Siemens to equip StreetScooter EV with innovative electronics and software

Siemens' central research department and electric vehicle manufacturer StreetScooter are to equip an electric car with an innovative electronic and software architecture as part of the Robust and Reliant Automotive Computing Environment for Future eCars (RACE) project. For the first time ever, the architecture will make it possible to retrofit functions such as electrical brakes and systems such as lane-keeping assistants using a plug-and-play process like on home PCs. The two companies plan to incorpora
July 30, 2014 Read time: 2 mins

189 Siemens' central research department and electric vehicle manufacturer StreetScooter are to equip an electric car with an innovative electronic and software architecture as part of the Robust and Reliant Automotive Computing Environment for Future eCars (RACE) project.

For the first time ever, the architecture will make it possible to retrofit functions such as electrical brakes and systems such as lane-keeping assistants using a plug-and-play process like on home PCs. The two companies plan to incorporate the RACE architecture into an electric delivery vehicle by December 2014. The work will be conducted at Siemens' research centre in Munich, Germany. The partnership's aim is to test the new technology in practice for the first time.

The partners of the RACE project are Siemens, AVL Software and Functions, fortiss, the Fraunhofer Society, 601 TRW Automotive, RWTH Aachen, TU Munich, and the University of Stuttgart. The approximately US$27 million project, which receives funding from the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy, is led by Siemens. It was launched in 2012 and will run until the end of 2014. The project aims to substantially simplify cars' increasingly complex electronics architecture.

"We think that RACE has huge potential and that it could revolutionise car design in the future," says Professor Armin Schnettler, who manages the project at Siemens central research department Corporate Technology. "We expect standardised hardware and flexible apps to be used in the future. This will greatly reduce development times while at the same time increasing customisation — not only in the automotive industry but also elsewhere." StreetScooter hopes RACE will help it to develop and adapt new functions for its cars quickly, flexibly, and inexpensively. "We want to be able to integrate updates and individualise pioneering developments for our customers," says Professor Achim Kampker, managing director of StreetScooter. "Our modular and adaptable concept makes us the ideal platform for the RACE technology."

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Intelligent parking drone technology wins Siemens’ contest
    January 16, 2015
    His daily quest to find a parking space gave Amir Ehsani Zonouz, a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, USA, the incentive to look for an effective solution, leading to him winning the inaugural Siemens Mobility IDEA (Improving Design and Engineering for All) Contest. Zonouz proposed using quadcopters, or drones, which can quickly find unoccupied parking spaces, identify the shortest path to the closest free spot and immediately guide the driver to the space using a mobile app or direct
    Read More
  • Debating the future development of ANPR
    July 31, 2012
    What future is there for automatic number plate recognition? Will it be supplanted by electronic vehicle identification, or will continuing development maintain the technology's relevance? In recent years, digitisation and IP-based communication networks have allowed Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to achieve ever-greater utility and a commensurate increase in deployments. But where does the technology go next - indeed, does it have a future in the face of the increasing use of, for instance, Dedi
    Read More
  • ITS events vital forum for networking, calls to action
    February 6, 2012
    Tom Kern, executive VP of ITS America, on why he believes events like the forthcoming ITS World Congress are so important for the industry
    Read More
  • ITS events vital forum for networking, calls to action
    January 20, 2012
    Tom Kern, executive VP of ITS America, on why he believes events like the forthcoming ITS World Congress are so important for the industry. This October's World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems is coming home. Home to Orlando, that is. The first America's-based World Congress took place in Orlando in 1996 and now, 15 years later, the sixth Americas World Congress and 18th overall returns just in time to see how far Florida has come in the deployment of ITS technologies helping to make for safe, mob
    Read More

Highlighted Content