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We are living in an interesting period of human history, marked by a transition toward a more sustainable mobility system through the introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric aerial vehicles (EAVs) [1].
Figure 1 shows a vision of Japan's future e-mobility society, which requires the development of various cutting-edge automotive electronics technologies, such as dynamic wireless power transfer, operation management systems, and autonomous driving [2].
Thus, automotive electronics has become a melting pot of various fields, and it can be seen as an ideal specimen of transdisciplinary research and development. In this century, the foundation of automotive electronics encompasses diverse fields, such as power electronics, power devices, materials, physics, antennas, automotive engineering, mechatronics, aerospace engineering, sensors, communication technologies, computer science, data science, control theory, economics, human health science, and law. The collaboration among researchers and engineers from these various disciplines has fostered significant advancements and innovations. Consequently, many new issues arise in advancing automotive electronics to realize the future vehicle society. Almost all of them are transdisciplinary issues.
An example is the integration of a wireless power transfer system and an onboard sensor system for estimating the relative position between the vehicle and the coils installed in the road. Another example is the integration of unmanned aerial vehicle motion control and power electronic control for optimizing the transmission efficiency of inflight dynamic charging. The mobility system is a huge system of multiagents with both global and local objectives. Thus, strategies for optimal energy management should be answered by the knowledge of multiagent system theory, big data, machine learning, energy storage, and renewable power systems. The integration of and collaboration between EVs and EAVs are emerging areas of interest.
We need skilled individuals to overcome the challenges. As the journalist Bob Schieffer once said, "It's getting the right person that's the challenge"—there is a growing need for researchers and engineers with adequate skills who can effectively respond to the demands of vehicular technology. Therefore, enhancing automotive electronics education becomes an essential task for not only universities but also companies. This raises a crucial question: how do we shape the new education model?
Full Article: IEEE Vehicular Technology Magazine, Volume 19, Number 3, September 2024
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