Image 4 of 7 from Intel partners with Venturi Fetish to make energy sharing possible

November 11, 2005 A strategic alliance between manufacturers of microchips and automobiles seems unlikely yet Intel and French Sports Car builder Venturi announced a pooling of their talents and resources yesterday, which has seen WiMAX wireless data communication technology incorporated into the Fetish, the world’s first all-electric sports car. We’ve previously reported on the Fetish here, here, here and here, but the addition of WIMAX adds considerably to the futuristic vision of Venturi - by incorporating an Alvarion pre-WiMAX wireless connection box into the car, the car will be in constant contact with its owner who can charge, discharge, or check the status from wherever they may be. WIMAX will also enable the factory to remotely monitor vehicle operation, fine-tune the car and even update on-board software. The data communication capability of the Fetish is just the first step on the road towards optimised energy management though. Thanks to WiMAX technology, the future Venturi vehicle - a solar powered electric vehicle - will usher in a new era of electric power-sharing networks in an urban environment. Using WiMAX technology, the fleet of vehicles will be remote-managed and each vehicle will be able to communicate with the others. Through its ability to store power and use wireless communications, the future electric car will be able to communicate with other vehicles, either to sell energy or to buy it. It could even act as a reservoir of energy for the State.