Advanced Software, Sensors & Telematics
Electronics have been one of the core technologies in improving fuel efficiencies in vehicles and also in improving safety rates. Electronics with their supporting sensors can be found everywhere in vehicles and in some road infrastructure but are still disconnected from each other. Thanks to telematics, future vehicles will interface with road traffic specific infrastructure and with other vehicles to enhance safety and give alternative routes to avoid congestion, helping to save fuel and costs.
Telematics will have a particular role in exchanging data from motor vehicle to manufacturer or maintenance service provider on the vehicle performance, when it is not working at its optimum and/or when a service is due. Fleet companies will be able to get real time information about drivers’ behaviours, routes, fuel consumptions, etc. helping them to reduce costs, enhance security and improve logistics.
To cope with increasing electronics on board a vehicle, higher voltage systems will be required to enhance reliability and cope with increasing information exchange and management.
Research priorities have been identified as:
- Safety: preventive systems and detailed accident data on board.
- Cost of technology: Many of these systems are only available in top-of-the-range models. It is essential to incorporate them into the high volume, lower segments of the market without putting at risk technology performance.
- System integration in multi –sensor data fusion for use in automotive vehicles
- Reliability is much needed to cope with increasing systems complexity and interfaces. Systems validation is a major challenge with many technical issues to be resolved.
- Technology introduction. Solutions are required to accommodate the mismatch in life cycles between vehicles and telematics applications embedded within vehicles as well as technology standardisation and in-service upgrades in a cost effective way.