With three reporters on board, a Bosch engineer barrels down a test track, counts down from three then suddenly whips the steering wheel to the left, then to the right without braking, but never losing control.
Moments later he repeats the maneuver, only this time the car fishtails, bringing it perpendicular to the track.
As the reporters rub their buffeted necks, the engineer them to get into the driver’s seat and go through the same motions to see for themselves what it feels like.
It’s both exciting and instructive. We’ve just learned how Bosch’s vehicle dynamics control 2.0 system uses “dynamic sensors” to anticipate vehicle behavior to maintain control during sudden maneuvers—and what happens when it’s turned off.
Still another trip down the track demonstrated how the company’s steer-by-wire element of VDC 2.0 provides accurate control through a series of closely-placed traffic cones.
Those demonstrations were just two of dozens during three days of what’s known as “tech days” staged by automotive suppliers Bosch, Magna and Valeo in suburban Detroit this week.
Current and future technologies ranging from interior and exterior lighting to, hybrid-electric powertrain controls, to advanced driver assistance safety and driver distraction systems, to self-parking options and myriad more innovations related to software defined vehicles and the cockpit of the future.
Bright lights, future cockpit
What might the cockpit of the future look like? Valeo’s Gus McDonald showed off a mockup of one that features a high-contrast head-up display featuring TFT screens backlit with white LEDs. There are 288 zones in each display.
McDonald demonstrates and explains in the video below.
Advanced safety
The triad of safety, sensors and software is a dominant theme as drivers become more reliant on technology that electronically sees and reacts to hazardous situations to prevent collisions and injuries.
Collectively, the technology is known by the acronym, ADAS, or advanced driver assistance systems.
At Valeo, it’s calls VSS, or Valeo Smart Safety 360 using a modular, one-box, shared-power approach.
“Corner radars hidden behind the plastic of the bumpers, front radar mounted outside of the bumper which functions for adaptive cruise control, as well as rear flank alert,” explained Joseph Thompson, head of Valeo’s Brain Division. “It also integrates parking sensors, so up to 12 parking sensors, as well as a driver monitoring camera, all in a one box solution.”
Magna’s ADAS system also includes a heat sensor capability that can detect pedestrians, cyclists or even deer in the road, as the video below illustrates.
All three companies displayed systems for detecting if a driver is distracted, using a combination of cameras and motion sensors. Just how the driver is warned or the vehicle reacts to those distractions is up to the automaker installing the systems, the companies said.
Hybrid tech
While full conversion to battery electric vehicles is plugging along, many consumers are turning to hybrids as a stepping stone before making the full jump.
Plug in hybrids, or PHEV’s make it possible to operate totally on battery power, but typically for very short distances, say 25 or 30 miles.
But Magna demonstrated its eTelligent Command aimed at greatly improving battery-only range for PHEVs.
“We’ve taken what we call a DHD-plus, it’s a single EM, dual-clutch transmission and we’ve paired it to the conventional three-cylinder powertrain engine that’s traditionally in this vehicle. What we’ve also done is implemented an e-drive in the rear,” explained engineer Will Lawrie.
The system generates 160 kilowatts of power in the rear, 120 kw out of the transmission.
“We can drive in pure electric driving range for up to 110 kilometers, or we can pair it with the engine,” said Lawrie.
Valeo’s innovation a compact hybrid module.
“What we did was we kept the same space between an engine and a transmission, electric motor and torque converter, all in the same packaging,” explained engineer Jon Rost. “Traditionally where you could not add a motor and torque converter we were able to do that in a compact front-wheel drive module”
Indeed, development of hybrid technologies is a priority as the EV market matures.
“I always thought that hybrids were a bridge to full electrification, but we’ve always done scenarios that say, what if the bridge is more of a road that’s going to be there longer than something temporary,” said Paul Thomas, president Bosch in North America and Bosch Mobility in North America, during a media session at the company’s proving grounds in Flat Rock, Michigan.
EV/Battery Innovations
Hybrids may be the bridge to full EV adoption and suppliers want to make sure consumers are on firm ground once they cross it.
Valeo’s immersion battery cooling and casing aims to maintain optimum battery temperature for maxiumum performance. As explained by engineer Mark Dawson, the battery is immersed in dielectric fluid—a fluid commonly used in transformers.
“As the cells are immersed in the bath, you get a homogeneious temperature gradient between the top and bottom of the cells, which leads to a more efficient charge and discharge of the energy,” Dawson explained.
At Bosch, battery health is remotely monitored through its Battery in the Cloud system.
“So its main function is to basically optimize the lifetime of the battery, to monitor the battery functioning, or,behavior of the battery to predict aging, to detect anomalies, because, as you know, an EV a battery is the most expensive component. Its contributes to about 40% of the entire cost of the vehicle,” said Bosch software engineer Utkarsha Atkare in an interview.
No-hands trailer parking
Anyone who’s ever attempted to park a trailer or RV knows the difficulty of doing so, especially in a tight spot.
Bosch’s “anywhere parking trailer” feature aims to solve that problem. On a screen, the driver chooses the desired parking spot and parking orientation, then drags and drops those choices on an HMI display.
The next move is letting go of the steering wheel, but manually adjusting the speed while the system parks the trailer as directed.
Consumer compatibility
For all the technologies displayed and demonstrated the question of just how compatible they are with how the so-called end user, meaning the driver, will interact with them. In successful J.D. Power quality studies, many owners have complained some new technologies are not intuitive or just plain difficult to use. Others have complained warnings from ADAS systems designed to improve safety are too annoying, so they shut them off.
It’s an issue suppliers contend with as they design certain features, but must satisfy the needs of their customers—the automakers.
“There is a lot of those discussions happening up front, just for the feel, because the input from these ADAS systems is actually acting on your brakes, on your steering, right? They also have to change as a system, rather than, yeah, I got this function now, you know, steer, but the steering has to be compatible to a human like field,” said Magna International CEO Swami Kotagiri, during a media briefing at the company’s Troy, Michigan offices.
“But in the end, the technology is going to save lives,” added Bosch’s Thomas. “I think that’s a good example of giving something to consumers that they might not know that they want, but once they have, they don’t want to give it back.”
