These imaginative thought experiments are the inventions of one of the world's eminent brain researchers. These imaginative thought experiments are the inventions of one of the world's eminent brain researchers. They are "vehicles," a series of hypothetical, self-operating machines that exhibit increasingly intricate if not always successful or civilized "behavior." Each of the vehicles in the series incorporates the essential features of all the earlier models and along the way they come to embody aggression, love, logic, manifestations of foresight, concept formation, creative thinking, personality, and free will. In a section of extensive biological notes, Braitenberg locates many elements of his fantasy in current brain research.

Vehicles, vehicles, vehicles—nearly 100 of them—in all shapes and sizes! A giant crane hovers over a construction site, a space ship roars into space. . . . Supersized spreads feature marvelously detailed illustrations that just beg to be pored over again and again. Best of all, lots of flaps, popups, pull-tabs, and rotating wheels bring the various vehicles to life. Readers will poke into a ship's hold, explore the innards of a garbage truck, and help demolish a house. Any child who's ever been intrigued by the roar of an engine will adore this extraordinary collection of things on the go, from the everyday to the nearly outrageous—yes, there's even a pooper-scooper scooter!

The powertrain is at the heart of vehicle design; the engine – whether it is a conventional, hybrid or electric design – provides the motive power, which is then managed and controlled through the transmission and final drive components. The overall powertrain system therefore defines the dynamic performance and character of the vehicle. The design of the powertrain has conventionally been tackled by analyzing each of the subsystems individually and the individual components, for example, engine, transmission and driveline have received considerable attention in textbooks over the past decades. The key theme of this book is to take a systems approach – to look at the integration of the components so that the whole powertrain system meets the demands of overall energy efficiency and good drivability. Vehicle Powertrain Systems provides a thorough description and analysis of all the powertrain components and then treats them together so that the overall performance of the vehicle can be understood and calculated. The text is well supported by practical problems and worked examples. Extensive use is made of the MATLAB(R) software and many example programmes for vehicle calculations are provided in the text. Key features: Structured approach to explaining the fundamentals of powertrain engineering Integration of powertrain components into overall vehicle design Emphasis on practical vehicle design issues Extensive use of practical problems and worked examples Provision of MATLAB(R) programmes for the reader to use in vehicle performance calculations This comprehensive and integrated analysis of vehicle powertrain engineering provides an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate automotive engineering students and is a useful reference for practicing engineers in the vehicle industry

Fully updated throughout, Electric Vehicle Technology, Second Edition, is a complete guide to the principles, design and applications of electric vehicle technology. Including all the latest advances, it presents clear and comprehensive coverage of the major aspects of electric vehicle development and offers an engineering-based evaluation of electric motor scooters, cars, buses and trains. This new edition includes: important new chapters on types of electric vehicles, including pickup and linear motors, overall efficiencies and energy consumption, and power generation, particularly for zero carbon emissions expanded chapters updating the latest types of EV, types of batteries, battery technology and other rechargeable devices, fuel cells, hydrogen supply, controllers, EV modeling, ancillary system design, and EV and the environment brand new practical examples and case studies illustrating how electric vehicles can be used to substantially reduce carbon emissions and cut down reliance on fossil fuels futuristic concept models, electric and high-speed trains and developments in magnetic levitation and linear motors an examination of EV efficiencies, energy consumption and sustainable power generation. MATLAB® examples can be found on the companion website www.wiley.com/go/electricvehicle2e Explaining the underpinning science and technology, this book is essential for practicing electrical, automotive, power, control and instrumentation engineers working in EV research and development. It is also a valuable reference for academics and students in automotive, mechanical, power and electrical engineering.

"Lift the flaps to find out the secrets of some of the world's most amazing rescue vehicles...Discover eight incredible lifesaving vehicles, from giant fire trucks to high-tech helicopters to the awesome Submarine Rescue System, and learn how people are rescued from emergency situations all over the world. Join the rescue crew--there's no time to lose!"--Page 4 of cover.

The next wave of titles in the re-launch of the highly popular First Discovery series. Big, colorful illustrations and simple, direct text show kids the wonders of automobiles. Scholastic First Discovery: Cars & Trucks, with its fresh cover design, kid-friendly paperback format, and larger trim size offers young readers an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand introduction to automobiles. Full-color, highlighted illustrations are accompanied by brief, simple text full of fun facts. Four transparent acetate pages in this title add a fun visual kick.

Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicles: From Concept to Reality presents a step-by-step design and development guide for heavy-duty electric vehicles. It also offers practical insights based on the commercial application of an electric city bus. Heavy-duty electric vehicle design is challenging due to a lack of clear understanding of the government policies, R&D directions and uncertainty around the performance of various subsystems in an electric powertrain. Therefore, this book discusses key technical aspects of motors, power electronics, batteries and vehicle control systems, and outlines the system integration strategies necessary for design and safe operation of electric vehicles in practice. This comprehensive book serves as a guide to engineers and decision makers involved in electric vehicle development programs and assists them in finding the suitable electric powertrain solution for a given heavy-duty vehicle application. - Offers an overview of various standards and regulations that guide the electric vehicle design process and a comprehensive discussion on various government policies and incentive schemes propelling the growth of heavy electric vehicle markets across the world - Provides a comparative evaluation of different electric drivetrain concepts and a step-by-step power calculation guide for heavy-duty electric powertrain - Explains material selection and manufacturing methods for next generation batteries - Discusses key elements and design rules for creating a robust high voltage energy storage system, appropriate packaging and its support systems including charging network - Includes a concise description of torque mapping, power management and fault handling strategies for inverter drive and control systems - Features case studies to better understand complex topics like charging system requirements and vehicle control system diagnostics