powertrain engineering
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AVL’s expertise and activity in the areas of ADAS and autonomous technologies
has resulted in a joint development project with Ford Otosan in
Turkey. Leading the transition to autonomous driving technologies, the
agreement between Ford Otosan, AVL Software and Functions GmbH
(Regensburg) and AVL Research and Engineering Turkey will ultimately
see the technology implemented into Ford F-MAX trucks, which were
named the 2019 International Truck of the Year.
“This is a joint research project,” explains Gernot Hasenbichler, Product
Manager Commercial Vehicles at AVL. “We are looking at ways to identify
and overcome the biggest challenges, which include defining the regulatory
work and the project boundaries, and then develop the functions
and the basic safety aspects. We are building on our existing expertise and
creating a framework for the future of the project.”
The first phase of the project will include developing all of the software
functions which drive the platoon, the way the vehicles interact with each
other and the surround traffic and how to deal with unplanned situations.
If the platoon was to become separated, for example, how would the vehicles
respond in a way that could guarantee their safety, as well as that of
their drivers and other road users?
“The first phase contains all the longitudinal functions to control the platoon,
to control the interactions with the traffic around you, and increase
safety in unexpected circumstances,” explains Hasenbichler. “If a car wants
to cut into the platoon, you need to react safely. It’s important that we
don’t just understand how our vehicles will behave, but also be able to
adapt the changing conditions around us.”
The partnership with Ford Otosan makes the most of both parties’
strengths. Together, the two project partners are developing the vital platooning
sub-functions, and Fort Otosan will integrate the complete system
– sensors, hardware and software – into the demonstration trucks.
“We began by creating a system design which examined use cases, and from
there we defined the system requirements,” says Hasenbichler. “And then
we looked at the layout of the sensors, the software systems and the maturity
of the data, and how these would work with the vehicle controllers.”
FROM CONCEPT TO REALITY
The next stage of the project was to take the system out of the simulation
and away from the testbed, and to test and validate it by carrying out
demonstrations in the test environment, before moving it onto the road.
But the vehicle itself is only part of the story. For level 4 platooning to
become a reality, the infrastructure also needs to be considered. Much of
this will involve effort by the customer.
“The next goal is level 4 autonomous driving. Level 4 platooning has a
driver only in the lead vehicle,” says Klaus Fuchs, Business Development
Autonomous Driving, AVL
Software and Functions GmbH.
“But we also need to consider
the infrastructure. Where do we
build the platoon? Does it happen
at the destination or the origin?
Does it happen on the freeway?
What other things does the customer
need to take into consideration
when adopting this technology,
and how can we make
it appealing enough for them to
commit to the investment?”
One answer to this question, and
an area where AVL excels, is to approach
the technology from a modular
perspective. Through this project,
the ultimate goal is to create a
modular set of software components
that can be applied to any
different use case in order to cre