LONDON – Car supplier Aptiv PLC unveiled its next-generation automated driving technology platform on Monday, which can be used in a range of vehicles and updated wirelessly, allowing automakers to upgrade vehicle functions and fix faults.
Glen De Vos, Aptiv’s chief technology officer, told Reuters that the core of the new platform was the same whether a manufacturer built a compact car or a full-size sedan – the larger vehicles just need more sensors or cameras.
One of the biggest problems facing global automakers in developing the sensors, radars and cameras needed for self-driving technology is cost.
Fully self-driving vehicles are years away, but driving aids such as adaptive cruise control and lane assistance are becoming more common.
For car manufacturers, “developing and validating these systems can cost many hundreds of millions of dollars,” said De Vos. “This platform drastically lowers system validation costs and represents dramatic savings for manufacturers.”
He added that the new platform could save car makers up to 20% or 30% over Aptiv’s previous generation platform.
In 2019, Hyundai and Aptiv launched a $ 4 billion company called Motional to develop self-driving technologies and be one of the first to deploy fully autonomous vehicles on public roads.
Aptiv’s new platform also allows the supplier to detect vehicle issues and provides over-the-air updates, so car manufacturers can troubleshoot or upgrade self-driving features in real time rather than waiting for the next version of a vehicle.
“Now that I can update that car, I can enable new features and content for manufacturers to sell in that car,” said De Vos.
Aptiv, headquartered in Dublin, also unveiled “zone controllers” for car manufacturers to break down computer functions in cars into more manageable pieces that improve computing power and reduce vehicle weight and cost.