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It is rare for a single technology to have the power to dramatically influence almost every major industry in the world. Nanotechnology falls into this category and offers fundamentally new capabilities to architect a broad array of novel materials, composites and structures on a molecular scale. This technology has the potential to drastically re-define the methods used for developing lighter, stronger, and high-performance structures and processes with unique and non-traditional properties. This paper focuses on some of the automotive applications for nanotechnology and showcases a few of them that are believed to have the highest probability of success in this highly competitive industry. No discussion of nanotechnology is complete without touching upon its health and environmental implications.

This study presents a unique design for combining an electric motor and its drive circuitry into one integrated package. Electric motors used in systems such as electric power steering applications commonly consist of a separate electric motor and drive controller. There are several disadvantages to this approach. First, the mounting of two separate items into the system takes extra room and increases assembly complexity. There are several disadvantages associated with the wires that interconnect the two units. The long wires introduce additional electrical resistance. Also, they can act as antennas that both receive and radiate electromagnetic interference. Mounting a miniaturized motor drive unit directly to the side of the motor achieves some of the advantages of a fully integrated approach but only to a limited extent. Wires still exit the motor and must be attached to the drive unit. Angular position sensors must be mounted to the motor separate from the drive unit.