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

  • Improving the positional accuracy of GNSS road user charging
    July 23, 2012
    The European GINA project is intended to address and overcome many of the institutional, technical and public acceptance hurdles currently faced by satellite-based road user charging schemes. Dave Tindall and Denis Naberezhnykh, TRL, and Laure Dezes, ERF, write. Pay-as-you-drive Road User Charging (RUC), whereby demand (or congestion) is managed by applying appropriate tariffs in order to encourage drivers to make their journeys at less busy times, on less congested routes or even on different modes, could
    Read More
  • Siemens tests eHighway system
    August 7, 2014
    Siemens, in conjunction with Volvo, is to trial an eHighway system on a two-mile stretch of highway in California in the vicinity of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The company was awarded the contract by Southern California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) with the objectives of eliminating local emissions, reducing the consumption of fossil fuels and cutting the operating costs of trucks. The two ports are seeking an emission-free solution, Zero Emission I-710 Project, for a
    Read More
  • Continental calls for change in legal requirements for automated driving
    July 8, 2014
    International automotive supplier Continental has called for a market-based adaptation of the legal framework for automated driving, saying its Mobility Study 2013 has shown that motorists worldwide want automated driving on the freeway. “Their needs match up perfectly with the development possibilities in the upcoming years. However, the necessary adjustments to the traffic regulatory framework must not fail to take into account the connection with these market dynamics," said Continental head of resear
    Read More
  • Siemens’ Stratos offers scalable solution
    May 31, 2013
    Developed using the latest cloud-based technology, Siemens says its Stratos system delivers scalable real-time traffic management, information and control, from basic monitoring to strategic control of complex urban traffic environments. Proven traffic management systems have been integrated to create Stratos and provide streamlined, seamless user interaction with access anywhere on smart mobile devices as well as traditional control rooms. Siemens says Stratos is the complete solution for car parking, VMS,
    Read More

Highlighted Content