www.autotechreview.

com

June 2016 | Volume 5 | Issue 6

Now, Also
AvAilAble oN
Its on

16

IntervIew
Ramashankar Pandey, Managing
Director, Hella India Lighting Ltd

20

study
Semiconductors in ADAS:
Challenges & Opportunities

60

new vehIcle
Datsun redi-GO
Best From the Brand Yet

automotIve lIghtIng
innovation-driven future

Powered by

Editorial

FOCUS ON QUALITY
Dear Reader,
Within a span of seven days last month, market leader Maruti Suzuki India Ltd initiated two
recalls involving over 75,000 Baleno hatchbacks, close to 2,000 DZire compact sedans and
an unspecified number of S-Cross crossovers. MSIL, of course, isnt the only one. Automobile recalls have become very prevalent in the past few years, with India alone accounting
for an estimated 2.24 mn vehicle recalls between July 2012 and May 2016, an analysis by a
leading business daily stated.
Does this point towards a decline in automotive reliability and safety? Does this mean the
vehicles produced today are of poor quality as against vehicles of the past? Not necessarily.
While some automakers have blamed quality issues at smaller component vendors, the
most significant story emerging in recent times is that of Japanese supplier, Takata. As per
one estimate, nearly 78 mn defective, shrapnel-shooting Takata airbag inflators will need replacement through 2019.
Until some time back, most of the vehicles recalled globally used to be older models with
newly discovered problems. But that seems to be changing. Popular new products from
Honda, Ford, Volkswagen, MSIL, HMSI and Yamaha, among others, have been recalled in
recent times. Honda has been the worst affected with over 5.13 lakh recalls in the last four
years, primarily due to issues with airbags sourced from Takata.
Experts point out that the increasing use of common parts, complex architectures, and
heavy dependence on electronics & software, are some of the key reasons leading to a spurt
in vehicle recalls. Overall, the large number of defective systems and parts getting into vehicles highlight one serious concern that of inadequate quality assurance.
Many of our readers, who attended the annual ACMA convention in 2015, would recall what
Osamu Suzuki, Chairman, Suzuki Motor Corporation had said global recall of more than 1
mn vehicles has put the focus on quality. He said it is quality alone that is key to success.
He urged the industry to look at the Make in India campaign in a larger context to include
Quality in India.
There couldnt be a sounder advice to the Indian industry than that.

Deepangshu Dev sarmah

Editor-in-Chief
New Delhi, June 2016

@deepangshu

autotechreview.com

Ju n e 2 0 1 6

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

Cover Story

automotive lighting
innovation-driven future
26, 32, 36, 42 | LED is clearly the fastest growing technology for automotive lighting in the global
automotive markets. Owing to its advantages of being controllable, energy-efficient and flexible in terms of
use of colour, LEDs seem to be the right technology for future mobility as well. For the time being though,
it is estimated that halogen lights will continue to dominate the market, while the growth of xenon lights
will remain average. In this edition of Auto Tech Review, we take an elaborate view at some of the
interesting technological developments and innovations in the area of automotive lighting.

gueSt Commentary

14 Emerging Trends in Corporate

Governance Landscape
Saket Mehra is a Partner at Grant Thornton India LLP

IntervIeW

16 Frugal Engg, Cost Innovation Helps

Offer Future-Ready Solutons
Ramashankar Pandey, Managing Director,
Hella India Lighting Ltd

contents

neWS
04 Interactions
12 News

teChnology
46 Audi Range Drive
Showcasing Technical Might
50 Speed, Flexibility Through In-House
Part Production

Study
20 Semiconductors in ADAS:
Challenges & Opportunities

Cover Story
26 Modular Design for Led Glare Free
High Beam

editorial
editor-in-Chief:

Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

deepangshu@autotechreview.com
@deepangshu

assistant editor:

Arpit Mahendra
arpit@autotechreview.com
@arpitmahendra3

Senior Correspondent:

Naveen Arul (Bangalore)

naveen@autotechreview.com
@naveenarul

Ankur Agarwal

event

Seunghyuk Choi, Florian Thalmayr,

Dominik Wee, Florian Weig

ImprInt

52 CTO Roundtable 3.0 How Electronics is Changing The Way We Drive

SaleS
manager:

Sudeep Kumar
sudeep@autotechreview.com

assistant manager:

Pramodh R (Bangalore)
pramodh@autotechreview.com

Shopfloor
56 Technology Diversity in Engineered
Access Hardware

Sunil Deore (Pune)

sunil@autotechreview.com
eventS
manager:

Laurent Evrard, Benot Reiss,

Vivek Tyagi
vivek@autotechreview.com

Joachim Ripperger, Damien Cabanne

neW vehiCle
32 Evocative Lighting Design for
Premium Interiors
Manfred Winklbauer, Bernhard Bayersdorfer,

60 Datsun redi-GO
Best From The Brand Yet

produCtion
Chief designer/ photographer:

Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay

bharat@autotechreview.com

video Journalist:

Vasu Anantha
vasu@autotechreview.com

Josef Lang

36 Headlamp of 2025 Bionically

Inspired, Additively Manufactured
Klaus Zander, Damir Sokolov,
Willi Schwarz, Michael Frohnapfel

42 The Next Step Pure Laser

High-Beam for Front Lighting

deCoding teChnology
64 Its More Than Lighting
Arun Jaura

otherS

Roland Fiederling, Jenny Trommer,

Thomas Feil, Jrgen Hager

01 Editorial
03 Imprint

publisher & managing director: Sanjiv Goswami

For Editorial Contribution, write to the Editor-in-Chief
at editor@autotechreview.com
For Advertisements, write to Manager Sales at
advertising@autotechreview.com
For Subscription orders and reader registrations,
please visit www.autotechreview.com
Or, contact Manager Events at
subscriptions@autotechreview.com

editorial & Business office:

Springer India Pvt Ltd
7th Floor | Vijaya Building | 17, Barakhamba Road
New Delhi 110001 | India
+ 91 11 4575 5888 (P) | +91 11 4575 5889 (F)
Auto Tech Review (ATR) is a monthly magazine focussed on automotive technology, and
appears 12 times a year. Views and opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily
those of Springer India Pvt Ltd. No part of this magazine can be reproduced in any form,
including photocopies and information retrieval systems, without the prior written permission
of the publisher. Springer India Pvt Ltd Limited reserves the right to use the information
published herein in any manner whatsoever.
Printed and Published by Sanjiv Goswami on behalf of Springer India Pvt Ltd. Printed at
United Advertising & Marketing Services, D 159 A, Okhla Industrial Estate, Phase I, New
Delhi and published at Springer India Pvt Ltd, 7th Floor, Vijaya Building, 17, Barakhamba
Road, New Delhi.
2016, Auto Tech Review

Cover FIgure Audi

FolloW uS on

@autotechreview1

I N T E R A C T I O N dsm, mathworks

DSM ENGINEERING PLASTICS | LOCAL PRESENCE TO DELIVER GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY

customising a global product for Indian needs,
the Indian technology centre could develop products for global needs. Responding to the size of
this centre in comparison with the global ones of
DSM, Polet said this isnt one of the largest but
its surely an important one.
TECHNICAL CAPABILITY

DSM Engineering Plastics recently opened its

new research and technology centre in Ranjangaon, Pune. The new facility will support new
product and application development, and
deliver rapid, specific test data for its products, allowing for close collaboration with
DSMs customers. Shortly after the launch of
the new centre, we caught up with Roeland
Polet, President, DSM Engineering Plastics,
who gave us an insight into the difference this
centre will bring to the product and business
capabilities of the company.
LOCAL PRESENCE
FOR GLOBAL SUCCESS

In the new centre, DSM will be able to work with

customers in supporting new product development using a wide variety of equipment for material and application testing, including injection moulding, polymer characterisation, physical property testing, and thermal analysis. The
centre is capable of providing test data for
DSMs wide portfolio of engineering plastics. Additional services include a laboratory scale twin
screw extruder for new product development and
trial runs.
The facility has further scope to grow and
add new testing equipment and capabilities, as
required. Adding to the scalability of the centre,
Sanjay Jain, Business Director, DSM Engineering
Plastics India said, This is our next phase in
India, moving from Make in India to Develop in
India. Starting with 5,000 sq ft, we have the capacity to expand to 20,000 sq ft.
Responding to our question on the key technical areas the centre will focus on, Polet said
that the Indian centre is well-connected to the
global technical centre. Hence, if a customer
needs a particular type of plastic to house a

sensor that has to live in a given type of environment within a vehicle, the Indian centre will
have access to all information pertaining to that
topic from the global centre.
Combining this technical knowledge with
local requirements will create products that
will prove the centres advantage, Polet added.
He also talked about the role this centre will
play in helping the company stay ahead of
global standards becoming tougher and
helping their customers speed up the product
development cycle significantly.
Speaking of future growth areas, Polet made
it clear that autonomous driving is not viable for
India in present circumstances but collisionavoidance technology could have great potential.
DSM has been in this area for more than a
decade and their knowledge can help their customers come up with better solutions quickly,
Polet added.
Talking of challenges, Jain stated the goal
of implementing BS VI norms by 2020 was an
opportunity for technology providers, but the
challenge lies in the gap between the governments intent and the orientation of some Tier I
suppliers towards the same. These suppliers
will need to go through a sharp learning curve
if the goals for 2020 are to be met and all
stakeholders, including OEMs, will have to push
for it, he concluded.

TExT: arpit mahendra

DSM today is one of the five largest engineering

plastics company in the world. While this makes
them a strong global player, in many cases, such
companies are expected to enter local markets
with global solutions, which often dont work.
Polet explained that DSMs focus is on being a
strong global player with strong local presence,
testified by the presence of a large team and a
development centre in India. That said, he added
that products dont need to be reinvented and
hence global solutions need to be taken and customised for local requirements, which is important for any successful product.
The new technology centre will play an important role for the company, as apart from local
development itll also support global business in
future. Given the wide pool of skilled people in
India, Polet foresees a time when instead of just

www.autotechreview.com

MATHWORKS | DATA ANALYTICS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF MODEL-BASED DESIGN

Model-based design has been an important part of
product development across industries, including
the automotive and aerospace industries, and
MathWorks has been the market leader offering
model-based design solutions. At the MATLAB Expo
2016, we met Richard M Rovner, Vice President,
Marketing, MathWorks (L) and Kishore Rao, Managing Director, MathWorks India Pvt Ltd (R) to get
a lowdown on the new solutions the company is
bringing to the Indian market.
ENGINEERING-DRIVEN ANALYTICS

Microprocessors in vehicles generate enormous

amount of data, and MathWorks sees such engineering data as a key driver to enhance analytics,
which have become pervasive in all industries.
MathWorks continues to invest in the MATLAB and
Simulink tools to enhance engineering-driven analytics workflows that would result in new capabilities of Big Data processing, new algorithms for
machine learning, and computing.
Fleet data analysis, calibration and automated
driving algorithms are some of the most sophisticated uses that analytics are put to. Deep learning
and predictive-models for driving algorithms are
expected to have a deep impact on advancements
in automated driving, as well as in driver assistance and active safety, noted Rovner. He added
that analytics also includes computer vision and
co-generation, which can be addressed within the
context of model-based design.
The most significant product addition to the
companys flagship platform was Simulink Test
that can be used to systematically verify and simulate models, said Rao. The Simulink Test not only
helps model simulation in desktop simulation, but
also adds to the hardware-in-loop (HIL) simulation capability.
Rao said MathWorks is especially focussing on
developing four technologies that are most relevant
to the automotive sector. The Automatic Production
Code Generation technology is used by OEMs to generate codes and use the same in production programmes. MathWorks is also increasing the use of
System-Level Simulation, where physical modelling
is used mainly for the behaviour and designing of
physical systems. ADAS is being developed, especially since automakers are incorporating this technology
in developing automated and autonomous driving
vehicles. The company is also investing in computer

autotechreview

June 2016

vision technology that is critical for ADAS.

Meanwhile, Model-Based Calibration technology generates optimal calibration tables that are
used by automotive companies to meet fuel
economy requirements and emission regulations.
This technology provides benefits in the form of
reduced cost and man hours, when compared to
calibration using a dynamometer and can be used
to simulate the test bench itself. Another main advantage of model-based calibration is that a
problem can be specifically defined to see its
outcome and effect on the engine. The move
towards early adoption of Bharat Stage VI norms in
India has renewed interest within domestic OEMs
for such technologies, noted Rao.
TRENDS & CURRENT REQUIREMENTS

With automotive manufacturers taking a comprehensive approach to model-based design from beginning to end, verification and validation (VnV)
have become important parts of the workflow. In
addition, one of the most visible trends in the automotive industry at present is in the development of
ADAS for automated driving, where there are a
number of challenges, noted Rovner. Systems including computer vision, learning systems, ground
truthing, ground truth labelling and sensor fusion
pose a range of challenges that the company works
to resolve. Other trends include model-based
design to address fleet data analytics and compliance to user and safety standards. There are a few
standards that mandate the use of model-based
design, which will drive the quicker adoption of
such technologies, he noted.

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

The use of MATLAB and Simulink in model-based

design of domestic OEMs and suppliers has
reached a tipping point over the past couple of
years, Rao said. Companies recognise the benefits
of using model-based design and are building
competency for use of these technologies. The level
of awareness and need for model-based design has
grown and been appreciated with use in real projects. While OEMs still work with suppliers on their
design front, it has changed significantly, with
more of a co-development approach being employed, which will reduce the time to market.
On the other hand, design work carried out by
MNCs in the country isnt very different from their
global developments. Their development work is
driven by global projects, and local teams collaborate with their larger worldwide engineering
teams, said Rao. He claimed MathWorks solutions
help OEMs and suppliers to reduce re-work, cut
down coding errors, and aid efficient development
of variants.
Rovner said MathWorks will continue to make
strategic investments for toolboxes in its core platforms of MATLAB and Simulink, in order to continuously make improvements to the entire workflow. It
is also investing in resources to help customers
adopt its technologies, in terms of online training
and examples, as well as investments in people for
application engineering, training, consulting and
pilot engineering.

TExT: Naveen arul

I N T E R A C T I O N aUtodEsk INdIa

AUTODESK INDIA | DISRUPTIVE DESIGN, INNOVATION NEEDED TO LEAD MARKET

disruptions, both with conventional OEMs as well
as start-ups.
NEW OFFERINGS

The mushrooming of start-ups in the automotive

ecosystem of the country is posing a completely
new set of challenges for vehicle manufacturers.
Less fazed to take risks, start-ups use a wide range
of technologies; develop varied products and solutions that conventional companies dont even think
about. Additionally, various analyses say that the
rise of taxi and cab aggregators across the globe
may see car buyers reducing drastically by 2025.
This requires car makers to develop innovative and
technology-rich products that will continue to
attract buyers to purchase vehicles.
We recently caught up with Varun Gadhok,
Country Manager Manufacturing Solutions
India and SAARC, Autodesk India Pvt Ltd to understand how the company is helping OEMs and suppliers innovate and offer disruptive solutions to the
market. From being viewed as an AutoCAD solution
provider, Autodesk has taken a stance to lead these

One of Autodesks latest solutions is the VRED 3D

visualisation software, which enables the rendering
of the whole concept of a car without making clay
models or physical prototypes. This results in a
major reduction of costs and new product development times, as well as in evolving creativity within
the ecosystem of manufacturing.
Another technology that is coming into the foray
of design is Internet of Things (IoT), said Gadhok.
Autodesk recently acquired SeeControl, a San Francisco-based developer of an enterprise IoT cloud
service platform. Autodesk is using IoT to acquire
fleet data and capturing it to make more refined
design. The future of all automotive design software from Autodesk will use IoT to capture data,
and this will be seen in a few months, noted
Gadhok. He said Autodesk may be one of the first
companies to use IoT for design and automotive in
the market currently.
The traditional process of Product Lifecycle
Management (PLM) has been rather fixed concept
design, to full production design, to simulation, and
finally manufacturing and launch. The future of
manufacturing though involves varied steps in the
process of designing, developing and making products. One step is to collaborate with the top innovators at every step of the manufacturing process,
from concept to final production. In manufacturing,
IoT plays an important role in realising connected
manufacturing with less or complete absence of
human intervention.

Within the future of making things, Autodesk

has a product innovation platform called FUSION
360. This platform runs on the cloud, and hence
does not require very heavy graphics, and can
also be used on a smart device, making it
mobile. The platform is a single tool to design,
test and fabricate with IoT on top of it, and is
also highly collaborative.
INITIATIVES & ROUND-UP

Autodesk has a very strong focus on R&D in India,

and has centres in Pune and Bangalore. Gadhok
said these centres contribute significantly to the
development of the FUSION 360 product. The
company invests back about $ 500 mn (approximately ` 3,300 crore) into R&D annually. It also has
other development centres in China and Israel.
Meanwhile, the company is spearheading the
Maker Movement in India. Maker Movement is a
space that offers various manufacturing machinery
to enthusiasts to come and make products at their
own time, in order to further develop their skills.
Autodesk allows subscribing members of Maker
Movement to use their software to design and make
virtual prototypes, and finally build their final
product. Such initiatives help boost creativity of designers from OEMs, suppliers and the complete
ecosystem to innovate at a leisure pace, said
Gadhok. Autodesk is also working on technologies
like robotics for the future of manufacturing. The
challenge up until now was in the low awareness
level of the companys offerings, which is now
changing, noted Gadhok.
TExT: Naveen arul

www.autotechreview.com

I N T E R A C T I O N BorGwarNEr, NI

BORGWARNER THERMAL SYSTEMS | BS VI OFFERS EXCITING PROSPECTS

In search of increased efficiency and reduced
emissions, the automotive industry has been increasingly looking at electric and hybrid solutions to drive their future businesses. And the
component and system suppliers arent different. BorgWarner, the global product leader in
powertrain solutions, is developing products and
solutions to meet similar demands in the future
across all its product areas.
We had caught up with Karl Wagner, Vice
President Global Sales & Engineering for
Thermal Systems, BorgWarner some time back
to understand how the division he represents
thermal systems is gearing up to meet future
challenges. Wagners division is focussed on
meeting the thermal management needs of
OEMs, while also improving fuel economy and reducing emissions.
We began by talking about the most-discussed subject in India currently the move to
BS VI norms. Wagners excitement is visible,
since he says the company had been waiting to
see technology migration really take off in India.
Calling it a great idea to skip one level and
move to BS VI regulations, Wagner said it would
clearly drive in a lot of emission reduction, efficiency, performance and consumer comfort
through newer technology introductions.
FOLLOWING TRENDS

The major trends seen in thermal management,

both globally and in India, are in the areas of air
flow, coolant flow and electrification, said
Wagner. Predominantly focussed on the commercial vehicle sector, Wagners division also has
opportunities in passenger vehicles business in
sight. The company is looking at launching in
India a localised electronic fan drive for CVs.
This is the first time that this product is being
manufactured in India.
Thats a big breakthrough for us with a
leading customer in India, and we see that
product making inroads into other OEMs as well,
he said. Investments made on the electronic fan
drive production capability in India have now been
completed, Wagner informed. As of now, the opportunity is clearly big in the higher CV market,
like in Europe, but Wagner is confident of the
product finding acceptance in the entire CV
market in real quick time. European CV makers,

incidentally, have already replaced

all other technologies in favour of
the electronic fan drive.
The second product that could
potentially drive in good business for
the company in the long-term in
India is the control coolant pump for
heavy trucks. In passenger vehicles,
the company is pursuing electrification of thermal management
systems, and has a few products in
its portfolio. It is currently working
on a 48 V fan solution, as well as a
dual-mode coolant pump, based on
the same product it has for CV applications. Wagner is confident this
product would have a huge opportunity in global markets.
PROSPECTS IN INDIA

In general, Wagner said, the Indian market is

very receptive to the idea of technologies. While
growth was slower than anticipated, volumes
currently do not allow big jumps in terms of
technology migration. There are specific challenges in a market like India, and that will drive
product development at BorgWarner.
Talking of product development, the company
continues to invest into its application and
testing capabilities in India. In the long-term,
the Indian unit could likely provide services
around the world, especially in the area of
design. Work in that area has already started,
and is being expanded currently. That could lead
to the next steps of product R&D and product development, viewed Wagner. However, for India to
become a strategic hub for the thermal system
business globally would depend a lot on the
speed of technology migration in India.
When technologies start migrating to India,
I see more specific products being developed for
India. And when the market is big and mature
enough that would be the right time to look into
investing into a larger R&D set-up in the
country, said Wagner.
Critically, he feels the Indian industry is maturing even in terms of its earlier rigidity with
cost. Although the market continues to be pricesensitive, it clearly shifting from focussing on
the cost and value of components, to the cost

and value of a system. That is a welcome sign

for Wagner.
India is a slow growing, but steadily growing
huge market opportunity for BorgWarner and for
the thermal business in particular. The India operation is one of our smaller plants today, but we
see steady growth. From a thermal systems perspective, India is the third biggest market in
Asia, he said. Once the domestic market is
catered to, there would be opportunities in the
future for the Indian unit to even export products
to other India-like markets, he said.
CONCLUSION

BorgWarners focus on developing products and

solutions that cater to the market-related objectives of fuel economy, reduced emissions, noise
reduction, performance and durability augurs well
for the Indian market. There sure is enough opportunity for the company to grow its business in the
market, especially in the commercial vehicle
segment that is increasingly adopting newer technologies not just from a regulatory perspective but
also because of increased competition.

TExT: deepangshu dev sarmah

www.autotechreview.com

NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS | HIL TESTING SOLUTIONS FOR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

This would result in high cost and increased consumption of time. As a result, most of the embedded software development is carried out with a
simulated system, which emulates the engine,
and is called HIL simulation.
In electric vehicles (EV), engines are replaced
by motors, and ECUs by Electric Motor Control
Unit, with some additional challenges in terms of
the speed at which the control loops work. Therefore, the company has developed specific tools
that would be focussed on the HIL testing requirements of EV motor and component manufacturers,
noted Chivukula. He added that this software has
been developed and merged with the existing
hardware, which is possible due to the companys
platform-based product approach.
The automotive industry, encompassing OEMs and
suppliers, has been one of the largest users of
test and validation equipment for development of
new products and variants. These testing solutions are becoming even more important for manufacturers with requirements of reduced development times, first-time correctness, and increased
product robustness and reliability. National Instruments (NI) has been a company offering hardware and software test solutions to various manufacturing industries, with a number of tools specifically focussed on automotive.
On the side-lines of the fourth National Instruments Automotive Seminar, we met Raviteja Chivukula, Staff Technical Marketing Engineer, NI
Systems (India) Pvt Ltd, to understand the direction of testing within the automotive industry. He
provided details on the test methodologies being
employed in the automotive sector, by both OEMs
and suppliers, especially with regards to Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing solutions that are
gaining strong demand.
The NI seminar touched upon the area of endof-line component testing, which includes infotainment system testing, as well as cluster inspection
testing. Additionally, the company showcased its
traditional offerings of data acquisition and control
to show how they can be used in test cell automation and control in vehicle data logging.
HARDWARE-IN-LOOP (HIL) TESTING

Engines these days are mostly controlled by ECUs,

and development of this system cannot always be
done on a physical prototype, noted Chivukula.

autotechreview

June 2016

NEW SOLUTIONS

The company has made enhancements to its hardware and software in the recent updates released.
In terms of hardware, NI has developed data, or
signal acquisition modules for +/- 50 V signals
that are mainly suited for automotive Input/ Output.
It has also released hardware packaged version for
low-cost desktop-based HIL systems, which include
additional signal conditioning. Another enhancement is the development of low-cost, standalone
data acquisition systems that are capable of measuring various engine signals for on-board in-vehicle data logging. The company has also developed
multiple radio frequency signal generators and analysers that can be used to implement current
testing protocols for infotainment systems.
In terms of recently released software enhancements, Chivukula highlighted two updates
that mainly pertain to HIL testing. First, NI has released a new version of the VeriStand software
based on the latest LabVIEW technology that
eases the process of HIL testing. The other is the
release of add-ons that can perform HIL testing
on electric motors. Chivukula said these enhancements work in developing both the hardware and
software provided by NI, and in turn prepares the
complete platform for future technologies.
We were told NI has been making improvements to LabVIEW, in terms of core enhancement
to the platforms productivity and increasing
speed of its programme execution. The more important enhancement, according to him, is in the
development of LabVIEW add-ons by customers

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

using this product. This enhances LabVIEW into

an ecosystem, in the sense that it is software on
which customers can develop toolkits and addons, especially in domain-specific areas. This is
further made easy by the open-architecture of
LabVIEW, which allows the development of add-on
toolkits that can be uploaded to the LabVIEW Tools
Network. The IPs for these customer-developed
add-ons are held by them, and are available for
download from the LabVIEW Tools Network, either
free or at a cost.
INDUSTRY TRENDS

A major trend in the industry is the growing sophistication in vehicles due to the increased level
of electronics. An average passenger vehicle has
anywhere between 15 and 20 ECUs, which is increasing the focus on HIL testing, since development for these ECUs need to be done in parallel,
said Chivukula. Most of these ECUs are of low
functionality, which brings up the requirement for
tear-down versions of HIL testing systems. These
test solutions need to be low-cost, with low-functionality, and enough to test small electronic
modules, he explained. There is also the requirement that these HIL test systems are mobile, in
order to be shifted between users easily.
Additionally, development of hybrid and full
EVs add high requirements for HIL and physical
testing systems, even though standard test &
measurement and data logging solutions can be
applied to them. However, certain specific tools
for the development of particular systems within
EVs are generally developed by customers manufacturing such products.
Chivukula said that component testing requirements are also increasing, since manufacturers are
increasingly carrying out extensive testing and validation of their products to enhance reliability before
launching. There has been an increase in the incorporation of RF-based systems, beyond infotainment
into vehicles. Systems like tyre pressure monitoring
systems (TPMS) and in-vehicle wireless networks
are also finding more acceptance. These wireless
systems in particular are finding increased use due
to their benefits of weight saving, lower cost and
lesser chances of failure.

TExT: Naveen arul

I N T E R A C T I O N Jd PowEr

JD POWER ASIA PACIFIC | qUALITY IN TWO-WHEELERS ON THE RISE

competitive pressure from independent workshops
providing similar service as OE workshops. The
IQS more specifically refers to the problems faced
by consumers in the initial period of buying the
vehicle. The highlight in the Initial Quality Study
(IQS) study, when reviewing the changes in a year,
turned out to be the overall quality improvement
by OEMs in the country.
Speaking about the key problems reported
by consumers, Roy highlighted fuel-efficiency,
which is an issue even for four-wheelers in
India. Kick start too has been reported by many
for requiring more number of operations than
desired to get the engine started, especially on
the first start of the day. Thereafter, there are
minor issues such as fit & finish and noise
from the chain. For scooters as well, starting
Indian two-wheeler OEMs have made significant
problems, paint peel-offs and fit & finish
improvements in quality in the last year or so
issues were reported.
and problems reported by consumers have deSegments covered in the study involve motorclined. This was one of the key takeaways from
cycles for entry-level commuters to the segment
our conversation with Kaustav Roy, Director, JD
where Royal Enfield operates. The company
Power Asia Pacific, who talked about some inhasnt forayed into the high-end of the market
teresting trends reflected in the two-wheeler
involving foreign makers as the required mass of
study carried out by the marketing information
buyers for the study isnt easy to find yet.
services company.
Number of initial quality problems reported by two-wheeler owners
The appealing factors for consumers, or the
has declined by 14 problems per 100 vehicles
drivers of satisfaction for scooters, were mainly
STUDY FINDINGS
seats and engine & transmission, while for moWhat is PP100?
torcycles it was fuel-efficiency and ride & hanThis is second version of the study, after having
J.D. Power evaluates initial quality based on the number of
dling. As
segments grow, engine
introduced the inaugural version of the twoproblems experienced
perthe
100motorcycle
vehicles (PP100).
& transmission starts becoming more important
wheeler quality and appeal study in 2015. The
The lower the better
as customers
acceleration
and power.
company also launched its inaugural 2-Wheeler
A lower score represents
higherprioritise
quality. This
year, the industry
An year-over-year
interesting observation
from
the study
Customer Service Study (2WCSI), signifyingexperiences
the
a 9%
improvement
in initial
quality.was

SPOTLIGHT | Quality of Two-Wheelers in

India Improves Significantly

-14
PP100

What does
this number mean?

Greatest contributor to the improvement

Greatest year-over-year improvement is in the engine category.

Three major factors influencing perceived quality

of two-wheelers

Pillion
Driving

Two-wheeler owners who

ride with a pillion report
7% more problems than
those who ride solo. The
increase in reported problems
is particularly notable in the
engine, brakes and ride and
handling categories.

Kilometers
Driven

Owners who ride their

two-wheeler 41 kilometres
or more per day report
12% more problems than
those who ride up to
40 kilometres.

First-Time
Buyers

More than three-fourths of

two-wheeler owners are
first-time buyers, and they
report fewer problems than
those with previous
ownership experience
(138 PP100 vs. 199 PP100,
respectively).

that people who have a pillion rider tend to

report more problems. This is not due to the extra
weight of the pillion rider but due to different
people judging the same product, and also the
pillion not having to focus entirely on the road
and traffic.
When asked about influx of features in twowheelers in recent times, Roy said that the study
points out that more features in general lead to
reporting of more problems. Clarifying the statement further, he added that customers do not
dislike the features but desire better execution of
those features. In addition, dealerships need to
explain these features in a better manner to customers at the time of purchase so that they can
optimally use such features.
2-WHEELER CUSTOMER SERVICE INDEx

The inaugural study measures customer satisfaction with the after-sales service experience at
original equipment (OE) authorised service
centres between the first 12 to 24 months of
ownership. The study focuses on what matters
most to customers, when they take their twowheeler in for service and also analyses the processes that define the service experience.
The study measures overall satisfaction in
five factors, listed in order of importance:
vehicle pick-up (22 %); service advisor (21 %);
service quality (20 %); service facility (19 %);
and service initiation (18 %). Overall, TVS
Motors ranked highest in customer satisfaction
with after-sales service with a score of 773, performing particularly well in all five factors.
Suzuki (764) ranked second and Royal Enfield
ranked third (758).
The 2016 India 2WCSI Study is based on
evaluations from 7,270 two-wheeler owners in
45 cities across India. These owners purchased a
new two-wheeler between November 2013 and
March 2015 and had a service experience within
three months of evaluation. The study includes
10 two-wheeler makers and over 75 two-wheeler
models, and was fielded from November 2015 to
March 2016.

TExT: arpit mahendra

10

Brand Performance
www.autotechreview.com
Power Circle Ratings

Good for the environment and good for you

Skin friendly and 100% bactericide free Blasocut coolants are
our area of expertise for over 40 years. Within this period of
time we have continuously improved our Bio-Concept - for the
benefit of our clients and the environment:

Free of formaldehyde and boric acid

Years of stability without the addtion
of additives or bactericides
Compliant with the latest EU regulations

Find out more about the Liquid Tool under blaser.com

Blaser Swisslube India Pvt. Ltd.

Gurgaon, Pin 122002

Tel 0124 4994000

india@blaser.com

www.blaser.com

N e w s MISCELLANEOUS

Global NCaP | Zero StarS For Five indian PaSSenger vehicleS

Global NCaP, new car safety certifying agency, recently awarded zero stars in adult occupant protection to five models of vehicles from India. the
models tested included the Renault Kwid, Maruti
Suzuki Celerio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco, Mahindra
Scorpio and Hyundai Eon, and all models showed
low levels of adult occupant protection. However,
all vehicles, except the Maruti Suzuki Celerio
achieved two stars in child occupant protection,
with the Celerio scoring just one star.
Global NCaP tested three versions of the Kwid,
all scoring zero stars in adult occupant protection
and two stars in child occupant protection. Collapse of structure in the passenger compartment,
lack of airbags and unstable structure were the

reasons for the poor performance. the Mahindra

Scorpio, Maruti Suzuki Eeco and Hyundai Eon also
faced similar issues with the structure, in addition to the exclusion of airbags as reason for their
low scores, noted Global NCaP. However, Maruti
Suzuki Celerio scored lowest, with zero stars in
adult occupant protection and one star in child
occupant protection. the Celerios low child occupant protection score was explained by high
values recorded in the child dummy, along with
the extensive forward excursion.
David Ward, Secretary General, Global NCaP,
said the latest SaferCarsforIndia results show
how important it is for cars to have a body shell
that can remain stable in a crash. He added that
this is a crucial pre-requisite
for occupant safety, together
with fitment at least for front
air bags. It is very surprising
that a manufacturer like
Renault introduced the Kwid initially lacking this essential
feature, Ward noted. Global
NCaP welcomes Renaults
efforts to correct this and looks

forward to testing another improved version of the

Kwid with airbags, he said.
Ward observed that the results highlight the
importance of the Indian Governments decision to
mandate front and side impact crash tests from
october, 2017. legislative action is needed to
ensure that the minimum levels of occupant protection recommended by the United Nations are
guaranteed for Indian consumers, he said. Ward
noted that Global NCaP also welcomes the forthcoming launch of a bharat New Car assessment
Programme (NCaP) that can help build a market
for safer cars in India.
Renault India and Mahindra & Mahindra ltd
issued statements after the results were announced, saying all their products meet and exceed
requisite safety standards set by Indian Regulatory
authorities. Renault said India is gradually moving
towards international safety norms by including
more robust safety regulations and the assurance
of the bharat NCaP is a positive step in this direction. It added that the Indian Government has announced crash test regulation for existing cars to
come into effect in 2019 and for new cars in 2017,
timelines with which it will comply.

axalta | develoPing Future lightweight coating technologieS

axalta Coating Systems showcased coating technologies that would assist in lightweight automotive design, at the European automotive Coating
Conference held in Germany. the company examined the challenges and opportunities that lightweight automotive design brings to coatings
systems used by car manufacturers.
axalta said that over the next 15 years, automotive manufacturers will be replacing standard
steel with high-performance steel, aluminium,
plastics and composites, and will also be cutting
weight from safety, communication and electrical
components. these changes will have a significant impact on coating systems, as many of the
new, lighter materials cannot withstand highbake temperatures. as a result, lightweight
vehicle construction is said to be driving innovation in low-bake coatings. axalta is using new
technologies to develop solutions that integrate
existing low-temperature paint system solutions,
but hasnt found a comprehensive, integrated solution that suits all application situations.

12

the company currently has low-bake systems

that cure faster and at lower oven temperatures
than traditional systems to help car manufacturers reduce energy costs and enable them to use
new materials. axalta said its new systems share
the ability to reduce the number of bake steps
while aiming to deliver the same full layer performance as traditional coating
processes. a possible option
from axalta is UV drying on the
paint line, which replaces
drying ovens with UV curing.
additionally, new robotic applications could open up the possibility of reaching shadow
zones, which are very hard to
reach during the coating
process.
Sven Radek, Group leader,
Process and application, axalta
Coating Systems EMEa region,
said the company is benefiting

from its 150 years of experience in coatings, especially from its refinish paints. He added that
axalta can work to transfer this knowledge into
workable and successful solutions for the oEM
market. the next decisive step is the integration
of individual low-temperature solutions and their
transfer to pilot production, he noted.

www.autotechreview.com

DaIMlER | oPenS regional cv centre in chennai

Daimler aG has inaugurated its commercial vehicle
Regional Centre Southern asia in Chennai, marking
the completion of the launch of the sixth regional
centre for the company. these regional centres have
been set up by Daimler to carry out activities dedicated to markets in africa, South East asia and
latin america. this inauguration comes after seven
months of Daimler opening its first Regional Centre
for Commercial Vehicles in Dubai.
the new Regional Centre Southern asia over-

sees sales and service of a wide range of brands

and products, with market responsibility extending
to Nepal, bhutan, bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri lanka
and Maldives. these include bharatbenz trucks,
FUSo trucks and buses, and Mercedes-benz trucks,
buses, and vans. amit bisht, Head, Regional Centre
Southern asia, said the company is very positive
about this region, with demand across brands and
product lines already being favourable.
Dr Wolfgang bernhard, Member, board of Management, Daimler aG, responsible for Daimler
trucks and buses, said the company has launched
the last of a total of six new regional centres. He
added that this will enable Daimler to offer tailored products and services from a single source
to customers in markets such as Sri lanka,
Myanmar or Nepal.
the Regional Centres are an example of how
Daimler trucks asia directly benefits from the
global reach of Daimler, noted Marc llistosella,
President and CEo, MFtbC, and Head, Daimler
trucks asia. He said Daimler expects these Regional Centres across the globe to provide substantial further momentum for exports both from
Japan and India.

RENaUlt | enterS Pre-owned car buSineSS

Renault India has inaugurated its first Renault Selection multi-brand pre-owned car showroom in
the country, in bangalore. Renault Selection will
provide customers a platform to buy, sell and exchanging certified pre-owned cars of all brands,
with offers on finance, insurance, warranty and
Road Side assistance (RSa). the company said it
will use this business vertical to cater to customers
looking at selling multi-brand used cars in exchange for a new Renault car.
the Renault Selection facility in bangalore is
spread over 21,000-sq ft, and can accommodate
100 cars at any given point in time, giving customers a large range to choose from. the bangalore facility is the first of four Renault Selection
showrooms that are currently being set up, with
the others being set up in Nagpur, Jaipur and
Chandigarh.
the company said it puts each car that comes
into Renault Selection through 199 quality checks,
which authenticate the vehicles condition, along
with accompanying documents to offer customers.

autotechreview

June 2016

the pre-owned vehicles sold at Renault Selection

get covered with a one year/20,000 km warranty,
with cashless claims available at over 1,000 authorised workshops in India. the warranty also
comes with 24x7 RSa for the same period.
Sumit Sawhney, Country CEo and Managing Director, Renault India, said the company is pursuing
an aggressive growth strategy in India and is entering new businesses in the automotive space. He
added that the pre-owned car market in India has
steadily gained momentum over the past decade,
spurred by new model launches, quicker upgradation cycles by customers and rising income levels.

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

VolVo PENta | to make

induStrial engineS
in india

Volvo Penta has announced the start of production

of its 5 and 8 l industrial engines in India, at the VE
Powertrain (VEPt) plant in Pithampur, from the
second quarter of 2017. the company said it will
add a new line at the plant exclusively to manufacture the 5 l and 8 l Volvo Penta engines. this move
is also said to reconfirm Volvo Groups commitment
towards the Make in India initiative by investing in
local production.
Volvo Pentas range of 5 l and 8 l engines are
certified for Indian bharat (CEV) Stage III emission
standards, equivalent to EU stage IIIa/ tier III. the
engines, having a power range from 105-235 kW
are already in the field, powering a variety of applications including construction, material handling,
raw material exploration and agriculture. the new
production and assembly lines will enable various
solutions tailored to the local market needs, Volvo
Penta said.
Jonas Nilsson, Head, Volvo Penta India, said the
company sees great opportunity in infrastructure
development in the country. Demand from customers is increasing constantly, since there is pressure
on contractors to complete projects within the specified time with the cost levels calculated, he added.
the plant in Pithampur is not only one of the
most modern engine production facilities in India,
but by any global standard, noted Peter Hertinge,
Senior Vice President, Global operations and
Quality, Volvo Penta. Hertinge said the plant is
highly automated with integrated testing facilities,
and has quality standards in place to consistently
manufacture engines suitable for customer requirements and fulfil latest emission regulations.
the VEPt plant in Pithampur is part of the VE
Commercial Vehicles joint venture between the Volvo
Group and Eicher Motors. It is one of six manufacturing plants that the Volvo Group has invested in, in
India, including several in bangalore for the trucks,
buses and Construction Equipment divisions.

13

G u E S T commenTary

SAKET MEHRA
is a Partner at Grant Thornton India LLP

EMERGING TRENDS IN CORPORATE

GOVERNANCE LANDSCAPE
Over the years, companies across the globe have understood the
need and importance of an effective Enterprise Risk Management
(ERM) function, especially after catastrophic events such as the
Dotcom bust, subprime mortgage crisis, European sovereign debt
crisis to the latest Chinese stock market crash. However, the nature
of risks continues to change and evolve with the passage of time.
In 2015, geopolitical risks, social risks, vendor risks, regulatory compliance risks and cyber security risks were the major ones
that kept the CXOs on guard. From Europes mass refugee crisis
to economic slowdowns in emerging markets, from ever rising
numbers of terrorists attacks and cyber-attacks to water shortages, risks have been making headlines over the last few years.
Over the years, both external and internal risk events such as
business interruptions, market and technology developments
volatility or stagnation, cyber incidents, natural disasters, changes in legislations and regulations, employee frauds, etc. have led
to enterprises realign and re-strategise their business models.
Managing these risks requires organisations to build more robust
and mature risk management framework, stronger controls, better risk cautioning mechanism and smoother processes for risk
analysis and mitigation.

14

THE EVOLVING REGULATORY FRAMEWORK AND CHALLENGES

As a step towards bringing transparency and sustainability of doing business, the Companies Act, 2013 provides for a major overhaul in the corporate governance norms for all companies registered in India. The requirements under the Companies Act, 2013
and the rules notified thereunder are applicable to every company or a class of companies (both listed and unlisted) as may be
provided therein. For example, while listed companies already
maintained internal audit departments (as per requirement of
Clause 41 of the Listing Agreement), the Companies Act, 2013
has extended the coverage to unlisted public companies and private companies meeting specified criteria. The Act also requires
the Audit Committee or Board to formulate the scope, functioning, periodicity and methodology for conducting internal audit.
Under the revised regulatory environment, responsibility and
liability of Directors have also been elevated to an unprecedented
level. For example, section 134 (5) requires the directors of a listed entity to state in the Directors Responsibility Statement about
the adequacy and effectiveness of internal financial controls. The
term internal financial controls has been further explained to inwww.autotechreview.com

clude policies and procedures, safeguarding of assets, prevention

and detection of frauds, accuracy and completeness of accounting records, and timely preparation of reliable financial information. The auditors are also required to provide their opinion on
internal financial controls as part of their reporting requirements
under section 143 of the said Act. The Act also requires the Directors to comment upon the compliance with the provisions of
applicable laws and regulations.
Further, section 134(3) (n) requires a statement indicating development and implementation of a risk management policy for
the company including identification therein of the risk elements,
if any, which in the opinion of the Board may threaten the existence of the company.
In light of the above regulatory amendments, it is evident
that the continued focus on taking an enterprise view of risks
will challenge organisations to break down barriers and promote
greater information, transparency and collaboration. Functions
and processes that do not consider the broader risk environment
of the organisation are subject to increased scrutiny by regulators, auditors and key stakeholders.
Another major challenge in establishing good governance
norms is around multinationals not paying their fair share of tax
and taking advantage of the arbitrage opportunities afforded by
outmoded principles of international taxation. As an effort to enhance transparency, G20 countries and Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) joined hands in order to
tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and close gaps in
international taxation. OECD came out with detailed reports on 15
point Action Plan to revamp international taxation. BEPS Action
Item 13, in particular, aims to transform the way in which related
entities transact with each other requiring them to reconsider the
transfer pricing documentation and reporting to the tax authorities through country-by-country reporting (CbCR) (applicable to
companies beyond a certain threshold) and suggesting a three tier
documentation structure: master file, local file and CbCR.

AUTOMOBILE SEGMENT IS NOT ISOLATED!

Governance standards play a significant role in an entitys perception value and enterprise value. Uncertainties in todays environment present both risk and opportunities to erode or enhance
value. However, the challenge for the management is to determine how much uncertainty to accept as it strives to grow stakeholders value. In recent past, fuel economy test procedures and
methods by major players have resulted in huge penalties, dip in
share price, tarnishing the brand image and impacting the overall
enterprise value.
Regulatory requirements continue to increase the expectation of risk and capital management. The enhanced techniques
require deep technical skills in market, liquidity, credit and
counterparty, and operational risk management coupled with
compliance, finance and treasury expertise. Traditionally, these
verticals have operated in silos and now must be closely coordinated to report and act in a consolidated, enterprise-wide view.
Business models, structures and change in target goals requires
an ERM framework that is robust yet adaptable; incorporating

autotechreview

June 2016

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

and responding to mergers, acquisitions, and changes in management teams, business structure, products, services and distribution channels.
Companies Act, 2013 aims to improve the governance standards, establish accountability on auditors and management, protect shareholders rights and bring transparency in financial reporting and disclosures. The 2013 Act has been developed with a
view to enhance self-regulation and encourage corporate democracy. The act aligns itself to the need of reducing the number of
government approvals required for ease of doing business in India. The act requires companies to adopt good governance norms
by embedding a control culture, which flows from the top and
forces entities to revisit their risk mitigation strategies in light of
global warning on corruption and malpractices.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

Thus, it is imperative to have an ERM policy and framework to

identify these new and emerging risks and also devise an effective
mitigation strategy for effective and efficient management of risks.
Such a risk management framework needs to be supported by a
risk management structure, defining the entitys alignment of the
risk management function to its vision and mission statement.
The framework should also include the risk appetite of the entity,
risk rating criteria, evaluation and prioritisation criteria, roles and
responsibilities and a formal reporting structure to the Board of
Directors. As part of the framework, an emerging risks log should
be created to enable decisions around which risks should be mitigated on a priority, which risks can be transformed into opportunities and which risks needs to be avoided completely.
Good governance practices can provide an answer and influence the ways in which companies are able to attract capital and
increase their valuation. Focused corporate governance issues in
emerging markets can improve access to globally present financing sources. Investors need to feel secure in the process that their
rights are being properly protected by controlling owners and the
management. They also need to know if the company has set up
minimum governance standards to reduce the risk in case the
controlling group abuses their rights. Good governance, by its nature, demands effective system of internal control.
The business environment is changing. This includes changes in customer preferences, technology and environmental
norms. This has forced all components of the automobile industry value chain to re-assess the impact of such changes and include adoption of a formal risk management framework as part
of their overall governance structure. The Board of Directors
would also play a significant role in discharging their duties towards developing and maintaining an effective governance
framework.
The entire industry needs to collaborate and devise
mitigation strategies to protect and safeguard the interests
of all stakeholders.

read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

15

i n t e r v i e w HELLA INDIA LIGHTING

FRUGAL ENGG, COST INNOVATION

HELPS OFFER FUTURE-READY SOLUTONS
A change in its business strategy in 2011 saw Hella India Lighting Ltd push for the technology of
tomorrow, for the life of today on Indian roads. That strategy has allowed the company not just to
stay ahead of its competitors, but also build strengths that would hold it in good stead for a long
time to come. In a recent interaction, Ramashankar Pandey, Managing Director, Hella India Lighting Ltd gave
us deep insights into this strategy, and more.
Managing Director of Hella India Lighting Ltd since 2010,
Ramashankar Pandey has over 18 years of experience in the
auto component industry. A university rank holder in Mechanical
Engineering, Ramashankar Pandey passed out of the National
Institute of Technology, Calicut in 1997. He then completed a
diploma in Business Finance from the Institute of Chartered
Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) and has also done a course on
Executive General Management from IIM, Bangalore. He also has
a Six Sigma green belt certification.

16

His professional journey started in 1997, when he joined BOSCH

as a Technical Graduate Trainee, quickly rising to the position of
a Business Manager/ Profit Centre Head by 2003. In 2004, he
joined Timken as a Business Manager, responsible for its aftermarket business. In 2006, Pandey joined Hella Asia Singapore to
lead its Indian aftermarket start-up, and joined Hella India Lighting Ltd board in 2009.

www.autotechreview.com

ATR _ We have seen rapid development of

lighting technology in the last few years,
especially in the area of LEDs. What do
you attribute this to?
RAMASHANKAR PANDEY _ The general
awareness about LEDs in the Indian context has been driven by the penetration
of this technology in home lighting. In
that segment, you have educated consumers, who dictate the technology they
want and the Indian Government partnered the penetration. In the automotive
industry, OEMs have a bigger role in the
adoption of LED technology, be it for signal lighting and front/ rear lighting.
There is awareness today about daytime
running lights (DRL), initially fitted in
luxury cars and slowly becoming a normal trend. Full LED headlamps like
Matrix LEDs still remain in luxury cars,
but theyve been able to drive some curiosity among consumers.
Overall, LED technology is still fairly
expensive. The transition cost from Halogen to Xenon to LED is still very high.
The industry knows that LEDs offer a lot
of safety and styling in vehicles, but the
cost continues to be prohibitive for mass
adoption. In India, from a signal/ rear
lighting perspective, we have seen good
progress across all segments, although
two-wheelers were one of the early adopters. Unfortunately, we havent seen
much movement in front lighting
because of the cost factor.
Secondly, from a Hella India perspective, in 2011 we found that almost 90 % of
trucks on the roads were either fitted with
Hellas bulb-based chamber lamps, or a
similar design with similar old technology
of stop/tail lamps. This technology being
old needs heavy maintenance and has
very high rate of failures. While studying
road accidents in night time, we found
that tailgating was one of the major reasons for road fatalities in India involving
trucks, because of dysfunctional or unavailable tail lamps. The filament technology used in the past didnt last long
enough for even a single trip. Even today,
you would see 80 % of the trucks without
a working tail lamp.
We took this as a new strategy to drive
the market. The whole DNA of the organisation changed, when we decided to stop
developing and advocating bulb-based tail
lamps for Commercial Vehicle in India. It
was decided to invest only on the design,
autotechreview

June 2016

development and technology of LEDs,

even when the market had no such
demand, at that point of time. The initial
purchase cost was high and this created
initial resistance in adoption among fleet
owners and OEMs alike, but as it was a
maintenance free option, fortunately by
2014-15 we started getting some green
shoots. We partnered with most of the
OEMs in these years, and in the last one
year, we have clearly seen the acceptance
of LEDs for tail lamps among all CV manufacturers in the country. On the signal/
rear lighting at least, especially in the CV
segment, LEDs would become a norm.
Talk to us about the full LED tail lamps
that Hella developed and produced locally
for trucks.
We were the first company in India to
make a fully-sealed LED stop/tail lamp for
CVs with 5 Years warranty, high impact
lens material and extremely robust against
vibration to withstand tough operating
condition. And regulation was not the
prime motivation. It was driven by the
partnership between us and the OEMs
towards better road safety by ensuring
visibility. It offers roughly 3-4 m of extra
braking distance as compared to a bulb
lamp, which becomes lifesaving distance

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

in an accident situation. What also helped

us was upcoming competition in the CV
market after the entrance of multinational
CV makers in India. Even the local players
have upped the ante in terms of product
introductions. That has helped.
LEDs also offer the industry flexibility in
terms of design and styling. How do you
see that developing over years?
There is a very high need for differentiation among OEMs in the current tough
and competitive market, as customers
have more and more choice. LEDs offer
immense possibility of design and styling
options due to its flexibility of application.
To bring differentiation in front lighting is
still an expensive proposition. However,
signal lighting cost is moderate, and thats
the reason why most of the signal lighting
is getting converted to LEDs. That leads
me to another important point. In front
lighting, even if you dont convert the full
headlamp into LED, adoption of add-on
features such as DRLs or even signatures
will pick up speed. Styling and signature
is a very strong trend, and we ride that
wave as well with our products.
OEMs can change the look and feel of
the vehicle by using lights as a signature
or differentiator. This is a great opportu-

Pandey expects LED signal/ rear lighting to become a norm in the CV segment

17

i n t e r v i e w HELLA INDIA LIGHTING

nity for us to push technology as a differentiator. But in doing this, it is important

to understand that we wont be able to
push technology till the time it is affordable. Frugal engineering, cost innovation or
reverse innovation will be fundamental,
and thats what we are working on.
Clearly, LEDs offer a lot of benefits in the
sense that they are controllable, are
energy-efficiency and offer flexibility in
the use of colour. These seem to all work
in favour of future mobility.
LEDs indeed are a boon for future mobility, especially electric and hybrid vehicles.
The LED product we introduced for trucks
reduces almost 80-90 % of energy consumption, as compared to bulbs. In EVs,
LEDs can help batteries retain charge for a
lot longer a pain point for the industry
until now.
Talk to us about Hella Indias approach to
design, development and technology.
We have offered the industry a lot of innovation in the past few years, and OEMs
today only look at us for solutions. The
change in strategy, as I said earlier, happened in 2011, when we proposed the following punch line: Technology of tomorrow, for the life of today on Indian roads.
We decided to jump technologies to bring
products that are futuristic. We focus not
just on the product specifications, but also
on manufacturing technology, design and
development. And all of that is based on
cost and benefits that are acceptable to
our customers.
Our approach is unique in the sense
that our product development is not
dependant on customers current demand
alone but mostly depends on their future
or latent demand of differentiating their
product. We believe in the future trend
and have invested a lot on building capability in-house, and in our D&D, and manufacturing technology. Then, we also
needed to ensure there was a business
case for this. So, we had to do enormous
amount of value engineering in India to
make sure we met the target specs and
standards for the product.
Do we see Hella India getting into core
R&D or advanced development at some
stage?
We werent into advanced development or
core research in the past. But since we

18

live on future forecasting of technology,

our business model is different. Our business part of the Special Original Equipment (CVs) category with Hella has
high variety, low quantity and mass customisation. Unlike passenger cars, which
in the Hella world fall under the automotive category, the volumes for specific
models of CVs are relatively smaller and
thus offering product differentiation is a
challenging task, hence Special OE at
Hella takes care of this business.
We are probably the only company in
India who build the core of the product
ourselves, based on our technology and
market forecasts. To some extent, we are
already doing advanced application engineering. When customers have a requirement, we are able to pick from our library
of solutions. For instance, we have made
different types of projector modules, and
depending on the customer need, we are
able to offer the right product. For that,
we do need to tap the outcome of our
core research at Hella Germany. Today, we
already have a roadmap of products ready
for the next four to five years.
That is where we are unique. We are
capable to make an offer of fully homologated headlamp in three to four weeks
time as these modules are homologated
for all light functions beforehand by Hella
India Lighting as standard product, and
then depending on customer need, we
mass customise the styling element. Our
time-to-market is much faster compared
to our competitors. Also, our customers
dont have to always bear the total cost of
tooling if they choose one of our standard
products. In our frugal approach, we
aggregate the investment of many OEM
projects into our investment, and then
spread the cost across the combined volume. For any single low volume project to
bear the tooling cost may be difficult, but
this way we are able to bring down cost
for everyone. This leads to technology
jumps. This also offers each OEM the flexibility to opt for their own signature styling, but the heart remains the same.
So, being future ready is a way of life at
Hella India?
Indeed. Today, we are ready with the
complete signal lighting package in LED
at different levels, and for different applications. We have offered our customers a
library of products that they can pick and

choose from. This approach offers high

degree of innovation possibilities to the
engineering department of these OEMs.
What about xenon lights? Do you see
LEDs completely replace xenon as a lighting technology?
Im very confident that Indias transition
is from halogen to LED. I dont see any
of our customers getting excited with
anything in between. I see the same
trend in two-wheelers and tractors as
well. Today, with costs coming down, it
makes more business sense to get into
LEDs. At this years Auto Expo, for example, one of our full LED headlamps was
on display on an e-bus. I couldnt have
expected this two years back. From a
technology upgrade point of view, you
have no barriers moving to LEDs. This is
possible because of the standardisation,
modularisation and flexibility that LEDs
offer, leading to mass customisation.
The other critical global trend is that of
light-based driver assistance systems.
How do you see that developing in the
Indian context?
There is already a discussion in this
regard in some segments of the industry, but it wont be adopted entirely for
the Indian volumes. We showcased
dynamic bend lighting with one of the
top two manufacturers at the last Auto
Expo. Many of these companies also
have a strong export focus, and it makes
sense for them to look at light-based
DAS. I clearly see a lot of interest in
dynamic bend lighting or a cluster that
has DRL and fog lights together. I dont
expect technologies like camera-assisted
Matrix beam to be mainstream in India
in a year or two due to high cost, but
there are enquiries about solutions such
as auto-levelling, auto-dippers and noglare lamps.

TExT: Deepangshu Dev Sarmah

PHoTo: Hella India Lighting

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

Lets Talk
about Oil

Apply a fine mist of lubricant, exactly where needed.

In your products, and how you can use less of it in

your metal stamping operation. The MicroCoat
Lubrication System from Nordson EFD applies a thin,
precise film of lubricant exactly where its needed,
reducing oil consumption by up to 85%. But thats
just the beginning.
Cuts manufacturing costs
Can double tool life
Virtually eliminates disposal of wasted oil
Increases productivity
Presses run up to 40% faster
Reduce VOCs for a cleaner, fog-free
environment
Improves your end product
Stops slug pulling and part deformation
Makes higher-quality evaporating lubricants a
more viable, cost-effective option
Better product quality, with lower
manufacturing costs. That sounds like a
pretty slick operation. Lets get together
and talk about how Nordson EFDs
technology and expertise can help.

See it in action
nordsonefd.com/precision-dispensing

Nordson India Pvt Ltd,

143A, Bommasandra Industrial Area,
Bangalore 560099, India.
india@nordsonefd.com +91 80 4021 3600

s t u d y SEMIC ONDUCTORS

semIconductors In adas:
CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
In a new study, McKinsey & Company says semiconductor companies can help take Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) applications to a new level provided that they are ready to embrace change.

AUThORS
SEUNGHYUK CHOI
is an Associate Principal in
McKinsey in Seoul (South Korea).

Demand for advanced driver assistance

systems (ADAS) those that help with
monitoring, warning, braking, and steering tasks is expected to increase over
the next decade, fuelled largely by regulatory and consumer interest in safety applications that protect drivers and reduce
accidents. For instance, both the European Union and the United States are
mandating that all vehicles be equipped
with autonomous emergency-braking systems and forward-collision warning systems by 2020. A recent McKinsey survey
also suggests that car buyers are becoming even more interested in ADAS applications that promote comfort and economy,
such as those that assist with parking or
monitoring blind spots.
Although ADAS applications are still
in their early days, OEMs and their suppliers realise that they could eventually
become the main feature differentiating

20

FLORIAN THALMAYR
is a Consultant in McKinsey
in Munich (Germany).

DOMINIK WEE
is a Principal in McKinsey
in Munich (Germany).

automotive brands, as well as one of

their most important revenue sources.
And the same technologies that enable
todays ADAS offerings could also be
used to create fully autonomous vehicles, which are now a major focus of
research and development, both at
OEMs and at high-tech players that have
recently entered the automotive sector,
including Google. Any ADAS technology
that gains early support could therefore
have an advantage if self-driving cars
reach the market.
Many semiconductor companies now
offer ADAS products, or are developing
them. As with any new technology,
however, much uncertainty persists
about the market, including how consumers will respond to more advanced
applications in which a computer controls or assists with steering and other
critical driving functions.

FLORIAN WEIG
is a Director in McKinsey
in Munich (Germany)

THE OPPORTUNITIES AND

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Although ADAS technology has the potential to transform the automotive sector, its
current annual revenues which range
from about $ 5-8 bn, according to most
sources are modest compared with
those for other automotive systems. For
instance, 2015 revenues were about $ 30
bn for audio and telematics and about $
60 bn for climate control. Part of the problem is that many of the most promising
ADAS applications are still being refined
or have not yet hit the market; still others
are expensive and mostly available in premium cars. But one of the most important
factors inhibiting demand may be a lack
of consumer awareness.
In a recent online survey of more than
4,500 car buyers in five countries conducted by McKinsey, many respondents
www.autotechreview.com

Semiconductors 2015
Advanced driver system
Exhibit 1 of 5

were unfamiliar with ADAS applications,

Exhibit 1
Many car buyers are still unaware of the technology for advanced driverassistance systems.
and few purchased cars with this technology, 1. The survey offered reason for
Transfer rates and process-step values in the consumer decision journey for advanced driver-assistance
systems in selected countries, %
optimism; however, since it revealed that
Process-step values
Transfer rates
XX
the repurchase rate for those who did buy
a vehicle with ADAS was quite high, rangAll recent
Intent to
Awareness
Trial
Purchase
ing from 87 to 89 %. This finding sugvehicle buyers
repurchase
gests that once consumers become familiar with ADAS, they will prefer cars with
77
44
29
87
Germany
these features.
100
77
34
10
8
Even though industry experts hold difJapan
49
26
42
87
ferent opinions about 2015 revenues and
100
49
12
5
4
growth prospects for ADAS, most expect
to see an annual increase of more than 10
South Korea
72
39
32
88
% from 2015 to 2020. For instance, one
100
72
28
9
8
leading analyst predicts 16 % growth durUnited States
63
27
47
89
ing this period, and a second predicts 29
100
63
17
8
7
Semiconductors
2015
% growth, 2. This could give the segAdvanced driver system
The
online
survey
included
4,500
car
buyers
in
China,
Germany,
Japan,
South
Korea,
and
the
United
States.
ment one of the highest growth rates in
Exhibit
2 of 5from one stage of the consumer decision journey to the next.
%
of buyers moving
% of all recent vehicle buyers that reach a given step of the consumer decision journey. Figures may not sum, because of rounding.
the automotive sector and related indusIncludes consumers who said they would definitely or probably purchase cars with ADAS features.
Source: McKinsey survey on connected cars, 2015
tries. However, with the base price for
1
cars remaining relatively stable (CAGR ~
1 %), semiconductor companies and
The market for advanced driver-assistance systems is expected to show strong
and higher frequencies, as well as
during less-than-ideal environmental conditions,
other suppliers may face pressure from Exhibit 2 architectures
momentum through 2020.
lower power-consumption requirements.
such as rain and fog.
OEMs and customers to keep ADAS costs
Compound
annual growth
Global revenue projections for advanced driver-assistance systems, $ billion
low, even as the technology becomes
Sensors. These devices gather information on their
Many industry players are trying to improve
rate, individual
201620,
Strategy Analytics
%
immediate
environment,TechNavio
such as pedestrians and
sensors. They are also attempting to optimize
system
standard. In consequence, we predict that
oncoming
cars. Most have a limited measurement
performance through better sensor fusionthe
30
29
growth in ADAS value may proceed at a
range and signal bandwidth, which makes it difficoherent combination of data from multiple sensors.
30.0
slower rate than growth in unit volume.
cult to distinguish between signal (for example,
On the hardware side, intersensor communication is
1

2
3

25

obstacles in the road) and system noise. It is

especially difficult for sensors to track moving objects

autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

a major challenge because it requires high bandwidth

and solutions for preventing network overloads.

20

ADAS TECHNOLOGY: OVERCOMING

LIMITATIONS TO ENSURE ACTIVE,
AUTONOMOUS SAFETY

One factor that could influence ADAS

uptake is the rate at which the technology
advances. Although semiconductor companies and other players have made
important enhancements in recent years,
there is much room for improvement. For
instance, forward-collision warning systems still have difficulty identifying
objects, when a vehicle is traveling at
high speeds. A typical ADAS application
incorporates many technologies, 3, but
four stand out with regard to the challenges they present: processors, sensors,
software algorithms, and mapping.
Processors: Electronic control units
(ECUs) and microcontroller units (MCUs)
are essential for most ADAS applications,
including autonomous driving. For ADAS
to advance, processors need better performance, which could be enabled by
multicore architectures and higher fre-4
quencies, as well as lower power-consumption requirements.

17.6

18.2

16

15
11.1
10 8.73

14.5

10.5

8.4 3
5

0
2015

2016E

2018E

2020E4

1Includes

autonomous emergency-braking system, adaptive cruise control, forward-collision warning, lane-departure warning,
parking assistance, back-side monitoring, night vision, driver monitoring (eg, for fatigue), and traffic-signal recognition.
includes adaptive front lighting and heads-up display.
3Most sources estimate 2015 revenues between $5 billion and $8 billion.
4201819 compound annual growth rate used to derive 2020 market size for Strategy Analytics and TechNavio forecast.
5Figures may not sum, because of rounding.
2Also

Source: IHS; SBD; Strategy Analytics; TechNavio; McKinsey analysis

2
Players are currently optimizing the partitioning
progress on both fronts, however. As one example,
and distribution of system architecture to address
Mobileye and various start-ups are trying to improve
this issue. On the software side, the fusion of image
of camera-based solutions, which
is particularly
challenging. Some OEMs
Sensors:
Many industry players are try- the functionality
and nonimage data is particularly challenging. Some typically have difficulty detecting obstacles during
andor Tier
I situations
suppliers
are
working together
ingOEMs
to improve
sensors.
They rainstorms
and tier-oneindividual
suppliers are working
together
in other
when
visibility
academia
to addressto
this
challenge, as
can be
is limited.
If camera-based
solutions
catch up tothis
radarchallenge,
with
academia
to address
arewith
also
attempting
optimise
system
seen in Daimlers collaboration with the Karlsruhe
and lidar in functionality, they could eventually
as can be seen in Daimlers collaboration
performance
through better sensor fusion
Institute of Technology and the University of Ulm.
dominate the ADAS market because of their lower
with
Karlsruhe
Institute
the coherent combination of data from
cost. One
boxthe
solutions
that combine
lasers andof TechnolThe limited
functionality
of todays
sensors, combined
may also
popular becauseof
they
are The limandbecome
the University
Ulm.
multiple
sensors.
On
the hardware
side, camerasogy
with their high cost, may be the greatest constraint
less expensive than radar or lidar alone. This is an
ited
functionality
of
todays
sensors,
inter-sensor
communication
is
a
major
to ADAS uptake. Many companies are making
important development, since experts believe that

challenge because it requires high bandwidth and solutions for preventing network overloads. On the software side,
the fusion of image and non-image data

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

combined with their high cost, may be

the greatest constraint to ADAS uptake.
Many companies are making progress on
both fronts, however.

21

s t u d y SEMIC ONDUCTORS

FedEx, as well as GPS data from drivers.

Software algorithms: In response to
developments in sensor fusion, the industry is about to transition from embedded
software running on a single ADAS-speAN EVOLVING
cific ECU to software platforms running
COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
on centralised ECUs or MCUs. These software platforms have a higher level of
Many players are aware that regulators
abstraction to allow flexible integration of
will require vehicles to be equipped with
sensor-fusion algorithms. Industry players
certain ADAS applications over the next
are now focusing on creating such algofive years, and they are already preparing
rithms, which allow for more accurate
to capture growth. This activity is triggersynthesis of sensor data and more effiing unprecedented changes in the autocient processing, because they will help
motive industry. First, more established
prevent data overload or slowdowns.
high-tech companies, including semiconAnother priority is creating algorithms
ductor players, are actively pursuing
that allow for safer car navigation and
ADAS opportunities, even if they did not
more accurately predict all possible
previously have a presence in the automohuman behaviour including potentially
tive sector. In another active shift, OEMs
irrational responses in various situa once the primary drivers of automotive
tions, such as when a collision between
innovation may now be more willing
two cars appears imminent.
to collaborate with semiconductor compaMapping: When GPS coverage fails,
nies and other Tier II suppliers, whose
such as during tunnel travel, detailed
technologies facilitate their development
and accurate mapping systems can help
of ADAS. Similarly, both Tier I and Tier II
prevent accidents. These systems also
suppliers are aggressively pursuing mergstore geographical and infrastructure
ers and acquisitions to ensure they have
information, making updates as needed,
all the capabilities needed for ADAS,
semiautonomous driving will not become a reality
In response to developments in sensor fusion, the
and
communicate
with
on-board
sensors
software
until the industry has a cost-effective lidar system
industryincluding
is about to transition
from capabilities.
embedded softis fully integrated
withexact
other sensors.
ware running
on a single ADAS-specific
ECU to
to that
determine
a cars
location. OEMs
Semiconductor
companies
now
software platforms running on centralized ECUs or
and
other
players
in
the
automotive
receive
moderate
revenue
from
ADAS
Software algorithms. Running on ECUs and MCUs,
MCUs. These software platforms have a higher
industry
looking
forsensors
lower-cost
meth-level of abstraction
less thanto allow
$ 2 bn
in integration
2015, compared
with
algorithmsare
use the
input from
to synthesize
flexible
of
theto
environment
surrounding
a vehicle in
real
sensor-fusion
Industry playerselectronic
are
ods
construct
and maintain
maps.
$ 29 algorithms.
bn for automotive
systime (going above and beyond the processing that
now focusing on creating such algorithms, which
Some
of the most recent solutions
tems but this is expected to grow rapsensors have already completed). The algorithms
allow for more accurate synthesis of sensor data
include
deploying
mapping
cars
idly.
To processing,
ensure that
they
capture
full
then provide
output to the
driver or specify
how the
and more
efficient
because
they will
help
system should actively intervene in vehicle control.
data overload or slowdowns. Another
equipped
with 3D
lasers and 360 high- preventvalue,
semiconductor companies must
Semiconductors
2015
This could require some of the most complex in-carpriority is creating algorithms that allow for safer car
definition
cameras.
Map developers
are navigation
decide
where,
how,
and
when to comAdvanced
driver system
software integration
ever created,
since any decisions
and more
accurately
predict
all possible
Exhibit
3 of 5
thatleveraging
the algorithms
specify,
such as the
application
human pete.
behaviorincluding
potentially
also
data from
sensors
This could
involveirrational
rethinking their
of emergency brakes, are critical to ensuring safety.
various situations, such as when
installed
on commercial fleets, such as responsesin
product
focus on hardware, since brancha collision between two cars appears imminent.

Exhibit 3

Four control points in advanced driver-assistance systems are key for autonomous
driving and product differentiation.
Key control point

Connectivity
Internet between
vehicle-to-vehicle
and vehicle-toinfrastructure systems

Data cloud

Sensors
Perceive external
data

Actuator
Takes prompt
actions based on
computed results

Mapping
Stores and updates
geological
and infrastructure
information

Processors
(ECUs/MCUs)1
Process data
needed to make
decisions

Middleware
Software
algorithms

1 Electronic

control units/microcontroller units.

Source: McKinsey analysis

22

ing out into software will offer more

opportunities, and developing new strategies for collaborating with OEMs. Companies that move quickly and establish
themselves as ADAS players may gain
the most when the market moves into a
phase of even higher growth.

OPPORTUNITIES IN
HARDWARE AND BEYOND

We investigated ADAS hardware opportunities for semiconductor companies

through 2025 using a model that considered various factors, including expected
end-market adoption and price erosion
for systems and components. We found
that overall revenues could increase
steadily, reaching about $ 4.6 bn to $ 5.3
bn in 2025. Parking-assistance systems
may generate the most revenue for semiconductor players, followed by automated emergency braking, adaptive
cruise control, and forward-collision
warning. For system components, the
best opportunities appear to be in processors (generating an anticipated 37 %
of total revenue) and optical semiconductors (28 %), as 4 suggests.
With processors and sensors expected
to account for most revenues, it makes
sense for semiconductor companies to
consider competing in these segments by
creating differentiated offerings. In addition to hardware, which still accounts for
most of their revenues, semiconductor
companies could capture value by
expanding their offering into software
and algorithms.
Processor enhancements: Those players
with experience in adjacent industries,
such as consumer, mobile, or data processing, could be best positioned to
improve processor performance the
most important selling point. Since fast
processors are found on the smallest
nodes, they require huge investments in
R&D and manufacturing. Sales in the
automotive market alone will not justify
these investments, so semiconductor companies may need revenue from other sectors to receive a decent return on investment. In addition, players with experience
in adjacent industries may be able to
adapt some of their products for ADAS
applications, reducing development time.
For instance, NVIDIA adapted its Tegra
www.autotechreview.com

Processor enhancements. Those players with experi-

ence in adjacent industries,

Semiconductors
2015 such as consumer,
mobile, or data
processing,
could be best positioned
Advanced
driver
system
to improve
processor
performancethe most
Exhibit
4 of
5
important selling point. Since fast processors are
found on the smallest nodes, they require huge

platform, which was originally developed

Exhibit 4
for gaming devices, smartphones, and
tablets, for use in automotive systems.
Sensor enhancements: Many different
types of sensors exist, but three are most
important for ADAS. The first and most
cost-efficient option involves optical
sensors and camera-based solutions.
These sensors are versatile and can assist
with a wide range of ADAS functions, but
they are easily affected by poor weather
conditions and other environmental
hazards. Optical sensors and camerabased solutions also require complex
software algorithms to recognise objects,
such as pedestrians and other vehicles.
The second category involves lidar
systems, which use a scanning laser to
generate a complete 3D image of the
environment. Unlike optical sensors, lidar
is less sensitive to weather conditions and
directly provides the location of objects
around the vehicle. Although prices have
fallen in the past decade, dropping from
many tens of thousands of dollars to less
than $ 10,000, they are still too expensive
for deployment.
Finally, ADAS often incorporates
short- and long-range radar using electromagnetic waves in the range of 20 to 80
GHz for determining the distance, speed,
and direction of objects. These sensors
function better than others during
adverse weather conditions, but they typically involve compromises in measurement range and angle. For instance, longrange radar can detect obstacles up to
250 m away, but the measurement angle
is quite narrow. In consequence, adaptive cruise control often combines longrange radar with short-range radar,
which has a wider measurement angle.
Although sensors generate less revenue
than processors, semiconductor companies may prefer to work in this area
because scale is of lesser importance,
and it is easier to differentiate products.
Software: Moving into the software space
may be difficult, since semiconductor
companies often lack advanced software
skills. To compete, they may need to build
their software skills internally or undertake mergers and acquisitions with players that have the necessary capabilities.
Semiconductor companies should consider bundling hardware with non-silicon
offerings both software (for instance,
drivers, operating-system adoption, and
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

in adjacent industries may be able to adapt some

of their products for ADAS applications, reducing
development time. For instance, NVIDIA adapted its
Tegra platform, which was originally developed for
gaming devices, smartphones, and tablets, for use in
automotive systems.

For semiconductor companies, processors and optical semiconductors are expected to

account for most hardware revenues for advanced driver-assistance systems in 2025.
Semiconductor revenue in advanced driverassistance systems per application, %1
100% =

Most important components

$1.8
billion
$2.0
billion

$3.4
billion
$4.2
billion

$4.6
billion
$5.3
billion

32

30

19

21

AEB, ACC, and

FCW 2

12

13

14

Lane-departure
warning

13

13

13

Blind spot

4
10

5
6

6
4

Driver monitoring
Adaptive front lights
Night vision
Other3

38

12

1Figures

Semiconductor revenue distribution on device

types in 2025, %1

10

10

2015

2020E

2025E

Processors

Parking assistance

37

Optical
semiconductors

28

Radiofrequency
semiconductors

13

Memory

12

Mixed signal

Other
3

Microprocessing units,
electronic control units,
microcontroller units, digital
signal processors, and
systems on a chip for signal
processing
Complementary-metaloxide-semiconductor
imaging sensors,
LEDs, laser diodes, and
photodetectors
Radio-frequency
transceivers and radar
preprocessing
System memory

Power-management
integrated circuits, bus
transceivers
Discretes, other types
of sensors

may not sum to 100%, because of rounding.

emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, and forward-collision warning.
among other categories, back-side monitoring and traffic-signal recognition.

2Autonomous
3Includes,

Source: McKinsey analysis

4
7

codecs) and algorithms, including those

used for real-time processing of sensor
data. Bundling may generate more value
than simple hardware enhancements,
such as improved memory or central-processing-unit performance. In addition,
semi-conductor companies could attempt
to provide more modules or integrated
solutions, such as systems on a chip.

STRATEGIES FOR STANDING OUT

FROM THE CROWD

The changing automotive market offers

new opportunities for semiconductor
companies, but it will also be intensely
competitive. The following three factors
may be crucial to winning market share.
Strong relationships with
OEMs: Although OEMs have long relied
on Tier I suppliers to provide innovative
components, they are willing to take a
much more active role in ADAS development. In fact, OEMs may eventually
assume the lead because the systems
found in fully autonomous vehicles must
work together closely. If they drive ADAS
development, OEMs will have the freedom to select the best sub-systems
including sensors and general control systems from a variety of Tier I suppliers,
rather than relying on a single source.
Taking charge of ADAS development

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

would also ensure that OEMs have a better chance of differentiating themselves
from competitors for both driver-support
and autonomous-driving functions.
The need to develop innovative ADAS
technologies is prompting OEMs to collaborate more closely with Tier II suppliers,
thereby giving these suppliers a more critical role in vehicle design and manufacture. The exact assistance that an OEM
requests will vary by company and application, so semiconductor companies
should be prepared to provide different
types of support. For instance, they might
actively help OEMs with integration,
assist with the development of customised
integrated systems, or support the optimisation of system performance.
Multiple collaborations across the value
chain: Numerous non-traditional automotive players and small to midsize businesses are now trying to capture value
from ADAS. Semiconductor companies
could pursue multiple collaborations
with these players even those that
may be competitors or customers. For
instance, they may seek to complement
their hardware knowledge through partnerships with competent software players that have strong automotive track
records. In some cases, two or more semiconductor companies may work
together. For example, Renesas Electronics collaborates with more than 150 com-

23

Safety Integrity Level risk-analysis methods and per-

Semiconductors
2015
form them during the
earliest stages of product
Advanced
driver
system
development,
thereby
eliminating any potential for
Exhibit
5 of
component
or5system-level failures. As products

s t u d y SEMIC ONDUCTORS
advance in development, semiconductor companies
may need to conduct extensive testing that evaluates

Exhibit 5

link to a vehicles communication module directly

to enable fully autonomous driving. Although these
modules have intrinsically secure connections,
additional protections will be needed. Advanced
hardware firewalls, incorporated network-level
security elements (for instance, crypto chips), and

Despite reservations about autonomous driving, more than half of surveyed drivers
would use this technology if their concerns are addressed.
Main sources of concern, % of respondents1
Distrust in a computer
driving the vehicle

48

Fear of vehicle systems

being hacked

38

Extra cost of autonomous

vehicles

33

Distrust of other human

drivers

Yes

45

55

28

Loss of the pleasure

of driving

20

Lack of willingness to share

data with public authorities

No or
uncertain

19

Possibility that the vehicle

will travel slower than one
operated by a human driver

17

Lack of comfort when a

computer is driving
Other

Share willing to use autonomous

vehicles if concerns are addressed,
% of respondents

10

1Based

on responses from car buyers in China, Germany, Japan, and South Korea (n = 3,500); data from US respondents were
not available for this question at the time of publication.
Source: McKinsey survey on connected cars, 2015

5
10

panies, including other semiconductor

players, on infotainment and ADAS capabilities. By collaborating with multiple
players, semiconductor companies may
develop high-quality solutions that differentiate them from competitors. They may
also reduce costs, optimise resource use,
and decrease time to market. While
many semiconductor companies may
form partnerships with existing players,
they could also consider collaborating
with start-ups that offer strong solutions.
Differentiation through safety and security: ADAS technologies already have
high safety requirements, and these will
increase as applications take more active
control of cars. In fact, many future ADAS
technologies will be rated at Automotive
Safety Integrity Level D, the classification
reserved for components or systems,
where a malfunction poses the risk of
injury or death. ADAS security requirements are also among the highest because
the consequences of a hackers interference with steering, braking, or other vehicle functions could be catastrophic.
A recent McKinsey survey on connected cars confirmed that consumers are
concerned about the safety of ADAS
autonomous-vehicle offerings. When
asked about autonomous driving, almost
half of respondents expressed distrust
about the computers that control the vehicle, and 38 % stated that they feared
hacking. However, more than half of

24

respondents said they would be willing to

use an autonomous vehicle if their concerns were addressed, 5.
Since safety and security issues could
derail the ADAS market, it would be
helpful for semiconductor companies to
become familiar with Automotive Safety
Integrity Level risk-analysis methods and
perform them during the earliest stages
of product development, thereby eliminating any potential for component or
system-level failures. As products
advance in development, semiconductor
companies may need to conduct extensive testing that evaluates the safety of
the ADAS component and the entire system under different environmental and
operational conditions.
Autonomous driving is supported by
cloud data, car-to-car communication,
and car-to-infrastructure communication.
In consequence, ADAS systems must link
to a vehicles communication module
directly to enable fully autonomous driving. Although these modules have intrinsically secure connections, additional protections will be needed.

Although their caution is understandable,

our research suggests that early entry may
provide long-term benefits. First movers
may have a chance to shape the industry
for instance, by helping to establish
technical standards or defining fundamental system-design architecture. And companies that secure intellectual property for
their ADAS technology early could potentially collect royalties over a longer period,
as Bosch did when it created the controller-area-network bus system that became
an automotive standard for many years.
Early entry may also make sense when
considering the customer base and the
industry. OEMs need to screen and prioritise their ADAS suppliers now, since automotive design cycles are long, so first
movers may be best positioned to capture
value when sales volumes increase. They
could also gain a long-term advantage
because OEMs and Tier I suppliers may
want to stick with trusted, well-known
suppliers as they develop next-generation
technologies to create fully autonomous
vehicles, which are expected to reach the
broad market between 2025 and 2030.

CONCLUSION

ADAS applications may represent the

next critical business opportunity in the
automotive sector, and semiconductor
companies are well positioned to capture
it. Their technological expertise
always valued by OEMs is now more
important than ever, especially if they
can provide components and solutions
that improve system-level capabilities.
But it may be equally vital for semiconductor companies to adapt their traditional business model by expanding into
software and integration capabilities and
by developing new strategies for working
with OEMs and various players throughout the value chain. Those companies
that take action now, while the ADAS
market is still in its early days, may
emerge as the winners.

WHEN TO PLAY: THE ADVANTAGES

OF EARLY ENTRY

Some semiconductor companies are hesitant to enter the ADAS market because
the technology is not yet mainstream.

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

MODULAR DESIGN FOR LED

GLare free HiGH beaM
Headlamps and their lighting technology shall give a sense of safety but also have to face demands for high performance, low energy consumption and a great styling potential. Until now, the functionality of safety and assistance glare free high beam was only possible with xenon (HID) technology. In cooperation with Volkswagen,
Valeo developed a new headlamp for the VW Passat (B8) which now fulfils the requirements in LED technology.
It is built-up on a modular basis with use of two modules: one which integrates the glare free high beam function (multi-functional module) and an additional one (complementary module) for styling and performance.

26

www.autotechreview.com

AUTHOrs

LAURENT EVRARD
is Director research & Development
at Valeo Lighting systems in
Bobigny (France).

BENOT REISS
is Advanced Engineering research
& Development Manager at Valeo
Lighting systems in Bobigny (France).

DR JOACHIM RIPPERGER
is Director German Customer Office,
research & Development at Valeo
Lighting systems in Munich
(Germany).

DAMIEN CABANNE
is research & Development
Manager for southern Europe
regional Operation at Valeo Lighting
systems in Martos (spain).

CONSIDERABLE EVOLUTION

Over the last two decades, there has been

considerable evolution in the field of exterior lighting for automobiles. After the
first complex headlamp shapes which
made new stylings possible for the front
end of vehicles, the development of xenon
bulbs opened the door to highperformance lamps in compact designs. They
were then followed by white LEDs which
offered new headlamp solutions for high
performance, low energy and a great styling potential for each automobile brand.
At the same time, multi-functional
front cameras have appeared on vehicles,
making it possible to detect the position
of other vehicles on the road, especially at
night. Combined with adapted xenon
headlamps, this technology has led to the
development of the glare free high beam
or Adaptive Driving Beam (ADB). The
concept of glare free high beam allows to
drive on high beam without glaring other
road users. Its first application of this
function came in 2010, in the market by
Valeo for the VW Phaeton.
Based on a compact xenon headlamp
module the ADB system provides five different light functions:
:: country light
:: city light
:: motorway light
:: high beam
:: glare free high beam with the same
visibility as the normal high beam for
the driver as a new ADB function.
This new glare free function has rapidly
became popular, as it really has
enhanced visibility at night drives significantly, while also improving the perception of other drivers (less glare because
of the automation).

1 LED headlamp with special styling elements for the VW Passat

autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

Since introducing LED front lighting

systems, several technical solutions have
been developed by lighting engineers to
provide a similar functionality with all the
benefits of LED technology [1]. This counts
now also for the multi-functional module
from Valeo which has been chosen from
among these solutions to equip the glare
free high beam function on the recently
launched VW Passat (model year 2014, B8
[2]). This solution is very close to the one
used up till now with xenon lamps, and
as a result, both the vehicle architecture
and the control parameters can remain
almost the same.

HEADLAMP STYLING AND

E/E ARCHITECTURE

For the past two years, Volkswagen has

defined common styling elements in its
headlamp designs, in order to create a
common signature for all the vehicles in
the range. On the new VW Passat, this
has been translated into the following key
characteristics:
:: two lighting modules, with a lens
appearance
:: Day-time Running Lamps (DRL)
around each module for day time and
night time signatures
:: reduced height.
In 1, the styling elements of the VW
Passat headlamp are shown. Regarding
the sharing of functions between the two
lighting modules, the exterior one (multifunctional module) manages the main
part of the light beam and also includes
the high beam, while the interior one has
the complementary role of spreading
light when on low beam. The global E/E
architecture of such a headlamp for automobile technology is based on three
main elements:
:: on the camera, to detect and characterise the position of other vehicles in the
field of view
:: on the light control: this ECU which
interprets the data from the camera
sensors and other vehicle sensors (for
example speed, steering wheel angle,
inclination sensors etc.) and sends
orders to the headlamp control units
about which adequate light source
should be lit, and which position the
various motors should be in
:: the headlamps (left and right).

27

C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

Communication between these different elements is established through data

buses, such as LIN or CAN depending on
requirements, operating in both directions
in order to carry out diagnostics as well.

beam) is in line with high range xenon

performances, the total quantity of light is
well below.

COMPLEMENTARY MODULE FOR

MORE LUMINOUS FLUX
CHARACTERISTICS OF
MULTIFUNCTIONAL MODULE

The technical principles used for the

multi-functional module are close to these
solutions used on the xenon ADB systems
(for example in VW Passat 2010, Phaeton
2010 or Volvo XC60 2013). A projector
module, composed of several LEDs in a
multi-cavity elliptic reflector, is optically
combined with a lens to project the light
onto the road.
Between the reflector and the lens,
there is a multi-position light shield (aperture) which can appear in different
shapes. These shield shapes are projected
onto the road by the lens. The different
shapes are located on a rotating drum
which is activated by a stepper motor. On
the headlamp module used on the VW
Passat, for example, there are five different shield shapes, corresponding to the
light shields five different positions. In 2
the beam patterns of the five different
shield shapes are shown (glare free high
beam left and right counts as one).
The headlamp module itself is
mounted on a swivelling bracket, similar
to the solution used for dynamic bending
light. A stepper motor is used to move
this bracket. With 300 steps over a range
of 15, it is thereby possible to achieve
a very high level of accuracy which makes
the dark gap between the detected vehicle
and the lighted area almost invisible for
the driver. By way of comparison, if a less
accurate system was used, for example
with a 1 resolution, the minimum gap
would be 2 m for a vehicle 100 m away,
or around 4 m for a vehicle 200 m away.
With this resolution, neither the oncoming lane nor the sidewalk would be lit up
which would significantly reduce the
improvement in visibility compared to an
analogical system.
As regards photometric performance,
this module provides 315 lm luminous
flux for the low beam function and 950 lm
for the high beam function. Even if the
maximum illumination value (respectively
50 lx for low beam and 125 lx for high

28

That along with the need to comply

with styling requirements is the reason
why a complementary module has been
integrated in this headlamp. This module
is also 40 mm high and is designed to add
about 600 lm of luminous flux in the
beam pattern of each function. This additional light is mostly balanced spread
light which enhances drivers visibility
comfort and visibility conditions on narrow roads.

driven by the light control unit which

contains all the data and parameters,
linked to information from the camera
and other vehicle sensors.
As well as these three stepper motors,
the system also contains one fan which
is necessary to cool down the LEDs
(35W) used on the multi-functional module. All of them are located on the same
compact heat sink and interconnected
through a combination of flat circuit
boards and flexible connections. The
compact fan has been specifically developed for automotive applications in order
to take all the thermal, environmental
and reliability constraints into account. It
has already been used on several headlamp applications.

BENEFITS FOR DRIVERS

SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

To ensure overall optimal light functions,

and to avoid any visible separation
between the two modules, they must be
aligned with a precision of 0.1. This
is the reason why they are mounted on
the same bracket inside the headlamp,
with an adjustment made during headlamp assembly.
Between the headlamp housing and
the main bracket, there is another stepper
motor, the third one in this headlamp
which is used for automatic levelling control system (automatic adjustment on
beam pattern according to vehicle load
and its inclination, in order to optimise
the beam pattern position in every condition to avoid glare for other drivers). Like
the other stepper motors, this one is also

As for any glare free high beam system

like the LED headlamp presented here,
the primary benefit for the driver is the
possibility to drive on high beam without glaring other traffic participants.
This means, first of all, improved visibility in all traffic conditions. For instance,
a recent study conducted by Darmstadt
Technical University [3] showed that the
use of glare free high beam improved
the detection distance for obstacles by
50 %, compared to a similar vehicle
equipped with a xenon low beam. The
same study also showed that this significant increase in detection distance is
obtained without any increase in discomfort due to glare, for either the
equipped vehicle or other vehicles.

2 Beam patterns for the five different shield shapes respectively light functions
(glare free high beam left and right counts as one shape and function)
www.autotechreview.com

LED

Xenon

City light

Country light

tions which drivers are familiar with. A

less measurable advantage, but one
which is also very beneficial in terms of
driver comfort, is the smoothness of
the transitions between functions. This is
due to the combination of both the module principle and the continuity offered
by the stepper motors and the different
system laws coming from the vehicle
itself, including filtering of information
from the camera.

Glare free high beam

High beam

Motorway light

BENEFITS FOR OEMS

3 Illumination level comparison of the new LED system (left) to xenon system (right)

The same type of effect is also visible

with the motorway function: this is activated when the speed exceeds 110 km/h.
Here, the left limit of the beam is raised
from 70 to 120 m. This can be transferred
to a difference which represents 1.5 s
when driving at 120 km/h. 3 shows a
illumination level comparison of the new
LED system with a conventional xenon
system. This is presented for the five different driving situations country light, city
light, motorway light, high beam, and
glare free high beam. The xenon light is
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

more yellow and has a not so long range.

Since the module is embedded on a
swivelling bracket, it also offers the possibility of having the dynamic bending light
functionality with each of the functions
(country light, city light, high beam,
motorway and glare free high beam).
This means that all the best lighting
performances can be maintained on
every type of road, 4. Such a solution
adds functionalities and enhances performance compared to previous systems,
without compromising the existing func-

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

In order to propose vehicles combining

improved aerodynamics for better power
efficiency with enhanced styling, OEMs
are looking for increasingly compact lighting modules. This is presented here with
the multi-functional module which offers
various advanced lighting functionalities
within one single unit. In addition, the 40
mm height of the module (compared to
the more usual 60 mm on most products
with similar functionalities) leaves room
around it so that the DRL can be integrated around it.
This means that the OEMs brand
awareness is clearly visible and fully compatible with the headlamp design. The
module also offers the possibility of having a bezel with a heat sink styling
directly mounted around it thus the overall design is enhanced, to provide a more
technical look. Another significant benefit
is the standardisation of the module
which can be used on different vehicle
platforms. It could be exactly the same
module (including DRL and style bezels),
or the same module with different exterior
elements (for example for vehicles with a
completely different optical key differentiators). In both cases, significant savings
can be made in terms of development,
since no new styling and no new module
validation are required.
For most vehicles today, the headlamps come in several versions: usually a
low range, and a high range with
improved styling and performance. In the
case of headlamps with the ADB functionality, it is also common to have three versions. For example, there is the base version first of all, with performances equivalent to halogen systems today which can
also use LED as an energy saving light
source. Then there is a mid-version with

29

C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

DRL, brackets, style bezels, etc. would

remain the same.

CONCLUSION AND OUTLOOK

With this type of new multi-functional

module by Valeo, it is been demonstrated
in the new VW Passat that it is possible to
offer a differentiated appearance with a
sleek lens only 40 mm high, and at the
same time provide full high-performance
lighting with the Adaptive Driving Beam
(ADB) using the latest generation of LEDs.
Thanks to its concept of a rotating drum
activated by a stepper motor to create five
different beam patterns, the overall system architecture is fully compatible with
what has previously been developed for
xenon bulbs. The development and integration into series production vehicle
applications is therefore easier and faster.
So one might imagine that such a module could be deployed on several applications with the same styling signature or
with slight updates. This sort of approach
to standardisation is key to providing
more technology at a reasonable cost,
while keeping a considerable degree of
flexibility in styling, and thereby giving
the designer considerable freedom.
For future evolutions of modular
approach for glare free high beam functions, the engineers have several perspectives in mind, such as power efficiency
improvement, size reduction for easier
integration, and new functionalities
thanks to new beam patterns.
REFERENCES

4 Projected beam patterns as road isolux lines [lx] on a colour scale for the five different light functions,
specifications in m

improved performances (like xenon level),

usually with enhanced styling (for example with lens modules instead of having a
reflector). Between these two versions, a
number of elements inside the lamp are
changed, and that could entail a complete
new design with a new tooling set for the
inner components.
In general for the third high-value version, the OEMs add only light functions
such as the glare free high beam whereas

30

the common low beam and high beam

functions are usually similar.
In these cases, solutions are preferred
which avoid new tooling and an excessive
development effort. This is possible with
this type of modular approach described
here: While the high version uses multifunctional beam, the mid-version could
use a bi-function module (low beam and
high beam) only. All the other elements,
such as complementary light module,

[1] Fleury, B.; Evrard, L.; ravier, J.-P.; reiss, B:

Expanded Functionality of Glare Free High Beam
systems. In: ATZworldwide 114 (2012), No. 6, pp.
44-49
[2] Burkert, A.: Der Passat B8 fhrt sich besser
bayerisch. In: http://www.springerprofessional.de/
der-passat-b8-faehrt-sich-besser-bayerisch/5393018.html of 22 October 2014
[3] Zydek, B.; schiller, C.; Polin, D.; Khanh, T. Q.:
Evaluation of Headlamps with a Glare-free high
Beam Function. In: ATZworldwide 116 (2014), No.
6, pp. 46-51

read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

Moving energy made easy

... for robotics

Moving energy made easy for robotics with triex TRCF:

quickly llable 3D e-chain as closed variant The specialist also
against dirt and chips involvement. Congure and order online:
igus.in/tri exTRCF
igus (India) Pvt. Ltd.
36/1, Sy. No. 17/3 Euro School Road,
Dodda Nekkundi Industrial Area - 2nd Stage,
Mahadevapura, Bangalore - 560048, Karnataka,India
Phone +91-80-45127800 Fax +91-80-45127802

C o v e r S t o r y AutoMotIV E LIGhtING

EVOCATIVE LIGHTING DESIGN

for PreMiuM interiorS
With the RGB-LED light source, which can show various colours, a new generation of ambient lighting
has entered the automobile interior. Drxlmaier developed the innovative Paspol welting light design for
premium interiors and uses illuminated ornamental seams to create a special feeling of space for the
passengers inside the vehicle. Now, any number of colours can be created and displayed with a single
light source appearing alternately.

AuthoRs

DIPL.-ING. MANFRED WINKLBAUER

is Department head for Light and
Product Innovation in the Interior
Pre-development at Drxlmaier Group
in Vilsbiburg (Germany).

Drxlmaier

DIPL.-PHYS. BERNHARD
BAYERSDORFER
is Employee in the area of Product
Innovations, Pre-development of Light
and optics at Drxlmaier Group in
Vilsbiburg (Germany).

DIPL.-PHYS. JOSEF LANG

is Employee in the area of Product
Innovations, Pre-development of Light
and optics at Drxlmaier Group in
Vilsbiburg (Germany).

32

COLOURS PROVIDE WELL-BEING

AND ATTENTION

Time is valuable, so drivers and passengers want to use it sensibly, even sitting in
a traffic jam listening to their favourite
music, relaxing in a seat with an integrated massage function, or connecting
with other people or the Internet using
modern communications technology. In
order to fulfil the wishes of their sophisticated customers, various premium automobile manufacturers have for some time
been equipping the interiors of their top
models with ambient lighting [1]. Light
and colour have a well-known influence
on the psyche: They affect our mood and

well-being, as studies [2] show. Based on

this, scientists are convinced that light has
a positive effect on concentration while
driving, too. This is confirmed also by
on-going EU-wide studies [3], showing that
indirect lighting in a car could contribute
to more safety, especially when driving at
night.
Previously, interior lighting could only
be done in one colour using monochromic
light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the colours of red, orange, yellow, green, cyan
and blue. But different white tones are
possible if blue LED chips are combined
with phosphor. For two-colour combinations, there were Duo-LEDs. With the new
RGB-LEDs, Drxlmaier can now create
www.autotechreview.com

and display as many colours as necessary

with a single light source appearing
alternately, so that the light displays can
be more interesting while costs and
installation effort are reduced.
1 Indirect blue
ambient lighting of the
centre console in a
current Mercedes-Benz
C-Class ( Drxlmaier)

INSERTED OR SEWN
CONTOUR ACCENTS

Previously, door panels or centre consoles

were lighted by a plastic fibre optic conductor hidden behind the interior, which
illuminated downward. 1 shows the
indirect lighting of the centre console in a
current Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Using
this, a floating impression can be created
in the interior. With Paspol linear lights,
however, the shapes of the vehicle interior
can be emphasised in an even more
impressive way.
A much more precise and elegant
emphasis of the contours in the vehicle
interior is made possible by the new
Paspol ambient lighting. Here, the flexible
light conductor is integrated directly into
genuine leather or vinyl surfaces. This
uses functional and ornamental seams to
the best effect. The thin light conductor
made of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA,
better known under its trade name,
Plexiglas) is wrapped in a translucent fabric and inserted into a seam with the
retaining profile. Alternatively, the light
conductor is sewn directly into the genuine or artificial leather surface material
and then laminated in the interior, as
shown in 2.
Only in-house manufactured, translucent, dirt and heat resistant fabrics are
used for coating; these are characterised
by a comfortable look and feel, but are
still very robust. In order for the transmission behaviour to remain as large as pos-

sible in other words, for as much light

from the light conductor as possible to be
visible on the surface of the piping and
for the textile to not affect the colour of
the LED, only light or neutral colours are
used. When using this in series, be sure
that the colour of the textile fits with the
overall interior. The colour of the wrapping fabric is visible in daylight, although
not in the dark. At night, the new microchip-controlled RGB-LED illuminates the
wrapped light conductor in a multitude of
colours as a design line.

MORE COLOUR VARIETY IN THE

INTERIOR USING RGB-LED

Previously, only a few colours were used

in a vehicle interior: for example, the
combination of amber, ice blue and white.
These are generated using a Duo-LED,
which is installed in a housing at the end
of the light conductor, along with a circuit
board. The two colour chips for amber
and ice blue are integrated onto the circuit
board, and when activated together, they
create the combination colour white.
The design of the RGB-LED functions
differently. This new light technology permits a colour scenario to turn into an
large colour spectrum: Users of premi-

um-class vehicles are now able to use the

on-board computer to select their own
individual colour combinations from theoretically millions of colours. This is possible because every RGB-LED is equipped
with three semiconductor chips in the
base colours of red, green and blue (=
RGB), which are controlled individually
using a LIN bus system. In order to not
overtax the end customer with this
gigantic colour selection, the automobile
manufacturers are able to limit the number of colours available by setting preconfigurations. Most likely, there will just be
ten colours actually made available to the
end customer.
The end customer can be sure that the
ambient colours he or she selects from the
brochure or online will be precisely the
same in real life. A microcontroller on
every RGB-LED circuit board assures that
the brightness of the light, as well as the
colour precision, will be guaranteed for
the life of the vehicle even after extended use. Since development and production come from a single source, production-related tolerances are also prevented
so that the calibration is already concluded in the production process [4]. The
LED brightness is constant over all displayable colours. The brightness is
adjustable and can be dimmed if desired.

2 Cross-section (left) and actual photo (right) of the laminated pink-coloured Paspol light conductor in a grey leather surface ( Drxlmaier)
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

33

C o v e r S t o r y AutoMotIV E LIGhtING

3 the black housing for the Paspol ambient lighting system (right) protects the
circuit board, which is designed for a temperature range from -40 to 85 C; the
clear light conductor is on the left ( Drxlmaier)

The intelligent microcontroller compensates for changes in the environmental

temperature, which can have an influence
on the brightness or the colour mixture of
the RGB-LED.

DISCREET LIGHTING MINIMAL

SPACE REQUIREMENTS

In tune with the efforts toward lightweight

construction, the RGB-LED and attached
plastic light conductor add very little mass
to the scale. Depending on the dimensions
of the interior that must be illuminated,
the entire part weighs only a few grams.
The Paspol ambient lighting system is also
thrifty with regard to installation space
requirements: The housings dimensions
are 12 17 16 mm, the circuit board
inside is 11 8 5 mm and the light
conductor connection has a diameter of
only a few millimetres, 3.
Thanks to its small dimensions, the
module can be used flexibly in the automobiles interior, depending on the need.
In the last step of the production process,
the installed RGB-LED is connected to the
wiring harness or wiring harness system
using the correct connector end on the
back side of the interior. The RGB-LED,
which is connected using a four-pole wiring harness, is designed for a wiring harness voltage in a range between 7 and 18
V. The board, LED, resistor, microcontroller and board size are designed to meet
the current amperage. A rise of brightness
by current increase is not possible.

FROM EMOTION TO
SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

Paspol ambient lighting, whose suitability

34

4 Armrest for a concept centre console, with two Paspol light conductors that
emphasise the curved shape and the exclusivity of the interior ( Drxlmaier)

for automotive use has been confirmed,

will be used in the future in series production by major premium automobile manufacturers. This product innovation with
the almost unlimited colour selection generates an exclusive, emotional effect in
the interior and emphasises the premium
character of the automobile. 4 shows the
armrest of a centre console that uses two
Paspol light conductors.
Automobile manufacturers also offer
the Paspol ambient lighting as a means
to set themselves apart from the competition. Looking more closely at the
developments in past years, it is clear
that ambient lighting will become more
and more important for differentiation
in the premium segment. An individualised lighting design can, for example, be
used as a means to emphasise and emotionalise market identity. Whether it is
in the centre console, door panels,
instrument panel, headliner or seat
backs there are innumerable options
for integrating light into the interior to
emphasise the vehicle design.
The new ambient lighting technology,
however, is able to do more than just look
pretty. It completely justifies its existence
in safety matters. Scientists at the Technical University in Ilmenau, Germany, for
example, have determined that a little
interior light at night improves exterior
vision [5]. Also, navigation in the dark
vehicle interior is much easier with discreet light sources. It would even be conceivable that individual colours change
for certain events. For instance, when a
call comes in, or when the driver exceeds
the speed limit. It could also function as
an exit alert. The light in the door panel
could blink or turn red if, for example, a
bicycle rider is approaching the car.
The new Paspol ambient lighting

from Drxlmaier offers a wide variety of

op tions for use, even outside the automotive industry. End customers appreciate discreet lighting and colour selection
in places other than a car. For example,
it is possible that these innovations
could be used in airplane interiors and
train compartments, in ship cabins or
high-quality furniture and hotel bars. In
short, anywhere that an exclusive look
and atmospheric premium ambiance
should be created.
REFERENCES

[1] Daimler AG: Mercedes-Benz GL-Klasse,

Innenraumkomfort auf alles vorbereitet. In:
http://www.mercedes-benz.de/content/germany/
mpc/mpc_germany_website/de/home_mpc/passengercars/home/new_cars/models/gl-class/x166/
facts_/comfort/interior.html, access date: 13 July
2015
[2] Frdergemeinschaft Gutes Licht / licht.de:
Wirkung des Lichts auf den Menschen. In: licht.
wissen, Ausgabe 19 http://www.licht.de/fileadmin/
Publikationen_Downloads/1403_lw19_Wirkung_
auf_Mensch_web.pdf, access date: 4 August 2015
[3] Lucerne university of Applied sciences and
Arts, Engineering & Architecture: trans.safe Improving traffic safety by stress Management. In:
http://www.transsafe.eu/, access date: 4 August
2015
[4] Reichenbach, M.: Drxlmaier setzt fr neue
Ambientebeleuchtung auf RGB-LED. In: http://
www.springerprofessional.de/draexlmaier-setztfuer-neue-ambientebeleuchtung-auf-rgb-led/
5007886.html;jsessionid=33B4D641865724ED82BCA4110223CF2F.sprprofltc0101, access date:
13 July 2015
[5] hucko, M.: Ambiente-Beleuchtung: Lichtblick
am Autohimmel. In: http://www.spiegel.de/auto/
fahrkultur/ambiente-beleuchtung-autobauer-ruesten-innenraeume-mit-farblichtauf-a-939786.html, access date: 13 July 2015

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

Lightning

The Way to

Your Destination . . .
Mithabhi Lamps Pvt. Ltd. is leading automotive bulb
manufacturer in India. We are manufacturing automotive bulbs, miniature bulbs and stop & tail light
bulbs with our brand FOKAL. We have latest bulb
manufacturing technology to produce high quality
automotive bulbs.
We are supplying bulbs to all major light manufacturers, indicators manufacturers and meter manufactures in India and also for export market.
We are approved bulb supplier for automotive
OEMs to supply bulbs their indicator, tail lights and
other applications.

Manufacturing Automotive Lamps

AIS 034 & AIS 037
E Certied (ECE R37)
JIS C7506

ISO/TS 16949:2009 Certied

E - Approved

We are ISO/TS 16949 certied company having 3

manufacturing plants equipped with latest bulb
testing facilities. Our bulbs are inline with the requirements JIS 7506, ECE R37 and AIS 034 bulb
regulations & specication.

Pb
lead-free

AIS Certied

Mithabhi Lamps Pvt. Ltd.

SINCE

1984

16/4 Mathura Road, Faridabad-121002, Haryana, INDIA

Ph:+91 1294 044 289,+91 1294 044 290;
Fax:+91 1294 043 046
Visit us: www.fokallamps.com;
Contact: mithabhi@fokallamps.com

C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

HEADLAMP OF 2025
BIONICALLY INSPIRED,
ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED
3-D printing and bionic conquer new application in the passenger car. Edag has produced a combination of materials and processes that make the additive manufacturing of a complete headlamp, except for the reflectors,
possible. In the GenLight project, the LED cooling capacity is increased with bionic heat sinks. The headlamp
could be ready for series production by 2025.

Edag

36

www.autotechreview.com

AUTHOrS

DIPL.-ING. KLAUS ZANDER

is Team Leader in Lighting
Technology and Simulation and
in charge of the GenLight project
at Edag Engineering GmbH in
Wolfsburg (Germany).

DAMIR SOKOLOV, M.B.ENG.

is Project Coordinator in
Lighting Technology and
Simulation at Edag Engineering
GmbH in Wolfsburg (Germany).

WILLI SCHWARZ
is Head of Body Engineering at Edag
Engineering GmbH in Fulda
(Germany)..

MICHAEL FROHNAPFEL
is Head of Design Concepts
at Edag Engineering GmbH
in Fulda (Germany).

THREE DRIVING FORCES TODAY

There are three driving forces in automotive lighting technology today which have
a lasting effect on headlamp styling. For
one thing, it tends to call for a constant
reduction in the vertical dimensioning of
the headlamps. Secondly, the aim is to
have greater luminous power on the road,
while at the same time reducing both the
weight and cost. In order to meet these
demands, various disciplines like styling,
optical design, development, thermal
management and production technology
will have to cooperate even more closely
in the future. It counts, to generate maximum headlamp performance despite the
fact that development periods and product
life cycles are being constantly shortened.
With the GenLight project, engineering
service provider Edag took up this multi
domain approach and transferred it into
an additively manufactured headlamp
concept. The headlamp in Edags Light
Cocoon concept car served as a blueprint
in the project. By means of plug-and-play,
and using additive manufacturing, the
aim was to develop a photometrically
ready-for-approval headlamp, and integrate it into the car without making any
serious compromises. The results of this
work are presented in the following.

first of all drawn up. In the following, the

definition of the functions of the individual lighting components was done. In
this process, the Daytime Running Light
(DRL) function was assigned to the bright
strips in the start-up screen, while the
lower light strip has a twin function, and
operates as a wiping turn indicator. The
Light Cocoons lower light strip was
shortened in compliance with statutory
provisions [1] covering the width/height
ratio of the wiping turn indicator from 10
to 6 (as per January 2015).
Sufficient installation space for the
main light functions lens modules was
created by re-locating the LEDs for the
DRL functions in the vertical dimension,
so the use of a light guide was essential
for the DRL. To enable the DRL signatures
to achieve maximum homogeneity,
volume scatterers were positioned in front
of the light guides.
After the design of the visible side had
been defined, there followed the conceptual design of the projection module levelling setting. Due to the installation space
available, only the option of the basic levelling settings for the main light functions
was implemented. In the GenLight headlamp, the two low beam modules are
automatically adjusted relative to one
another and via a coupling rod with the
help of a servo motor, depending on the
load condition of the vehicle.

DIMENSIONING AND REQUIRED

STYLING MODIFICATIONS

BIONIC COOLING CONCEPT

In order to be able to respond to the challenge, a number of optical concepts were

For cooling of the LEDs for the main light

functions, a bionic cooling concept

1 Schematic view of the cooling and joining concept for the GenLight headlamp ( Edag)
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

37

C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

according to [2] from the field of constructural theory was taken, to guarantee that
heat dissipation is as efficient as possible.
This enabled the mass and volume of the
heat sinks to be reduced. To prevent a
build-up of heat in the headlamp, the
cooling elements were fitted to the outside
of the housing, and dimensioned according to a preliminary study, 1.
So as not to add yet more weight to the
car, for example by adding an active cooling system using auxiliary fans, a natural
resource, namely the airflow, was identified as the means by which cooling power
would be boosted. From a structural point
of view, the question was how to direct

the air flow from the front of the vehicle

into the headlamp housing without the
use of additional components.
The obvious solution here was the
additively manufactured body in white of
the Light Cocoon, in which an air duct
can be created without complex tools,
additional components or joining processes. This can help increase the stiffness
of the body and, as a secondary consideration, reduce vehicle weight. The air mass
flow is divided at the rear of the housing,
to cool the individual heat sinks. In order
to be able to adjust the lens module, a
rubber sleeve would be necessary to guarantee the non-permeability of the housing

and the required ease of operation.

ADVANTAGES OF
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

This, however, is where the future

advantages of additive manufacturing
come to bear. In a workshop with a supplier of plastics and the manufacturer of
a 3-D printer, which uses slightly modified granules for injection moulding in
an FDM melting process, it emerged
that, with additive manufacturing processes, it is already possible to present
material combinations of modified

Component of the headlamp

Production process

Material

Availability of technology

Bionic structures of the DrL

SLS/FDM
SLM1

Plastics
Aluminium

5 years

Connecting rods

SLS/FDM
SLM2
3-D fibre FDM 3

Plastics
Aluminium
Plastics + carbon fibres

5 years

Connecting arms

SLS/FDM
SLM2
3-D fibre FDM 3

Plastics
Aluminium
Plastics + carbon fibres

5 years

Holder for headlamp self-levelling

SLS/FDM
SLM2

Plastics
Aluminium

5 years

Ball-end mounts

SLS/FDM

Plastics

SLS: immediately
FDM: 5 years

Lens cover

High pressure deep drawing

with additive tools

Highly transparent plastic (optical grade)

< 8 years

Light guides

SLA, PolyJet

Highly transparent plastic (optical grade)

< 8 years

Lenses

SLA, PolyJet

Highly transparent plastic (optical grade)

< 8 years

Diffuse DrL panels

FDM

Plastics, opaque scatter materials

< 8 years

Housing

FDM

Plastics

< 8 years

Front panel

FDM

Plastics

< 8 years

DrL cover

FDM; SLA

Plastics

< 8 years; SLA: immediately

Main cover

FDM; SLA

Plastics

< 8 years; SLA: immediately

Various module covers

SLS

Plastics

sofort

reflector + shutter

3DP

Ceramic

5 years

Heat-sink + seal + housing

Multi-C FDM

PC-TPU thermally conductive plastic

< 8 years

Legend
FDM = fused deposition modelling
3-D fibre FDM = 3-D fibre-reinforced FDM
SLA = stereolithography
SLS = selective laser sintering
SLM = selective laser melting
3DP = 3-D printing
Multi-C FDM = multi-component FDM
1

If the function integration heat dissipation is required at high peak temperatures.

If high torque needs to be transmitted when using bionically/topologically derived (filigree) minimal structures (material, weight reduction).

If high torque needs to be transmitted when using endless fibre-reinforced additively manufactured composite solutions (extreme material/weight reduction)

2 Overview of the headlamp components and their predicted manufacturing processes ( Edag)

38

www.autotechreview.com

thermally conductive polycarbonate

with Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU)
as multi-component prints. This means
that, in conjunction with a multi-material print that will be possible in the
future, the entire rear wall of the housing, including the board support, can be
produced in a single production step.
With this basic concept, work was
continued on the detailed design, and
all the advantages of additive manufacturing used. These include the elimination of de-moulding directions used in
conventional tool making. There are still
a number of weaknesses with regard to
stability, warping and thermal stability
in 3-D printing processes. On the basis
of a material and manufacturing process
matrix from the Light Cocoon project, it
was possible to define suitable combinations for the headlamp components, 2.
In addition, the question as to
whether, depending on the additive
manufacturing process selected and possible reworking, active use can be made
of the different surface qualities of the
components in terms of lighting technology, was also looked into. With the
main cover, for example, a lower resolution of the CAD data file was deliberately selected when converting it into
STL format, to represent a rough surface. This makes it possible to do away
with additional, usually expensive, processing stages such as importing structures into a tool. On the other hand,
extremely filigree representations of surfaces can be realised in minimum
dimensions in the m range.

OPTICAL DESIGN

Definition of the manufacturing

method for the optically non-relevant components was followed by a
tolerance analysis. The optical system, 3, for the low beam was created using an Osram Ostar Headlamp Pro LED lightsource in conjunction with a reflector/shutter
system and a lens in front of it. 4
shows the low beam light distribution of the GenLight concept.
The same system was used for
high beam, this time with an adjusted reflector and a lens without a
shutter. A tolerance analysis
showed that optical components
are printable. The only exception is
the reflector. For this, use can be
made of a simple tool with a great
many cavities in combination with
a vaporising system.
A manufacturing method for making
lenses, for example, was also defined.
This is a so-called PolyJet method, in
which a combination of synthetic resin
and UV-curing can lead to the desired
form. Solutions to the currently existing
material-specific challenges, for example,
the yellowish discolouration of the lenses
due to the increased absorption coefficient
in the short wavelength range, and also
the low level of thermal stability of the
resins used, are expected to be found
within less than two years. In addition,
there is still a technical limitation on lens
height (approximately 20 mm), which,
however should become a thing of the

3 Optical paths of the GenLight headlamp in low

beam function ( Edag)

past in the next few years.

This would also then make it possible
for light conductors to be manufactured
using additive methods. Due to the lack of
installation space available, the design
and specification that an optimum homogeneous appearance should be achieved
across a broad angle range, the method of
coupling the light in the negative x- or
z-axis in the DRL and the turn indicator
light guide were both dispensed with. A
specific combination of all three spatial
directions was used when coupling the
light. Then prism optics were developed
and fitted for controlling the light direction. These are already technically feasible with additive production methods.

4 Simulation result in illuminance representation of the low beam function of the GenLight headlamp ( Edag)
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

39

C o v e r S t o r y AUTOMOTIV E LIGHTING

Further, the use of volume scattering

materials in front of the lens contributed
to the homogeneity.
During the development process,
cooperated with the styling team, it was
given up on the original target, which was
to give the DRL a totally homogeneous
appearance, instead tolerating a slight
inhomogeneity, so as to achieve a carbon
fibre structure effect (CarbonLight).
Although the use of volume scattering
materials is currently conceivable, later on
in the project it will be necessary to check
the extent to which granules for injection
moulding, for instance, lend them to this
purpose, as building up the component
layer by layer might make it possible to
produce photometric properties.

21 Nichia LEDs (type NJSW172AT) for the

TFL and 21 additional LEDs (type
NC2A170A) in combination with selfdeveloped software. The PCBs are fitted to
a board support here. At the same time,
and in terms of function integration, this
support also acts as a retainer for the DRL
light guide and as a heat sink for the
LEDs. This enables the number of individual heat sinks to be reduced from 45 to
2. After qualifying the material, this
bionic structure can be printed on the
same machine as the housing. The idea of
introducing strip conductors into this
structure is also conceivable, as this
would increase the function of the component by adding a degree of freedom.
These measures could lead to a drastic
reduction in the number of elements
used, which would cut assembly costs.

On the basis of the headlamp concept

geometry generated, CFD simulation
was carried out using the open source
software OpenFoam, to confirm the
operational capability of the ram-air system in conjunction with the bionic heat
sink according to [2]. The validation process involved a number of individual
stages. The first stage involved the
simple observation of the thermal conduction of the heat sink concept, to
ensure that the heat input of the LED is
directed into the actively cooled part of
the heat sink. This is followed by the
evaluation of the air flow which is to
dissipate the heat from the heat sink
surface. The result can be seen in 6.
The material that was first used for the
heat sink was aluminium, so as to be able
to compare a conventional heat sink
material with a thermally conductive
plastic. The thermal conductivity of currently available plastics is lower than that

INDIVIDUALISATION BY USING
LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY AS A
STYLING ELEMENT

CFD FOR THERMAL VALIDATION

The DRL signatures should in the future

be separately controllable by the car connectivity system, either by HMI or remote
control. Depending on the driver operation characteristics like sporty, efficient
or normal the DRL can be adapted. In
5, the three possible modes of a Switchable DRL (SDRL) are presented.
In Sport mode, only the upper signature can be selected, in Eco mode only
the lower and in Normal mode both, .
A further possibility for personalising
and individualising the vehicle also
presents itself.
Under the given basic conditions, this
concept is worth discussing from an
approval certification point of view. In
addition, a wiping turn indicator was also
constructed in the lower signature area,
using self-developed PCBs with attached

5 representation of the switchable daytime running light (SDrL) with low beam (left column) and without
low beam (right column) ( Edag)

6 Temperature profile in the bionic heat sink ( Edag)

40

www.autotechreview.com

of aluminium by a factor of about 10. As

the initial assumption, a low flow speed
was set. This helped to increase the cooling power of the heat sink. This approach
proved to be quite adequate for the aluminium heat sink. For the plastic with the
considerably lower thermal conductivity,
however, even a significant increase in the
flow speed was not enough to adequately
cool the LED.
The final stage served to identify a
plastic that, under the given conditions, is
capable of cooling the LED. This means
that what is needed is a plastic with a
thermal conductivity coefficient that
exceeds conventional, currently available
thermally conductive plastics by a factor
of 4. Although plastics that have these
properties are currently conceivable, they
are not yet economically feasible due to
the fact that current series projects are
very much a niche market.

CONCLUSION

The GenLight project enabled Edag to

acquire the following findings: On the one
hand, some of the materials and manufac-

turing methods presented are already suitable for use in low-volume series production, while on the other, the headlamp
with all of its components should be
viable in 2025. The ram air system implemented has been proven to be fully functional, and, with the help of 3-D printing,
can help to reduce weight.
In addition, the cooling capacity of the
bionic heat sinks is increased. Taking into
account the fact that a certain technical
level of maturity of the manufacturing
methods presented will be achieved in the
future, the described concepts can be
transferred into series production. Finally,
the Switchable Daytime Running Light
(SDRL) introduces a degree of freedom to
the concept of individualisation, and the
CarbonLight gives DRL a new appearance.

THAnks
The authors thank Jrg Ohlsen, CEO of Edag, for
his support of the GenLight project, and the
Edag project team for their support in technical
and organisational matters: Dr. Martin Hillebrecht, Head of the Competence Centre for
Lightweight Design, Materials and Technology,
Fulda (Germany); Michael Begert, Innovation
Manager at the CC for Lightweight Design,
Materials and Technology, Fulda; Shakoor Salih,
Project Leader Lighting Technology and Simulation, Wolfsburg (Germany); Sven Orloff, Team
Leader for CAE, Hamburg; Martin Morgenstern
and Jan-Eike Rieks, System Integrators for
Infotainment and Connectivity, Wolfsburg (Ger-

REFERENCES

[1] Economic Commission for Europe (ECE):

World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle regulations (WP.29). http://www.unece.org/trans/main/
welcwp29.html, requested on 15 January 2015
[2] Herbold, C.; Neumann, C.: Vorbild Natur:
Bionische Strukturen zur Entwrmung von LEDs.
Lecture, 20. Gemeinschaftstagung Licht 2012 of
Deutsche Lichttechnische Gesellschaft e. V.,
Nederlandse Stichting voor Verlichtingskunde,
Lichttechnische Gesellschaft sterreichs and Schweizer Licht-Gesellschaft, Berlin, 2012

many); Martin Fiedler, Project Leader for Light

& Sight Design, Wolfsburg; Matthias Schlegel
and Jrgen Hornig, Model and Prototype Construction, Fulda (Germany).

read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

Lighting systems, a bright future with plastics

Introducing next generation plastics for a wide range of lighting applications like frontlight frames, bezels, lens holders, wire coatings,
lamp holders/sockets and LED lighting systems which offer
Low outgassing
Miniaturization & design freedom
High temperature operating range upto 240C
Thermal management with conductive plastics
For more information visit www.dsm.com/automotive

PA46

autotechreview

TPE

Jun e 2 016

PBT/PET

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

PA6/PA66

41

C o v e r S t o r y AutoMotIV E LIGhtING

THE NEXT STEP PURE LASER

HiGH-beaM for front LiGHtinG
A high-beam module based on laser technology is appealing because of its extensive reach of 600 m. this is
thanks to Larp technology from osram which can achieve six times the luminance of conventional LED white
light sources. Following the market launch of laser light by BMW and Audi, osram is presenting here a technology demonstrator in the form of a prototype headlight in which the entire high-beam function is provided by laser
light sources. therefore, a prototype is used: the -Larp module. By its application the requirements of the uNECE-r-112 regulation for high-beam functionality are fulfilled.

Authors

DR. RER. NAT.

ROLAND FIEDERLING
is head of Automotive
Applications at the osram plant
in herbrechtingen (Germany).

DIPL.-ING. JENNY TROMMER

is an Employee in Automotive
Applications at the osram plant in
herbrechtingen (Germany).

LASERS FIRST USE IN 2014

In 2014, Osram introduced their Laser

Activated Remote Phosphor technology
(Larp) for the first time for modules used
as auxiliary high-beam modules in the

1 Laser headlight with extremely compact

-Larp technology

42

DIPL.-ING. THOMAS FEIL

is an Employee in Automotive
Applications at the osram plant in
herbrechtingen (Germany).

headlights of production vehicles. These

laser-based auxiliary high-beam modules
have a range of 600 m, a distance barely
imaginable until now, giving drivers a better view of the road even over short distances and an even greater degree of
safety [1, 2]. The use of laser technology in
a Larp light source enables the luminance
to be increased to levels unimaginable
with halogen, xenon (HID) or even LED
light sources. Larp technology also gives
headlight designers even greater freedom
in terms of boosting performance or creating new innovative concepts.
Following the market launch of laser
technology by BMW [1, 3] and Audi [2] in
2014, Osram is using a headlight demonstrator here to show how Larp technol-

DR. RER. NAT. JRGEN HAGER

is an Employee in Advanced
Development at the osram plant in
herbrechtingen (Germany).

ogy may influence front lighting technology and the appearance of cars in the
coming years. A fully functional headlight demonstrator is presented, 1, in
which high-beam distribution is produced solely by extremely compact
-Larp prototype modules without the
aid of additional light sources.

HOW LASER TECHNOLOGY WORKS

IN HEADLIGHTS

The basic operating principle of Larp

modules involves focusing radiation from
laser diodes on a converter, 2. Laser
diodes are used as the light source, with a
typical wavelength at the blue end of the
www.autotechreview.com

visible spectrum. The converter consists

of scattering and conversion particles
which are embedded in a ceramic carrier
(converter matrix). The conversion particles convert blue light into yellow light. A
certain proportion of blue laser light is
scattered in the converter, with the blend
of blue light and yellow light producing
white light.
By using Larp technology much greater
luminances can be achieved than with
conventional LED white light sources in

which the converter is positioned directly

on the semiconductor chip. At present,
Larp modules from Osram produce a
luminance around six times greater than
that from automotive LED light sources
currently used in series production. From
a theoretical point of view there are few
limits on future development because in
contrast to LED light sources the luminance produced by Larp technology can
be scaled up by increasing the number of
laser diodes. It is certainly conceivable

Converter matrix

Blue
laser light

Scattered particles

Conversion particles

2 schematic representation of the conversion, scatter and mixing process in the converter
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

Mixed white
light

that Larp modules will one day have ten

or more times the luminance of conventional LED light sources. Auxiliary highbeam functions which both BMW and
Audi have incorporated in their vehicles,
are good examples of the high performance that lasers can already achieve [1, 2].

AREAS OF APPLICATION,
INCREASED LUMINANCE AND
MORE COMPACT DESIGN

What makes Larp modules so interesting?

The answer is simple. As it has already
been mentioned, the light source has the
highest luminance ever achieved. This is a
direct measure of the luminous intensity
that can be achieved with a lighting system. For otherwise identical systems (for
example imaging optics with a lens having an area A), twice the luminance leads
to twice the intensity of the emitted light
in a particular solid angle, and therefore
to a greater range.
Conversely, to go back to the example,
it is also possible to halve the emission
area A of the lens and still achieve the
same intensity as the comparison system.
This means that the same light output
that current production systems produce
can be achieved with much smaller emis-

43

C o v e r S t o r y AutoMotIV E LIGhtING

(nm), installed in a package with primary

optics, phosphor head and temperature
sensor (NTC). On the basis of this design
prototype modules with secondary optics
and an optically active diameter of only
13 mm were produced. The luminance
distribution (false colour image) on the
converter is presented in (right).

DEMONSTRATOR WITH -LARP

PROTOTYPE MODULES
3 -Larp prototype module (left) and luminance distribution (false colour image) on the converter (right)

Cover lens
Bezel
Turn indicator with smoked
glass plate
Controller
LED low beam projector
-Larp prototype modules
with cooling
Mounting frame
Housing

4 Exploded drawing of the headlight demonstrator with six -Larp prototype modules

5 Luminous intensity distribution of the high-beam from the headlight demonstrator including cover lens

sion optics. This therefore opens up completely new styling options, revolutionising the current look of front lighting.

THE -LARP PROTOTYPE MODULE

Osram has consistently pursued and

44

developed the concept of combining

higher luminances with very small optical
apertures. -Larp prototype modules are
used in the technology demonstrator presented in the following, in the form of a
headlight, as they are shown in 3 (left).
These modules consist of laser diodes
with a wavelength of 450 nanometres

Thanks to the -Larp prototype modules

presented here, more freedom in styling
headlights is possible than ever before.
The structure of the headlight demonstrator is described in the following. Six
-Larp modules are used for the high
beam function in each headlight. At the
development stage for the headlight demonstrator the main focus was on its
appearance, with the aim of creating a
bezel shape which had rarely been seen
in previous headlight styling and which
would be virtually impossible with conventional light sources. The design of the
headlight demonstrator is shown in 4. A
frame is used to accommodate all the
light sources and is the central component
of the headlight. Low beam is provided by
a LED projection system attached to the
frame. Each of the -Larp modules with
secondary optics is attached to the frame
by a three-point mounting. This enables
each module to be individually adjusted
with respect to the low beam and to each
other -Larp module.
In this particular case the laser units
are arranged in vertical rows of three,
offset in terms of their depth. This
arrangement was derived from the bezel
which characterises the appearance of
the headlight with its narrow light emission openings. The laser diode in a
-Larp module is form-locked in the
housing to ensure heat is removed properly by the heat sink. A thermal output
of around 4 to 5 W has to be dissipated
from each of the modules. In this headlight the very small heat sinks are interconnected via two duct systems to which
a fan is connected. This concept enables
central cooling to be provided with one
fan and warm air to be directed to the
cover lens where it will be cooled as this
is where temperatures are at their lowest
during a drive.
www.autotechreview.com

6 Birds eye view of illuminance, produced from the luminous intensity distribution of the headlight demonstrator with -Larp prototype modules the outline
corresponds to the 1-lx line

ECE-COMPLIANT
LIGHTING TECHNOLOGY

The headlight demonstrator is described

here in more detail. It is the first complete
high-beam unit based on laser technology
that meets the photometric requirements
as defined in the relevant statutory regulations (UN ECE-R-112). These regulations
however merely stipulate a minimum
requirement which most car manufacturers support with their own photometric
specifications for creating beautiful and
sophisticated high quality distribution of
light on the road for the driver.
Even though it is not a headlight manufacturer, Osram took such aspects into
consideration in designing the distribution of light for the headlight demonstrator. They struck a balance between
ECER-112, sufficient horizontal side illumination, vertical illumination and maximum luminous intensity at the core of
the beam. The high-beam distribution of
the headlight demonstrator is shown in
5. Two of the six -Larp modules are
responsible for basic high-beam distribution, two others act as boosters to
increase the maximum luminous intensity in the centre, and the remaining two
provide broad horizontal illumination.
A comparison between the illuminance
of the demonstrators light distribution
and the birds eye views from the publications [1, 2] in 6 shows that the headlight
demonstrator can produce a similar distribution of light to that created by highbeam plus booster. On the basis of the
developments in lighting technology
described before, this headlight is capable
of a range of up to 540 m. Thanks to the
modular design of the optics, the horizontal distribution of light and the range of
the boosters can be changed at any time
by using different optics.
In addition to designing full high beam
distribution, Osram engineers also turned
autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

their attention to using the high luminance to design to a lower limit based on
the size of the optics, compatible on the
one hand with the standard requirements
for high-beam distribution and on the
other with the system tolerances. The
active surface of the optics has a diameter
of only 13 mm. The headlight demonstrator therefore has aperture values for highbeam automotive applications that are far
below those of current standard series
products. This opens up a wide range of
options for headlight designers. Depending on the light distribution requirements
(ECE-R-112 and OEM specifications), the
number of modules can even be reduced.

CONTROL

The laser modules are operated with a

nominal constant current of 1.2 A. To
protect the sensitive laser diodes from
damage caused by uncontrolled current
peaks it is necessary to control them
with suitable electronic drivers. The NTC
sensor integrated in the -Larp prototype
module indicates the temperature in the
module and can be read continuously. If
the temperature rises too high the current supplied is reduced with the aid of a
dimming curve stored in the electronic
driver so that the diode can be operated
in the temperature range for which it has
been designed.
For future systems it is conceivable
that the modularity and resultant different partial lighting functions could be
used in conjunction with a camera-based
control system to illuminate specific
areas of the road and surroundings in
certain situations. This can be achieved
by dimming individual modules or
switching them on or off.

SUMMARY AND PROSPECTS

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

The use of lasers in the front lighting

systems on production vehicles, implemented with Larp technology from
Osram, has only just begun. This
method of producing light has great
potential to revolutionise lighting technology in the next few years in terms of
performance and design. Obviously, this
technology is currently restricted to special vehicles at the luxury end of the
market but already industry insiders are
showing great interest, and customers
are intrigued by new lighting solutions,
too. Osram, the lighting specialist, has
dared to look into the future and found
that laser technology for headlights
could migrate from an auxiliary high
beam to full high-beam functionality.
Car manufacturers can make use of
the benefits of the Larp technology to
differentiate themselves from their competitors impressively. Osram is continuing to work on Larp technology. At present, the next generation of laser modules is already in development.
Luminances of 1000 cd/mm and more
will be achieved that is about ten times
the luminance of previous light sources.
REFERENCES

[1] Weber, s.; Buck, A.; Amann, C.: Laser Light

in the BMW i8 Design, system Integration and
test. In: AtZworldwide 116 (2014), No. 9, pp. 4449
[2] Fries, B.; Gut, C.; Laudenbach, t.; Mhlmeier, M.: Laser Light for the Audi r18 e-tron quattro
racing Car. In: AtZworldwide 116 (2014), No. 6,
pp. 24-27
[3] Werkstetter, M.; Weber, s.; hirth, F.; Amann,
C .: Laser Light in the BMW i8 Controlling and
E/E Integration. In: AtZelektronik worldwide 9
(2014), No. 4, pp. 14-19

read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

45

t e CHN o L o Gy AuDI

audI range drIve

SHowCaSinG teCHniCaL MiGHt
The entire range of Audi cars on sale in India and an airstrip sounds like a fantastic combination, which turned
real a few days back at Hosur, Karnataka. At the event, Audi also launched the new R8 V10 Plus and gave us an
opportunity to drive it as well. Key takeaway for us was the ability to assess the versatility of quattro in a controlled environment, right from a luxury sedan to a supercar. Heres our detailed report from the first of its kind
Audi Range Drive, which was split into three parts Sportscar experience, A Drive and Q Drive.

46

www.autotechreview.com

AUDI R8 V10 PLUS LAUNCH & DRIVE

Audi India had its entire fleet of vehicles

on sale in India lined-up at the Hosur
airstrip, but the highlight was the
launch of the R8 V10 Plus at ` 2.6 cr, exshowroom, Karnataka and its drive later
in the day. The new R8 V10 Plus is powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.2 FSI
Quattro V10 mid-engine with a power
output of 610 hp. In addition, the new
model uses a more advanced mix of
materials, making it lighter than the earlier generation of the R8. As a result,
the R8 can now propel from a standstill
to 100 km/h in just 3.2 s and continue
to its top speed of 330 km/h.
What really sets the R8 V10 Plus apart
is its naturally-aspirated engine that
stands out in a sea of turbocharged vehicles. On the airstrip, the benefit of this
configuration was clear as the R8 didnt
have any of the lag associated with the

autotechreview

Jun e 2 016

The 4l V8 TFSI engine in the RS7 produces 560 hp

turbo vehicles down in the rev band. Off

the line, the R8 accelerated with ferocity
and precision as Quattro ensured that all
of the power being generated was used
for launching the vehicle ahead and not

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

spinning the wheels. Since space was limited on the airstrip, we managed a top
speed of 252 km/h but even at that speed
the R8 was accelerating without any signs
of power fade.

47

t e CHN o L o Gy AuDI

Quattros working and capabilities were easily identifiable off-road, where loss of traction on one wheel is automatically offset by transferring power to the other wheels

Gear shifts were quick as the sevenspeed S tronic transmission made use of
shift-by-wire technology, which means
shift signals are relayed through electronic
sensors and does not involve any conventional cables. Braking from high-speed
was a confident affair as the ceramic
brake discs kept brake fade away despite
the cars making constant runs in the
hands of different journalists. Since there
were no turns available to test the handling capabilities of the car at the airstrip,
well provide more insight into the vehicle
and its technologies once the car becomes
available at a later stage to us.

QUATTRO

The most popular attraction after the R8

V10 Plus drive for most journalists
turned out to be the Q Drive, wherein
we drove the Q3, Q5 and the new Q7 on
a purpose-built off-roading track. The
track was well-designed and involved
some obstacle, which put the quattro
technology and driver skills to test. At
times, the vehicles were subjected to situations, where at least one wheel had
no contact with the surface and the second wheel was bordering on the lines of
losing traction. It was in such situations
that the Quattro stepped in with its abil-

48

ity to transfer power to the wheels with

traction, which helped the Q range overcome the obstacles.
Quattro has been an evolving technology since its inception and is configured
differently in every Audi car. While on
the Q range of vehicles, it is aimed at
maximising grip to get out of low-traction spots, in the R8 V10 Plus, its
designed to offer better handling at
higher speeds. The regular quattro distributes power at a ratio of 40:60
between the front and rear axles. Should
it become necessary, this differential can
send as much as 60 % of torque to the
front and as much as 80 % to the rear.
On the R8 V10 Plus, the core of the quattro is a viscous coupling at the front axle
that includes a package of plates that
rotate in a viscous fluid. The coupling
normally sends about 15 % of the power
to the front and up to 30 %, if needed.
During the A drive, we were asked to
drive any of the cars from the A range
back and forth a winding road leading
to a lake. The numerous bends and corners on this 16 km road highlighted the
versatility of the quattro technology. We
drove an A8 through this road and were
impressed at the ability of the quattro to
ensure something as big and heavy as
the A8 dialled-in effortlessly into turns
and exited with aplomb. The only disap-

pointment here was the steering, which

felt artificially-weighed with very little
feedback.

ROUND-UP

The Range Drive organised by Audi India

for the media turned out to be a nice
attempt at showcasing their entire range
of cars and technologies. The star of the
show was the R8 V10 Plus, which in its
older form was already one of the largest
selling supercars in the country. In its
more powerful, lighter and smarter new
version it seems logical that the new R8,
also the fastest Audi ever, will continue
from where its older sibling left. In addition, we also got to experience the turbocharged engines of the brand on the RS7
and RS6 Avant. In a nutshell, Audi India
did what one would expect a leading luxury carmaker to do celebrate the acceptance of the brand in under 10 years in the
country. And it surely did that in style.

TExT: Arpit Mahendra

PHOTO: Audi

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

t e CHN o L o Gy CNC MACHINES

sPeed, FleXIBIlIty through

in-HouSe Part ProduCtion
Porsche Motorsport is bringing sophisticated components to the racing track with state-of-the-art CNC machines, as well as process chain from DMG MoRI. While the racing team cooperates with a lot of suppliers,
the technology partnership with DMG MoRI has long and lastingly influenced the internal possibilities in production as well. Its experience of working with sophisticated industries such as aerospace and automotive,
gives the leading global manufacturer of CNC-controlled Lathes and Milling machines a distinct advantage,
writes the author.

AuTHoRS

ANKUR AGARWAL
is Marketing Manager at DMG MoRI
in Bangalore (India)

1 Dittmar Lienert (L) and Frank Jahn (R) record the work
schedule in CELoS and document the production

50

www.autotechreview.com

INTRODUCTION

For Porsche a perfect season has come to

an end: They took the overall victory at
the 24 Hours in Le Mans, won the Manufacturers World Championship title at the
penultimate round in Shanghai and
have been crowned the drivers World
Champions too. The success can be attributed to the teams long-standing experience, and most of all consistent and continuous further development of the Porsche 919 Hybrid.

PRODUCTION PROCESS

2 The DMG MoRI Virtual Machine simulates the programmes written by Dittmar Lienert in Siemens NX CAM 1:1

To produce components for its racing cars

with increased flexibility and speed, Porsche Motorsport has built its own and
ultra-modern component production as
new core competence. Short response
times and flexibility are deciding factors
for success in the field of motor sports,
said Frank Jahn, responsible for the Porsche team for component production. For
this reason, in parallel to the numerous
co-operations with first class suppliers, an
in-house production has also been set-up.
The challenge for this project has been
enormous, and the team had to invest in
both technology and personnel.
The development of an in-house component production is also a direct result of
the co-operation with DMG MORI a premium sponsor and technology partner of
the Porsche team and the machine manufacturer with comprehensive know-how
of CNC technology. Usually, it is the
highly complex components that need to
be available within the shortest possible
time and with the highest quality.
For the Porsche team, a DMU 65
monoBLOCK and a CTX beta 800
formed the machine basis. The production process was complemented by using
the DMG MORI process chain constructing and programming with Siemens
NX CAD/CAM, followed by a 1:1 simulation of the NC programme in the DMG
MORI virtual machine.
The combination of the versatile CTX
beta 800 it is equipped amongst others
with a Y-axis and an oil mist circuit
breaker and the 5-axis DMU 65 monoBLOCK allows us complete freedom
with regard to production, underlined
the operator. The work areas are suffiautotechreview

Jun e 2 016

ciently big for the respective components

and the performance of both machines
impresses in the area of speed as well as
on quality level.
The process chain offered another fillip to component production. The Siemens NX CAM provides the required programming strategy for even the most
complex machining operation. And we
check feasibility and ensure 100 % collision safety with the virtual machine,
said Jahn, while explaining the investment in the software solution. The Porsche Motorsports team often needs to
deliver top results in the form of highquality components within 24 hours, and
hence the complex components must be
machined error-free at the first attempt,
reasoned Jahn.

SIMULATION ADVANTAGES

In addition to the machines and process

chain, simulation plays a critical role in
the production process of components. In
fact, Dittmar Lienert, who is responsible
for programming and machining of the
components, explained that the DMG
MORI Virtual Machine holds the same
importance for the team as the racing simulator for the pilots. It enables the 1:1
simulation of real machining on the PC
including machine kinematics and real
control and we got to where we wanted
a lot faster, he said. Lienert had joined
the team, when component production
was established.
The demanding range of applications
of the development department includes

Vo lum e 5 | I s su e 6

amongst others undercarriage parts and

crankshaft housings, but also operational
equipment that plays a big part in successful racing. Modifications of the
numerous components always occur at
short notice between the individual races.
Programming in NX CAM and simultaneous simulation of the programmes saves a
tremendous amount of time, as errors in
my programming work or even possible
collisions are displayed instantly, said
Lienert. This also renders the time-consuming running in of the programmes on
the machine superfluous.
Within the scope of complex component production, the CELOS user interface on both machines also proves to be
of great support. Jahn also referred to the
work schedule: Based on photos, we
record components as well as clamping
devices in CELOS and manage cut edges
and tools. This also facilitates the
required seamless documentation in
production.

CONCLUSION

Jahn concluded that the DMG MORI process chain and CELOS helps the Porsche
Motorsports team programme, simulate
and produce any complex parts for its racing cars fast and error-free. This way, said
Jahn, we contribute to the head start our
teams in Le Mans and elsewhere bring to
the racing track.

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

51

e v e N t CTo RouNDTABLE 3.0

how electronIcs Is changIng

the way we drIve
1

Building further on the success of

the previous two editions, Auto
Tech Review successfully delivered
the 3rd edition of the event CTo
Roundtable 3.0 on May 6, 2016
in New Delhi.

(1) Anuj Chandna; (2) BM Baveja; (3) Dr Tapan Sahoo; (4) Chandan Sawhney

52

The automotive electronics industry in

India is currently at a nascent stage and
is lagging behind its foreign counterparts
in terms of capacity and R&D capability.
It is estimated that 65-70 % of auto electronics requirement of OEMs in India is
still met through import from countries
like China and Taiwan. It is in this background that we organised the third edition of the CTO Roundtable with the
theme of New Trends & Innovation in
Powertrain Electronics, Infotronics, Connectivity & Convergence.
The inaugural session was set in
motion by a presentation on A roadmap
to the future of mobility by Anuj Chandna, Automotive & Transportation Sector
Senior Analyst, EY. He stated that about
www.autotechreview.com

(5) Fernando Ventura; (6) Suraj Ghosh; (7) Amit Jain; (8) Sirish Batchu

2.5 bn people will be added to the

worlds urban population by 2050, resulting in an increased number of vehicles
and related problems. In the long-term,
autonomous vehicles would form a critical link in the integrated urban mobility
as more than 90 % of road accidents
take place due to human error, he stated.
The keynote address was delivered by
BM Baveja, Senior Director & Group
Coordinator, R&D in the Department of
Electronics & Information Technology,
Government of India. He highlighted the
work being done by the government in
the area of connectivity and mentioned
that Information and Communication
(ICT) technology is being researched
upon as a key growth area for electromobility in the coming years. He also
stressed on the need for having Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and
smart roads with road safety systems.

A presentation by Chandan Sawhney,

Head Electronics, ERC CVBU, Tata
Motors highlighted the increasing electronic content in commercial vehicles
and how this would lead to an increased
number of ECUs, and hence a need to
consolidate these ECUs for an effective
vehicle network. He also talked about
the key add-on engine parts for the legislative requirement of BS VI by 2020, all
of which are electronic.
Fernando Ventura, Powertrain and
Safety Division, Automotive & Discrete
Group, STMicroelectronics, gave a per-

spective on how modern advancements

in semiconductor technology is helping
system makers to increase the performance matrix of their products in
response to tightening regulations across
vehicular areas.
Suraj Ghosh, Principal Analyst, South
Asia Powertrain Forecasts, IHS Automotive, provided an insight into the future
trends of powertrain electronics in India
and also shared that according to IHS estimates, the average cost of upgrading present diesel passenger vehicle engines displacing 1.5 l or less to meet BS VI by 2020

POWERTRAIN ELECTRONICS

The session began with a presentation by

Dr Tapan Sahoo, Sr Vice President (Engg,
Research, Design & Development),
Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. Apart from the
BS VI legislation scheduled for 2020,
Indian OEMs also need to conform to
real driving emissions in the same timeframe, he argued. Although specifics
havent been shared yet, it means that
OEMs will need to have a certain level of
hardware, software and calibration ready
to ensure theyre able to meet the legislation. This will pose a challenge in the
form of having a need to have a robust
exhaust-treatment system and a validation system in different demographics
and exclusive software.
autotechreview

June 2016

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

53

e v e N t CTo RouNDTABLE 3.0

(9) Edoardo Merli; (10) Shrinivas Gadkari; (11) Gaurav Batra, Associate Director, EY; (12) Tarun Aggarwal,
VP (Electrical, xEV & Electronics Division), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd

will be between 70,000 to 80,000 on the

final vehicle price.

INFOTRONICS, CONNECTIVITY
& CONVERGENCE

The second session involved presentations on the growing importance of connectivity and related technologies for
delivering a better experience to a vehi-

cles occupants. Amit Jain, Country

Head, Visteon Electronics India, brought
forth an estimate that the connected car
market, valued at about $ 12 bn in 2012,
will grow to about $ 50 bn by 2018. He
also mentioned that the cost of electronics on percentage of the vehicle cost will
rise from 30 % in 2010 to 50 % by 2030.
In order to keep up with the rapid pace
of electronics, the automotive industry
will need to shorten the development

cycle of vehicles, which will require

moves such as consolidation of global
vehicle platforms.
Edoardo Merli, Director of Automotive
Product Group, Marketing and Application, Greater China and South Asia
Region, STMicroelectronics said that the
growing importance of connectivity and
infotainment in vehicles will lead to the
creation of a new equilibrium in the
automotive industry, consisting of the
traditional auto companies along with
the new participation of technology and
internet players.
Sirish Batchu, Head, Infotronics Technology & Advanced Electronics, Mahindra & Mahindra added to these points by
pointing that due to the emergence of
technology companies such as Google
and Apple and other new stakeholders,
traditional automakers will have to
revisit the vehicle development plan, as
the traditional method is time-consuming
and might not fit into the scheme of
things for future.
The final presentation in this session
was delivered by Shrinivas Gadkari,
Director of Design Engineering, Cadence
India. He talked about the opportunity to
leverage neural networks to overcome
the problem of picking the right features.
Neural networks have already been chosen for many computer vision applications and Gadkari explained how
Cadence products are capable of carrying
out this function.

ROUND-UP

Both the technical sessions were followed

by a panel discussion each involving
speakers from that particular session.
Both panel discussions invited a healthy
exchange of dialogue between the delegates from various facets of the industry
and the speakers/ moderators. Auto Tech
Review also confirms that the 4th edition
of the CTO Roundtable will be held
around the same time, next year.
To watch the complete video of the
event, please go to the following link:
http://live-24framesdigital.netdna-ssl.
com/autotech/webcast/060516/
Read this article on
www.autotechreview.com

54

www.autotechreview.com

S H O P F L O O R SOUTHCO

TECHNOLOGY DIVERSITY IN
ENGINEERED ACCESS HARDWARE
A significant part of the in-cabin experience of a vehicle depends on the touch-points in the cabin. Constant interaction with these touch-points over a period of time requires them to exude a sense of quality. With increasing penetration of electronics in vehicles, these touch-points are now being deployed with technology beyond
the mere operation of a function. Southco is one such company that is expanding its global presence on the
back of its product portfolio comprising of more than 25,000 products, including latches and hinges.

56

www.autotechreview.com

A global leader in engineered access hardware, with operations in more than 30

countries, Southco has built a strong portfolio of products through its 70-year-old
journey. Set-up as a specialty pipe manufacturer for the Pennsylvania oil industry
in 1899, it was only in 1945 that Southco
started manufacturing specialty fastener
and latches, marking its entry into the
segment that specialises in touch points
such as locks, hinges and handles.
In India, the company is headquartered in Pune, Maharashtra and carries
out manufacturing at a plant in the same
city. Recently, we made a trip to the
plant and spoke to Veeresh Manrai,
General Manager, Business Development, Indian Operations, Southco India
Private Limited for a detailed understanding of its business in the country.

LOCAL SUPPORT STRATEGY

The company follows a local support

strategy for its customers globally, and
the flourishing Indian economy brought
it to India. Operations in India started
around a decade back, and the company
today caters to various industries including automotive, aerospace, off-highway,
railway, marine, healthcare and data centre enclosures.
From its fairly large portfolio of solutions, two key products in the Indian
automotive market include glovebox and
centre console latches, which have been
used in recently launched vehicles such
as the Mahindra TUV 300 and KUV 100,
among other customers. These latches are

claimed to be assembly-friendly, saving

labour time and also help lower tooling
investment, making it a better value proposition for its customers. Within latches,
the single-point rotary latch and an offset
single-point rotary latch constitute the two
key products in India.
We also talked about Southcos dualpoint latching, which is a newer offering
and is known as the Coupler System. The
system features a two-point, dependent
pawl latching system, which retracts both
pawls simultaneously, allowing flexibility
in actuation styles, reducing the risk of
false latching. Theres a mid-sized coupler
as well, which features a compact mechanism for supporting smaller applications
such as centre consoles, cup holders and
small compartments. Southco has
designed the Coupler to be flexible, offering various actuation options such as
push-button, lift-paddle, side-pull, locking, non-locking and electromechanical.
Southco follows a Total Programme
Management approach, wherein it offers
all services from the design phase to final
product. The company is now focusing on
developing electronic locks and positioning solutions and wireless technologies,
beyond its solutions for latching, fastening and positioning.
Positioning technology involves positioning hinges and display mounting
solutions. Headrest solutions feature
integrated torque hinges, which makes
operation smoother and aids better positioning of the headrest. Torque devices
are increasingly becoming popular due to
the wide range of benefits they offer.
This technology enables position control

for centre-console hinging, wherein an

occupant can hold a centre console lid or
inner tray steady at any position, stop
and lock the centre console lid into a
pre-determined position and also benefit
from the lesser effort required to operate
the panels.
Explaining the technology further,
Manrai told us that precision position control hinges use specially shaped bands or
sickle torque elements that apply radial
pressure against a shaft to create friction
between the two surfaces. By utilising a
variety of shaft and torque element combinations with different alloy steels, heat
treating, lubricants, and assembly processes, these devices are able to deliver a
wide range of capabilities with more precise tolerances for consistent torque control and long-lasting performance.
With an increasing focus of the global
automotive industry on electronics, we
discussed the electronic locking technolo-

Injection-moulding is fully automated through two machines, while assembly is semi-automated

autotechreview

June 2016

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

57

S H O P F L O O R SOUTHCO

not only reduces the labour requirement

but also maintains a higher and consistent level of quality.
Post the clamping, the unit goes for
the assembly process, which is a combination of automatic and manual processes. The line here involves a mix of
locally-manufactured products and those
that are imported and assembled here.
All products supplied to Mahindra are
manufactured locally but those used in
the new Ford Figo Aspire compact sedan
are imported from the UK and assembled
in Pune.

ROUND-UP

Focus on technology and adoption of modern manufacturing equipment and processes bodes well for the
companys product competitiveness

gies by Southco and the difference they

offer from the conventional solutions.
Electronic access combines physical security with electronic intelligence to protect
valuable assets and information. In automotive interiors, electronic locking mechanisms can be networked directly into a
vehicles electrical system to secure glove
boxes, media bins and other storage
areas. This not only improves the userexperience but it also enhances the interior styling. We were told that if required
Bluetooth can also be combined with
electronic locking technology to increase
the security levels.

SHOPFLOOR

Our conversation about the company and

its technology made it clear that Southco,
although small in revenue terms in India,
has a strong focus on developing the right
technology. The same approach was also
evident on the shopfloor. The plant is
small in size, but is equipped with the latest technology. Product development or
R&D in particular is primarily carried out
in global centres with India providing critical information related to customer
requirements. Globally, Southco has 17
manufacturing locations, including India.
The first piece of equipment we came
across was a coordinate-measuring

58

machine (CMM) by Nikon, which offers

exceptional accuracy of up to one micron.
In simpler measurement terms, one
micron is equal to 0.001 mm.
We were shown the entire process of
making the latches that are supplied to
Indian customers such as Mahindra,
Visteon, Ford and Tata Motors, among
others. The manufacturing process starts
from the injection-moulding machines,
two of which are installed at the plant.
One of them is an 80 tonne unit, while
the larger one is 150 tonne. One of the key
raw materials used as the base for the
component is nylon. The raw material is
first loaded into a bin loader and undergoes a dehumidifying process, which
ensures no moisture is passed ahead in
the manufacturing process.
The injection-moulding machines are
hydro mechanical, making use of water
for cooling purposes. Water is supplied
to the machine from tanks outside the
shopfloor. The plastic is heated in these
machines to the point it changes form to
liquid. After this, the liquid plastic is
passed onto a mould, which is clamped
in the clamping unit inside the machine.
The company has 17 moulds presently
and will continue to increase the count
as the product portfolio continues to
expand. Fully automatic in nature, these
machines only require human interference for instructional purpose. Doing so

With revenue of ` 24 cr in 2015, Southco

is still a small operation in India. Despite
that, the company impressed us with their
focus on technology. For something seemingly as simple as latches, the technology
they already have and are working on for
the future was quite surprising. The fact
that the company has simple and proven
products along with the expertise to scaleup to more demanding electronic systems,
beckons well for its future.
The torque controlled systems too
hold good potential as OEMs continue to
add features from higher-end vehicles to
mass-market ones. In India specifically,
one can clearly see the rapid pace at
which consumers are becoming aware of
vehicle technology and finer details such
as cabin experience.
In India, the company has over 40
employees presently and it expects to
grow at a healthy rate in the coming
years, primarily on the back of new products and technologies. It is positioned
well in the market with potential and the
right products, more importantly a wide
range of products for all sorts of applications. Its this diversity of products that
in our opinion will help the company
grow at a healthy pace in the coming
years, including achieving its stated 2016
revenue target of ` 30 cr.
TExT & PHOTO: Arpit Mahendra

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

May 2016 | Volume 5 | Issue 5

Now, Also
AvA
Av
vAilAble oN
Its on

16

IntervIew
Thomas Schulze, BD Director,
Automotive, Spirent Communications
& Bhaskar HS, Director, Spirent
Communications (India)

20

study
Making India a World Class
Automotive Manufacturing Hub

60

new vehIcle
Ducati Diavel Carbon
Desirable Identity Dilemma

automotIve electronIcs
cockPit, communication & connectivity

Powered by

EACH

AUTO TECH REVIEW | SPRINGER INDIA PVT. LTD., 7th Floor, Vijaya Building, 17 Barakhamba Road, New Delhi 110001. Ph: +91 11 45755888 | Fax: +91 11 45755889
Advertising: advertising@autotechreview.com | Editorial: editor@autotechreview.com | Subscriptions: subscriptions@autotechreview.com
Reach us at: www.autotechreview.com

N e W v e H I C L e D ATSuN REDI-Go

datsun redi-go
beSt froM tHe brand yet
Japanese carmaker Datsun presently has two models on sale in the country Go and the Go+ the first being
a no-thrills hatchback and the latter being the countrys cheapest seven-seater vehicle. However, despite the
unique positioning of these vehicles, none of them has experienced a sales run akin to their name. This is Datsuns third year in the country, and it is ready with the redi-Go, its third product in the Indian market. Does it
have the substance to take on established competition? We were recently invited by the company to drive the
car in Kolkata. During the drive, we found out if the redi-Go has the missing areas from its siblings covered well,
or are there holes in the dyke yet.

60

www.autotechreview.com

The redi-GO is built on the Renault Nissan Alliances CMF-A platform, just like
its cousin Renault Kwid, and is being
positioned as an urban cross targeted at
the A segment. The development of both
these cars was started simultaneously,
and the common platform meant a lot of
parts and systems, such as the engine,
gearbox, chassis and sub-frame components, are common as well. We were told
the cars have as much as 50 % in common, allowing the RNA to keep development cost low.

ExTERIOR DESIGN
A 799 cc petrol engine with 53 hp and 72 Nm of torque powers the redi-Go

First look of the Datsun redi-GO and one

cannot help but appreciate the designers
for staying largely true to the concept
showcased earlier. The idea of merging
two body styles compact crossover and
urban hatchback has resulted in a good
looking vehicle. The angular grille flanked
by swept-back headlamps lends the rediGO with a funky and distinct front-end.
In order to resemble a crossover and to
offer the segment-leading 185 mm of
ground clearance, the redi-GO measures
fairly tall even when compared to the
existing tall-boy cars in the segment. At
1,541 mm, the redi-GO is 31 mm taller
than the Hyundai Eon, the second tallest
car in this segment. While this height has
its benefits, which well explain in a
while, the huge expanse of sheet metal
mostly leads to a dull-looking side profile

in such cases. Datsun designers have,

however, cleverly created a stack of three
lines on the redi-GO with varying strength
of visibility and angles. These lines, the
middle one on the lower part of the doors
rises and merges effortlessly with the tail
lamp, breaking the monotony of an otherwise large metal area.
The rear, although not as funky as the
front, bears a clean design and looks
properly modern and graceful. Datsun
calls the redi-GOs design language
YUKAN, which in Japanese means brave
and bold. Our assessment of the design
is pretty much in line with the companys claim. The redi-GO certainly looks
different from existing models and in a
good sense.

Centre-console seems basic and the audio system offers CD, MP3, uSB and Aux-in connectivity

autotechreview

June 2016

Volu m e 5 | Issu e 6

CABIN ExPERIENCE

Step inside the cabin and the redi-GOs

character undergoes a transformation
from funky, happy and youthful to the
need of meeting basic needs simple and
cost-challenged. The cabin is a mix of hits
and misses, space being one of the key hit
areas of the vehicle. The space on offer in
the redi-GO left us surprised given the
expectations from the exterior footprint.
Front seats are wide and accommodating with pronounced side support bolsters, which are effective while going
around turns. Space at the rear is best-insegment and in fact is better than the
Maruti Suzuki DZire compact sedan. The
extra-long seat offers good under-thigh
support and is more comfortable than
most of the car's competitors. Headroom
too is generous and people over six feet in
height too won't have their heads brushing against the roof.
The dashboard bears a minimal yet
functional design. However, it lacks the
central touch screen as found on the
Renault Kwid. We were told the dashboard design of the redi-GO was finalised
before that of the Kwid because of which
the screen couldn't be integrated. That
also implies we could see a variant with
the central touch screen at some stage in
the future.
While overall space engineering inside
the vehicle is appreciable, the front doors
have exposed metal above the door pockets, a visible sign of cost-cutting. The door
pockets are flat and can't even accommodate 500 ml bottles. The centre console

61

N e W v e H I C L e D ATSuN REDI-Go

overall exterior design is youthful, funky and manages to mask the height of the vehicle well enough

tunnel though can house two bottles.

Plastic quality and build are average
and amid exposed bits and joints, we also
came across a few plastic bits coming off,
such as one plastic part on the front windshield. Datsun officials though assured us
that the cars brought for the media drives
were pre-production models and the ones
sold in the market will have these issues
sorted largely.

DRIVING ExPERIENCE

Our drive was a short one limiting us to

stretch the legs of the redi-GO. In traffic,
the redi-GO is generally decent and the

0.8 l petrol engine does an acceptable

job of moving the vehicle. Driveability
through the five-speed transmission is
zippy in low-end in first two gears but
at speeds beyond 90 km/h the engine
struggles to keep the momentum going.
Being an urban car this isn't much of a
negative though. What could've been
better is the NVH proofing since the
engine does get quite loud by the time
you're around 3,000 rpm.
We couldn't test the handling in the
traffic of Kolkata but the redi-GO felt
well-balanced for the regular urban
commutes and occasional mild off-roading due to its best-in-class 185 mm
ground clearance.

ROUND-UP

Datsun has managed to offer a good looking, practical and spacious vehicle with
the redi-GO. While these urban qualities
go in favour of the vehicle, there are areas
such as build quality, weak mid-range of
the engine, fit & finish and pronounced
cost-cutting going against it. While these
are areas that many consumers might not
mind compromising on, the redi-GO's
problem is the strong competition it is pitted against, especially the Maruti Suzuki
Alto and the Renault Kwid.
The Alto has been the top selling
model in the market for years together,
and Renault has made a strong entry in
the mini hatchback segment with the
Kwid. Its going to be an uphill task for
Datsun India to make a dent in their sales,
but there are quite a few positives going
for the vehicle, as weve highlighted earlier. It could also look at introducing the 1
l engine that powers the Renault Kwid,
but that is an aspect Datsun officials
refused to confirm or deny. For now
though, along with pricing, how the company approaches the market would determine its acceptance among the urban customers in the country.

TExT & PHOTO : Arpit Mahendra

Segment-leading 185 mm ground clearance keeps the redi-Gos underbelly safe from most obstructions on
Indian urban roads

62

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

www.autotechreview.com

Presents

Seminar on

SAFETY DRIVEN
B Y T E C H N O LO G Y
M A K I N G V E H I C L E S S A F E R T H R O U G H T E C H N O LO G Y I N N O VAT I O N

J U LY 0 8 , 2 0 1 6 | T H E PA R K | N E W D E L H I

Theme:
Vision Zero - The Role of Technology

FOCUS AREAS
Advanced Driver
Assistance
Systems (ADAS)
Automotive
Lighting
Regulations &
Standards

BlocDkate
Your

Now!

Supporting Partners

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE EVENT & SPONSORSHIP OPTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT
For latest updates please visit:
http://autotechreview.com/events/safety/2016/

Sudeep Kumar: Manager Sales, (M): +91 9990092661, email: sudeep@autotechreview.com

Vivek Tyagi: Manager Events, (M): +91 9871367808, email: vivek@autotechreview.com

DECODING TECHNOLOGY

ITS MORE THAN LIGHTING

Automotive lighting has transformed radically over time powered by acetylene or
oil-fuelled lamps (late 1880s) to electric
headlights (1904), sealed beams (1939),
halogen lamps (1962), High Intensity Discharge (early 2000), LEDs in 2004, and
the laser beam headlights in 2013.
Regulations, both operational and
safety, have changed considerably and as
always consumers have been ever
demanding. The regulations requiring
headlamps to be on during low-visibility
weather, had generated research in the
areas of low-beam headlights, daytime
running lights (DRLs), or fog lights, and
dirt build up. Emphasis on glare, pedestrian safety and street lighting, high speed
expressway driving were other influencers
in change of regulations and innovative
lighting solutions.
During the switch from sealed beams
to HID, the technological evolution
examined the stopping distances under
different headlamp illumination conditions and concluded that HID had a
greater mean stopping distance than halogen headlamps. HID also offered higher
luminous efficacies to achieve brighter
forwards light.

ADVENT OF LED &

OTHER TECHNOLOGIES

In 2004, LED lighting systems became a

natural progression. From an exterior styling standpoint, LEDs offer uniqueness to

the looks and branding opportunities for
OEMs. LEDs are less susceptible to vibration than filament lamps and offer optical
design flexibility. LEDs consume approximately 85 % less energy, and last nearly
ten times longer than incandescent bulbs.
They generate much less heat thus allowing for smaller, thinner packaging and
improved installation and styling options
for inner ambient lighting too. Interestingly, the industry also switched to LEDs
on construction and repair trucks, since
these were a lesser drain on the vehicle
battery and are also energy-efficient.
Today, some OEMs in the high luxury
segment have switched to lasers. The
laser units are 30 % more efficient than
LEDs, and can illuminate up to double
the distance (about 2 km). Lasers are
used for high beams as they are not as
focused as LED lights, while LEDs are
used for low beams.

DR ARUN JAURA
European Advisory Committee,
SAE International, USA

clarity, heat resistance and ease of injection moulding for complex lens designs.
There are several new grades of polycarbonates that help OEMs to become more
creative with their styling and branding.
Innovative ambient lighting in the
cabin is another influencer, while deciding to buy a vehicle. Ambient lighting creates an ergonomic environment that is
more relaxing for the occupants, provides
a perception of extra value and a safer
feel. With car-pooling becoming more
popular, each occupant is seeking privacy
and separate personal light to be able to
work or read in the vehicle. Another
aspect of car sharing in a home is that the
vehicle is driven by multiple drivers in the
same home. Each one desires different
intensities and prefers unique display colours on the instrument panel. Homogenous lighting with accurate dimming and
providing excellent visual comfort is a primary need of the driver in any case.

ROLE OF MATERIALS

Materials have been another major enabler in changing the face of automotive
lighting. Outer lenses for automotive
headlights are predominantly formed from
polycarbonate resin, and also increasingly
to form inner lenses. This resin has excellent thermal stability, impact strength,

CONCLUSION

Energy management and reduction of CO2

are overarching drivers, besides safety and
legislation, and need to be holistically
implemented during the development and
choice of automotive lighting systems.
The integration of multitude of gizmos
makes it prudent to manage energy and
battery size in the vehicle. The standard
52 Amp-hr battery is stretched too far in a
conventional vehicle and soon 84 Amp-hr
may become a standard feature.
Today its more than just automotive
lighting its stitched together with the
underlying attributes of affordability, reliability and longevity that are the trident of
innovative sustainable mobility.

Read this article on

www.autotechreview.com

64

www.autotechreview.com

reGiStered witH tHe reGiStrar of newSPaPerS for india under rn deLenG/2012/57909

POWERED WITH ELECTRICITY, GAS,

AND AUTOMATICALLY-GENERATED CODE.

THATS MODEL-BASED DESIGN.

To create a two-mode hybrid
powertrain, engineers at GM
used models to continuously
verify their design, test prototypes,
and automatically generate the
embedded code.
The result: a breakthrough HEV,
delivered on time.
To learn more, visit
www.mathworks.in/mbd

2014 The MathWorks, Inc.

MathWorks India Private Limited

9th Floor, B Wing, Etamin Block, Prestige Technology Park II
Marathahalli Sarjapur Ring Road, Bangalore 560103, Karnataka
Tel. +91-80-6632-6000
Email: info@mathworks.in

For career opportunities visit: www.mathworks.in/company/jobs