-Benz
to be an electric car." and Porsche are joining for
America is one of Formula season six.
E's biggest targets. So, for "This is like a playground
the second consecutive for them," Mahindra Rac-
time since the series' incep- ing driver Feliz Rosenqvist
tion in 2014, Formula E took said. "When you get to the
on the Brooklyn streets for a competitive side, you can
season-finale doublehead- always find new ways that
er of its 12-race schedule. maybe you wouldn't do on
The track length is 2.373 ki- a normal car. You push the
lometers with Lower Man- software and hardware."
hattan in the backdrop as The Panasonic Jaguar Racing team charges driver car before the first of two auto races in the The steering wheel, which
well as the Statue of Liberty. Formula E championship, Saturday, July 14, 2018, in Brooklyn, New York. has a programmable
Techeetah's Jean-Eric Associated Press screen, is also fair game.
Vergne became the fourth Things can get technical
different driver to win the ries started and requires a dangerous — they were constantly records data, when the car gets broken
championship and Audi mid-race car change be- prohibited on airplanes, monitoring temperature down into specific parts
Sport ABT Schaeffler took cause the battery runs out. they caught fire on mobile and voltage. and technology is thrown
home the overall team ti- The Gen2 car will run fast- phones," Panasonic Jaguar When the car is charging, into the mix. But the basics
tle. Confetti at the finish line er and longer. No more Racing sporting manager dry-ice blowers — Super remain: Energy is how far.
marked the end of an era. swaps. Performance has Gary Ekerold said. "Since Chillers — connect to the Power is how fast.
In January, Formula E un- basically been doubled we've run Formula E ... ab- car and prevent overheat- "It's still a racing car," Pana-
veiled its new Gen2 car in just four years without solutely fine. Batteries are ing. sonic Jaguar Racing driver
for next season. The cur- changing the battery's fun- proven to be safe." It takes less than an hour to Mitch Evans said. "It looks
rent cars have a maximum damental chemistry. But they're still monitored. A recharge a drained bat- like a racing car. It drives
power of 200kW, limited to "I don't know if you remem- dielectric — non-conduc- tery. like a racing car."
180kW during races, and ber before Formula E start- tor — fluid in the battery "It's going to start reaching It just doesn't sound like the
they top out at 225 kph ed, there was this whole keeps it cool while the car a stage where the time it normal racing car. The roar
(140 mph). This model has perception that lithium runs. There's also a battery takes to fill up your gas — 4 of a combustion engine is
been around since the se- batteries were a little bit management system that minutes and 40 seconds on missing.q

Microsoft raises alarms about face recognition

Associated Press It's the first big tech com- Smith said in a blog post tomers' requests to deploy passed over because of
REDMOND, Wash. (AP) — pany to raise serious alarms Friday that the government the technology in situations ethical concerns.
Microsoft is calling on Con- about an increasingly should form a bipartisan ex- involving "human rights Smith defended the com-
gress to regulate the use sought-after technology for pert commission. risks." pany's contract with U.S. Im-
of facial recognition tech- recognizing a person's face Smith says Microsoft, which A Microsoft spokeswoman migration and Customs En-
nology to protect people's from a photo or through a supplies face recognition declined to provide more forcement, saying it doesn't
privacy and freedom of ex- camera. to some businesses, has al- details about what oppor- involve face recognition.q
pression. Microsoft President Brad ready rejected some cus- tunities the company has