Detroit -- Not only does Apple do facial recognition, but Allison Plastics has joined the ranks of those who support facial recognition technology. Want to open your tailgate? Just look at it.
Full Resistant Plastics acquired two fuel cell companies in late 2017 to create a complete system.
The interactive tailgate is one of several smart exterior parts that Plastics has exhibited at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
Company executives believe that smart plastic exterior parts are the future of auto parts and actively discuss leading smart components into the hydrogen fuel cell market.
Co-CEO Jean-Michel Szczerba expects: In the future, the external components including the door, roof and hood will all be made of plastic, bid farewell to steel and aluminum, and usher in more advanced composite materials.
The company demonstrated a smart bumper: it includes a complete system with built-in laser radar and radar, active airflow management equipment, a crash box made of high-performance composite materials, and the use of expensive sensors and radar to protect the bumper.
The rear bezel uses LED lighting and can even display messages to other drivers or pedestrians. The surface coating also supports the touch-on function.
'We want to use plastic as much as possible,' said Marc Cornet, President and CEO of Americas Automotive Exterior. 'The radar sensor cannot be transported by steel or aluminum, but it can be transported by plastic.'
This means that some sensors that are exposed now may be installed behind the exterior parts in the future and will not be damaged in small accidents.
Users of the reversing camera need to clean the camera at regular intervals, especially in areas with snow. Cornet said: 'So the camera is best installed behind the bezel and the bezel will be plastic.'
The team of plastic-resistant plastics visited the International Consumer Electronics Show in Silicon Valley and Las Vegas in Detroit. Deeply understand that the automotive market is rapidly changing.
'The Silicon Valley has gone far beyond what we are used to,' said Cornette. A number of traditional car manufacturers have also begun to join in order to catch up with the new trends, but not all manufacturers are interested. 'Szerze Pakistan believes that China is also a strong participant. 'Past view is that China is good at plagiarism,' he said when he talked about China, 'but this is not the case, their technical level is very high.'
Of the 75 cooperative brands that are fully plastic-resistant, 21 are Chinese brands. Despite new participants, General Motors is still the largest partner of All Plastics.
Fuel cell system
Full resistance to plastics places great hopes on hydrogen fuel cell technology. Recently, automotive exterior and fuel system suppliers acquired two companies in this field, aiming to provide a complete system for car manufacturers.
Sezzeba said that the company believes that the future belongs to electric and hydrogen fuel cell hybrid vehicles. He said that the system works very similar to the current plug-in hybrid system, that is, before the start of the combustion engine, the vehicle is in pure power After traveling a certain distance, only hydrogen fuel cell system will continue to drive.
'We are in a subversive stage,' he said. 'In the next five to ten years, the industry will change more than in the past 50 years.'
On the same day in December, the French company announced the acquisition of two companies, Swisshydrogen SA and Optimum CPV in Belgium, as fuel cell systems, to help improve the overall resistance to plastic fuel cell systems.
At the same time, he said they are avoiding the pure electric vehicle market.
'The pure electric car market is too big,' he said. 'In which we may always be an insignificant participant.'
On the contrary, Full Resistant Plastics hopes to be the largest fish in the hydrogen fuel cell market. Plastics will play a key role in this goal.
'If you stop, you will fall in five years,' Cornet said.