Your Tech Story

automobile

Bruce McLaren : The Kiwi Motorsport Ace From New Zealand

Founder, Inspiration, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

The great racer who not only raced the cars, also designed and engineered the best racing cars for the world of the car race. At an early age, Mclaren founded the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd. He was not just a racer but his extraordinary, but short life left a legacy behind him. The Kiwi motorsport icon Bruce McLaren lived his life devoted entirely to his passion.

Early Life

Bruce McLaren was born on August 30 1937, as Bruce Leslie McLaren, Auckland, New Zealand. His father, Les McLaren, was an engineer and motor car man. His father along with his wife Ruth McLaren ran a service station and workshop. Bruce completed his primary education from Meadowbank Primary School, Auckland. Suffering from the Perthes disease, at the age of nine, his left leg remained shorter than his right leg. Due to the disease, he spent the next two years of his life, in the Wilson Home in Takapuna, on a Bradford Frame for treatment and had to leave the school. After two years, he came back to his family and started correspondence classes with a tutor. After completing his high school education, he graduated in engineering from the Seddon Technical Memorial College.

Bruce’s father, being a motor car man, loved cars and car racing. In fact, before the birth of Bruce, he used to participate in the motorcycle racing. Due to some injury, during one of his races, he had to leave motorcycle racing. But, he continued car racing, even after the accident. As Bruce had spent most of his childhood among motors and racing enthusiasts, he also grew a passion for automobiles and racing.

Career in Racing

Bruce was 14 when his father brought an old Austin Ulster to their workshop. His father wanted to repair the car so that he could take part in a car race. The car needed repair and took almost a year, to get back onto the roads. Bruce and his father even skipped meals to get the car done. After getting a driver’s license, at the age of 16, Bruce entered the first race of his life, a hill climb, about 25 miles outside Auckland.

mclaren
Image Source: grandprixhistory.org

For his first real race, he drove the Ford 10 special, and later, moved to the Austin-Healey and an F2 Cooper-Climax sports. In March 1958, he participated in the New Zealand International Grand Prix and was the first runner-up. In the competition, he won the “Driver to Europe” scholarship and became first New Zealander to do so. On 15th March, Bruce left for England, where he drove for John Cooper of Cooper Cars, starting in the very first year in England.

In late 1958, he participated in the German Grand Prix, a combined F1 and F2 race, where he earned his name among the people of England. The next year, in 1959, he joined the Cooper factory F1 team, alongside Jack Brabham, and at the age 22, Bruce won the United States Grand Prix, becoming the youngest ever GP winner of that time. Brabham was the Australian car race driver, who was also in the NZIGP Association’s selection committee. After this win, he won the Argentine Grand Prix (1960), Monaco Grand Prix (1962), and New Zealand GP (1964).

In 1963, Bruce founded the Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd, along with an American sponsor Teddy Mayer, and continued racing, winning many Cooper races. In 1965, he announced his own GP team. Like his father, in the same year, he also invested in a service station. The station was established in his hometown Aukland and was named as Bruce McLaren Motors. He worked with Cooper for 7 long years, and left it, to develop his own Formula One race car, winning the team’s first Grand Prix in 1968. In the same year, he won the 24 hours of Le Mans in a 7-litre Ford Mark IIA, and in 1969, the 12 hours of Sebring in a Ford Mark IV.

Personal Life

Bruce married his wife, Patricia Broad, on 9 December 1961. The couple had a daughter named Amanda. On 2 June 1970, while testing his new M8D, at the Goodwood Circuit in England, his car crashed on the Lavant Straight, just before Woodcote corner and he died in the accident, at the age of 32.

The racing team founded by Bruce continued participating in Formula One races and won 8 Constructors’ Championships and 12 Drivers’ Championships. He has got the Taupo Motorsport Park, in New Zealand, renamed Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park in 2015. His name is inducted in the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame, International Motorsports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Yandex’s Driver-less Cars are Out Running on the Roads of Moscow

News, Product, Tech News / By

The Google of Russia, and the most used search engine of Russia, Yandex, is doing way beyond a search engine must do. The largest technology firm of Russia started its journey by setting up a search engine in the late 90s and by the end of 2018, it has spread its wings in other fields too. On Tuesday it announced the launch of a self-driving autonomous taxi service, that will soon run on the roads of Moscow.

yandex
Image Source: hearstapps.com

Yandex launched the prototypes of the driverless cars last year, in the month of May, and had already announced Europe’s first autonomous taxi service, back in August this year. The self-driven cars, Waymo by Google, are already running in Silicon Valley, and a launch of such cars out of Silicon Valley is a big achievement for Yandex.

Yandex initially will have two types of vehicles, based on the driver-less technology, and will run in the 400-hectare region of Skolkovo, in the Innopolis technology park. The car will have fixed fares for particular destinations, and the user can choose the destinations through an app, on their smartphones.

The self-driven cars by Yandex have sensors, video cameras and lidar, that enables the cars to judge the distance from other cars and other obstacles, using lasers. The odometry, used in the car, calculates how much the tyres of the vehicle have moved, and in which direction. The vehicle is embedded with the technology, that can identify the traffic lights, road marking, and the road signs. The vehicle can also predict the next situation as according to the makers, no one follows all the rules properly, so the car must be intelligent enough, to plan and predict the next step, that must be executed to avoid any type of mishappening.

Although the car has been tested with all its features and is good to go, for now, there will be a human driver sitting on the other seat of the car, to take over the driving at the time of emergency. The driver will be removed soon from the car, and Yandex is planning to reach out to more places, in Russia, where it can impose those self-driven cars. It is also planning to make the technology compatible with different brands cars.

Mercedes Showcased the Third-gen Merc B-Class at the Paris Motor Show 2018

News, Product, Product Management, Tech News / By

The Paris Motor Show 2018 has started, and every automobile company is all set to showcase their new products and inventions in the event. In between the Mercedes has already unveiled its new Mercedes-Benz B-class MPV, as the fourth member of the Mercedes’ range of eight new smaller cars.

The Benz B-class is a hatchback silhouette, made under the internal codename W247. Having a similar shape as its predecessors, it has come with better interiors and fresh sheet metals outside. The vehicle is based on the A-class platform, with new engines, autonomous tech and powertrain options.

Merc MVP
Image Source: yahoo.com

The B-class has adopted the older multi-beam LED headlamps from the A-class and has the split tail lamps at the back. This time, it has avoided the strange side sculptured look from the previous models of the series, giving the car a cleaner and upfront profile. The new Mercedes MPV is 1,557mm taller, 4,359mm longer, and 1,786mm wider, having a wheelbase of 2,929mm and a reduced drag coefficient of 0.24. The roof of the B-class is slightly lower and the wheels of the car range between 16 inches to 19 inch for the different variants.

The overhangs are also shorter, offering more interior space for people and cargo. The Merc MVP has been embedded with the voice recognition, augmented reality features and Mercedes Me connectivity. Similar to the S-class, it also includes the safety features and the driver aid for semi-autonomous driving.

The different variants of the B-class will offer five engines, two petrol and three diesel type, ranging from the 136-horsepower gasoline B180 to the 190-horsepower, 295 pound-foot B220d. Both types of engine cars will have a 7-speed automatic gearbox.

There has been no announcement of the launch of the B-class in India yet. But, we can expect the availability of this new Mercedes model in India, in the coming year, maybe after the launch of A-class hatchback or the A-class sedan.

Karl Benz : The German Inventor & the Founder of Mercedes Benz

Founder, Inspiration, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

The founder of the world’s first automobile, powered by an internal combustion engine, and one of the most expensive cars in the world, Karl Benz was a German engineer and entrepreneur. The great inventor who introduced the world with his signature design of the first horse-less carriage has been inspiring the world for years.

Early Life

Karl Benz was born on 25 November 1844, as Karl Friedrich Michael Vaillant, to Johann Georg Benz, a locomotive driver, and Josephine Vaillant, in Mühlburg, Germany. During the time of his birth, his parents were not married, but, tied the knots, only after a few months of his birth. After the wedding, Karl received his father’s surname Benz. But, his father died of pneumonia when Karl was just 2 years old.

Karl Friedrich Benz
Image Source: jarmunaplo.hu

Karl completed his school education from the local Grammar School, and joined the Poly-Technical University, for further education. The founder of the science-based mechanical engineering, Ferdinand Redtenbacher, was one of his professors, at the University. In 1860, he started studying mechanical engineering at the University of Karlsruhe. On 9 July 1864, he graduated from the university as a mechanical engineer, at the age of 19.

Career

As soon Karl graduated, he looked for a job and started working as a mechanical engineer. He switched between many companies for almost 7 years, but could not fit in. He worked as a draftsman in a scales factory, worked for a bridge building company, and even worked in an iron construction company.

In 1872, Karl joined his hands with August Ritter and started an Iron Foundry and Mechanical Workshop, named as Machines for Sheet-metal Working, in Mannheim. Due to his partner’s irresponsible behaviour, the first year of the company went really bad. The company was facing losses, so, Karl’s fiancée Bertha Ringer, acquired the shares of August Ritter, with the money of her dowry.

Karl started working on the various vehicle parts, including ignition, spark plugs, gear, carburettor, water radiator, and clutch. He loved running bicycles and always wanted to make an automotive bicycle. His another dream was to replace the horse carts with the automotive engine carriages. In December 1885, Karl assembled his first two-seater, fully powered gas car. He received the patent for the two-stroke engine in 1879.

Karl was clear about his intentions, and soon he patented the speed regulation system, the ignition using sparks with battery, the spark plug, the carburettor, the clutch, the gear shift, and the water radiator.

Due to the high expenditure on the experiments, Karl and Bertha became weaker, financially, and were forced to sell the shares of their company to photographer Emil Bühler and his brother. The company was renamed to Gasmotoren Fabrik Mannheim, in 1882, and Karl had only 5% of shares left in it. In 1883, Karl resigned from the company.

The Rise of Benz Motors

In 1883, After leaving Gasmotoren Fabrik Mannheim, Karl with Max Rose, the owner of a bicycle repair shop, founded Benz & Companie Rheinische Gasmotoren-Fabrik. The company had 25 employees and became popular with the name Benz & Cie.

With the company, Karl started working on a horse-less carriage, named as Benz Patent Motorwagen, and registered the patent for the same, on 29 January 1886, as DRP-37435. With the four-stroke engine, he developed the carriage, that was pulled by a bicycle and, was based on the similar technology, when he created an automobile.

Karl kept on improving the vehicles and launched the next version of the same, the Motorwagen Model 2, in 1889, followed by the Model 3 in the same year. In 1988, the Motorwagen was open for sale and received a good response from the public.

In 1988, Bertha Karl’s wife along with their two children, went on a drive on the Motorwagen, from their hometown to Bertha’s mother’s house, in Pforzheim. The distance between the two places was 106 km, and it is said to be the first longest trip done on the Motorwagen. The motive behind the drive was to make people aware of the feasibility of the newly invented carriage. Interestingly, Karl was not aware of the trip and Bertha informed him about her success through a telegram.

Karl kept on experimenting, and by 1899, his company had 430 employees, producing 572 units of their product, becoming the largest automobile company in the world.

Soon, with the time, Karl produced a few racing cars and some affordable personal vehicles for people. Karl also gets the credits for building the first truck with an internal combustion engine (1895) and the flat engine (1896).

In 1906, Karl Benz, Bertha Benz, and their son, Eugen, founded the private company, C. Benz Sons, Karl remaining the director of Benz & Cie. The company was established 10 kilometres east of Mannheim, nearby Ladenburg, producing automobiles, gas and petrol engines. The company produced affordable vehicles, becoming most popular in London as taxis.

In 1923, Germany went through a rapid inflation, resulting in a lesser production of vehicles. Benz & Cie signed the “Agreement of Mutual Interest” with the infamous DMG (Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft), that was valid till 2000. Under the agreement, the two brands produced vehicles with mixed technologies, maintaining their own brands. It lifted both the companies shares, and the two managed to fight the economic crisis.

The two companies together launched the diesel trucks line, in 1927, and Karl served as the board member of the newly founded company until he died. Many of the Karl’s first and most important inventions are still preserved in Mannheim.

Personal Life

Karl Benz married his fiancee, Bertha Ringer, on 20 July 1872. The couple had five children. On 25 November 1914, on his seventieth birthday, the Karlsruhe University awarded Karl Benz an honorary doctorate.

On 4 April 1929, Karl Benz died from a bronchial inflammation, at the age of eighty-four. In 2011, a movie named Carl & Bertha was made on the life story of Karl and Bertha.

Anthony Levandowski : The Controversial Ex-Engineer of Google

Founder, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

Anthony Levandowski, the former engineer at Google, does not need any introduction, thanks to all the controversies, he faced in the past one year. The irony is that the man who was the originator of the idea of driverless vehicles, is at the centre of a lawsuit between two major companies, for stealing the same. However, the lawsuit is against him, he must be credited for the introduction to such a technology.

Early Life

Anthony Levandowski was born on 15 March 1980. At the age of 18, he joined the University of California, Berkeley. He received a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, in Industrial Engineering and Operation Research. He was always into machines and loved working on them. In 2004, he participated in the DARPA Grand Challenge with his autonomous motorcycle, named as the Ghostrider, that he built with the help of other fellow engineers. The motorcycle was first of its kind as it was a driver-less bike that rode in the challenge.

Career

Anthony took a job at Google and started working on the Google’s Street View project, in 2007. Already being in love with machines and automobiles, he kept on experimenting with the driver-less cars and started his own company 510 Systems in the same year, he joined Google. He started another company with the name Anthony’s Robots that produced self-driving cars. Under Anthony’s Robots, he built a self-driving Toyota Prius, Pribot, having one of the first spinning Lidar laser ranging units that rode on the public roads.

Anthony
Image Source: businessinsider.com

After recognising the potential of Anthony’s autonomous car production projects, Google acquired the both, transforming it into a single venture, Waymo. Anthony continued making self-driving cars under Waymo, for Google, until January 2016.

Founding Otto

In 2016, Anthony left the job at Google and co-founded Otto, self-driving technology company, along with his former colleague from Google, Lior Ron. In the same year, Uber acquired Otto by paying $680 million. Levandowski held the leadership of Uber’s driverless car operation and continued working with Otto. In October 2016, Otto manufactured an autonomous semi-truck, that completed the 132-mile route, achieving the longest continuous journey by a driverless vehicle.

The Controversy

In February 2017, his former company, Waymo, filed a lawsuit against him, accusing him of stealing 9.7 GB of Waymon’s highly confidential files, trading the secrets and using the blueprints and design files to manufacture autonomous vehicles for Uber. Waymo claimed that the files were stolen, back in 2009, while Levandowski was still working with Google. Levandowski was refrained from working with Otto and later, in the same year, Uber fired him for not co-operating in the investigation.

Levandowski started his own self-driving car company named Kache.ai in July 2018.

Soichiro Honda : The Founder of the Honda Motor Company

Founder, start-up, Story, Tech Story / By

Some achievers are not only achievers but are also the trendsetters. Those trendsetters bring a revolution in their field and get their name registered in the history for their contribution to the world. One such trendsetter is the Japnese Engineer, Soichiro Honda. It would be difficult to find even a single person who is not aware of Honda Motors or hasn’t seen a Honda vehicle. The owner of the company of 100,000 people, did not have an easy ride, but without struggles, there can’t be any progress.

Early Life

Honda was born to a blacksmith, Gihei and a weaver, Mika, on November 17, 1906. His father ran a bicycle repair business. Honda was never interested in the traditional education and used to forge his family’s stamp on the school grade reports, using a rubber bicycle pedal cover. Honda once went to see a demonstration of an aeroplane, that made him fascinated about machines and grew a love for them.

Soichiro Honda
Image Source: youberelentless.com

Career

Honda’s career did not start very smooth. He was just 15, when he moved to Tokyo, and joined a motor garage, as a mechanic. He worked there for over six years. In 1928, he moved back to his hometown and started his own repair business, at the age of 22. He became more interested in automobiles and motor machines, becoming engaged among new experiments with the engines.

Building Honda Motor Co. Ltd.

In 1937, he started producing piston rings for the major car manufacturing Toyota, under his newly founded company, T?kai Seiki. After two years, the second world war occurred and two of his factory plants, of T?kai Seiki, got destroyed in a US B-29 bomber attack (1944) and in an earthquake (1945). After selling the salvageable remains of the company to Toyota, for ¥450,000, in October 1946, he founded the Honda Technical Research Institute. He became the president of the company and stayed the one until he retired in 1973.

Honda designed a mass-produced engine, that he used in the Type A motorised bicycles, that his company sold till 1951. In 1949, he manufactured the first model in the Dream series of motorcycles, that became a landmark of Japanese Automotive Technology. Just in a few years, his company’s turnover was in billions, and it became an MNC, producing the bestselling bikes, in the world. Soon, his company motorcycles were competing with the sales of Triumph and Harley-Davidson. Honda Motors opened its first abroad plant in the US, in 1959.

Even after he retired from his post of President in 1973, he remained as the director of the company and became the supreme advisor of the company, in 1983.

Personal Life & Death

Honda was married to Sachi Honda till his death. His only son, Hirotoshi Honda, followed his lead and became an entrepreneur. He was the CEO of Mugen Motorsports, that produced original racing vehicles.

Honda was very active as a sports person even at the age of 77. He and his wife loved outdoor activities like golf, hang-gliding, ballooning and skiing. On August 5, 1991, Soichiro Honda died, due to liver failure.

Honda has made an impact on the industry of personal motor vehicles and was listed, among the 25 most intriguing of People magazine, in 1980. He was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun, in 1991, and even got established Soichiro Honda Medal by ASME, in his name. The medal is given for the outstanding achievements or significant engineering contributions, in the field of personal transport motor manufacturing.