It was proposed at one point for the new W204 C class !!! It was called KDI EVT --came out first I believe around the same time as that steering by joystick thingy.
Camless engine
Siemens Automotive is developing a second-generation electromagnetic valve train (EMVT). The full-load capability of the system at maximum speeds has already been demonstrated in a 16-valve four-cylinder engine. The key component of the infinitely variable electromechanical valve train is an armature-position sensor that simultaneously assures energy- and noise-reducing-control characteristics. Each actuator has a position sensor and is individually electronically controlled. In this manner, the valve timing can be adjusted as required within the physical limits of actuator operation. Thus, this valve control technology results in reduced fuel consumption and emissions as well as improved torque in spark-ignited engines.
The demonstration engine on a test dynamometer in Regensburg, Germany, is equipped with 16 valve actuators and the corresponding armature-position sensors, the Electronic Valve Control Unit (EVCU), a modified engine management Electronic Control Unit (ECU), and two cable rails connecting the actuators to the EVCU. The engine control transmits the actuator signals to the valve control system via a CAN bus. The system operates with an electrical distribution system voltage of 42 V generated by a crankshaft-mounted starter-generator.
The actuators work according to the free spring-mass-oscillator principle. A special software algorithm is used to control the actuator coil currents so that the valves are decelerated to a speed near zero as they land - in conjunction with a switching time of barely three milliseconds. It was this very soft landing feature that permitted the advantages of a cam-controlled valve train - soft touchdown of the valves on the valve seat - to be transferred to the electromechanical principle.
For the valves this means minimal wear and minimum noise generation. Without a software-based problem solution, the increased force exerted by the solenoid on the armature pole face as the air gap diminishes would result in very high impact speeds. This would produce mechanical and acoustic loads that would preclude continuous system operation.
The EVCU's other responsibility - in addition to managing valve timing - is to take on actuator-specific tasks such as the current control in the actuator coils. The armature-position sensor installed in the actuator housing also supplies the current values using a safe actuator control mechanism and provides important diagnostic information.
More details here.
AutoSpeed - Camless Engines
