We are witnessing the most fundamental shake up of the automotive and mobility sector ever. While manufacturers and the supply chain are investing heavily in connectivity, electric mobility and autonomous driving, more and more functions are being connected both inside vehicles and beyond their physical borders, allowing them to communicate with other vehicles and the infrastructure. At the same time mobility has evolved from car ownership to other models such as vehicle sharing, ride sharing, usage by the hour and other means of transport.
With more than 20 years of industry expertise and a deep understanding of automotive R&D, sales and after sales, we don’t just help our OEM customers and their supply chain to maintain a profitable core business and optimize processes. We make their organisations future-proof.
We are knocking on the door of future mobility! Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) made to support monitoring, warning, braking and steering to reduce the risk of human error and increase car and road safety, are paving the way for autonomous driving.
Public and regulatory interests in safety applications that protect drivers and reduce accidents will further increase the demand for ADAS over the next decade. By 2020, all vehicles in the European Union and the United States are required to be equipped with autonomous emergency-braking systems and forward-collision warning systems.
To ensure a safe and comfortable driving experience in the future, these assistant systems need to be put through their paces. Naturally, it would be irresponsible to test these systems and their functionalities in real-life scenarios on the road during their pre-development phases.
So, umlaut has developed a craft car called SMURV – short for SMart URban Vehicle – to test ADAS functions in a safe environment in the field. With a solid understanding of its functional safety requirements’ impact, umlaut engineers began instrumenting the SMURV platform to evaluate autonomous and connected vehicle concepts.
Its various sensors, GPS and cameras are mounted onto the vehicle, using appropriate brackets and racks. Sensor connectors and wiring are prepared according to the desired layout and interface elements. PC’s have also been installed to log sensor data. Consequently, the SMURV enables OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to test different configurations of hardware and software in real-time under authentic dynamic driving conditions.
Moreover, the SMURV’s remote access allows for global collaboration. Via rapid prototyping and cloud connection, a colleague from the other end of the world can install a new function – like object detection, for example – and get measurement data in the blink of an eye.
In a nutshell, the key benefits of our umlaut craft car are playful testing of new ADAS ideas and functions in predevelopment phases, as well as fostering internal cooperation across different locations and even continents.
That’s why leading automotive OEMs and Tier 1s entrust umlaut with the definition of their technology strategy, the development of use cases and requirements, and the delivery of new connected services and autonomous technologies to the market.
umlaut is an expert in the area of der ADAS/AV sensor software development and integration. For more than ten years, the company has been active the field of autonomous driving and has developed and executed sensor integrations and upfitting of different types of vehicles. Always a challenge: to procure all of the necessary hardware, software and other items for the vehicles. Multiple purchase requests and approvals can limit or slow down progress. In order to optimize this process, umlaut has closed a partnership with the LiDAR manufacturer Velodyne.
With our cross-industry insights and looking from a position so close to the process and the product itself, we are able to foresee technological developments and prepare well in advance before new regulations and industrial standards make modifications and upgrades of products necessary and factor these in to its further development before they become an issue.
We are renowned for our prototyping and product capabilities and the development and realization of prototypes, testing tools, wire harnesses, and test vehicles used in the research and development of new innovations around the automotive, aerospace, and telecommunications industries. In doing so, we ensure that our customers’ new technologies reach the market.
About the Author:
Hitesh Wafgaonkar completed his Bachelors in Engineering from Electrical & Electronics & his Post Graduation in Master in Business Administration from Jamnalal Institute of Management Studies Mumbai University.
Hitesh has over 10years +of experience in the automotive, manufacturing & Engineering consultant industry in the realms of sales and marketing in Domestic and International Markets & Product Development. Prior to joining Umlaut, he was with RPG group and has held various positions.
Published in Telematics Wire
