CESA 2018

Volkswagen will introduce Traffic Jam Assist and Emergency Assist in the new Passat as a world premiere. The first system is based on Lane Assist and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC). It enables assisted lateral and longitudinal guidance. Staying in the middle of its lane, the car steers, accelerates and brakes automatically at speeds below 60 km/h, but only under the condition that the driver's hands are on the steering wheel. In addition, Volkswagen conceptualised the new Emergency Assist. If the driver shows no steering activity or just a little, Traffic Jam Assist notices this via Lane Assist. In this case, the system gives an acoustic warning along with a message in the multifunction display requesting that the driver take over control of the car. If the driver does not react to this request, an extended request to take control of the new Passat is made with a brief but very noticeable brake jolt. If there is no answer, the Emergency Assist steps into action. The car...

The midwest city has just launched a car-sharing service with EVs. It's very similar to Autolib' system in Paris and this is not so suprising : the service is provided by Bolloré as well. BlueIndy will be the largest ever car-sharing service in the US, with 500 EVs and 1000 charging stations. It should start for customers at the end of the year. Users can reserve a BlueCar on the web or via a smartphone app, or simply pick it up in a station. They simply unplug the car, drive it from one site to the next, plug it back in, and walk away. The software figures out the BlueIndy location closest to their destination and billing is handled automatically.

Starting today, OECD is organizing an International Transport Forum hosted in Leipzig (Germany). One of the highlights is a panel session about the impact of new technologies and shifting attitudes. Speakers are Jean Todt (President of FIA), Thomas Beermann (CEO of Car2Go), Andreas Mai (Director, Smart Connected Vehicles at Cisco Systems), Milan Nedeljkovic (Managing Director of the BMW Plant in Leipzig), Olof Persson (President and CEO, AB Volvo) and Kazuhiro Doi (Head of Nissan Research Center, Nissan Motor Co). Here are a few points to be discussed : How is vehicle use changing : is there a shifting balance between shared and private ownership of cars, and what are the changing demands of younger generations ? What are the regulatory and technological issues relating to advances in connected and driverless vehicles ? How and under what conditions is the shift to smaller vehicles providing positive benefits for society ? Will the emergence of new services leveraging advanc...

The Board of Directors of the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) has elected Carlos Ghosn, Chairman and CEO of Renault, as its new President. Mr Ghosn takes over from Mr Philippe Varin, former Chairman of the Board of Management of PSA Peugeot Citroën. He had already occupied this position in 2009. As the ACEA Secretary General Erik Jonnaert said : "Mr Ghosn will lead ACEA through an important period of political transition in Europe. Under his presidency, ACEA will continue to focus on its key policy recommendations, which are to drive innovation, to foster growth through international trade and to call for a supportive regulatory framework." Let's remind that Carlos Ghosn is also leader of the "automated driving" program of the french trade and industry ministry. He may play a role in that field to push that technology in Europe as well.

CESA 3.0 has full support from the french automotive industry. Discover why in these videos, with the help of Rémi Bastien and Jean-Marc Finot, who are both head of research and advanced engineering of the two national OEMs, and also members the advisor committee of our automotive electronics congress. Check out first the statement from PSA Peugeot Citroen :   And now the same from Renault side :   Other videos will come next. Stay tuned.

Some of you may think there's no link with our congress. true. But, it's about automotive electronics and connectivity by the way and it will happen in France also. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in june, the engineers from Audi will constantly monitor their race cars. Whether it concerns the functionality of the systems, compliance with the regulations or information that is important for strategic reasons, the race car will continually diagnoses its condition and reports it to the team garage. For this purpose, the LMP1 sports car is equipped with an array of CAN Bus systems which interlink a wide range of electronic control units (ECUs). Sophisticated sensors measure various parameters, such as suspension and acceleration data, temperatures and pressures, or information in the area of energy management, to generate a database for the ECUs.

The german OEM supplier just opened near Reims a new facility. This is the tenth of its kind in the world. Located at 120 km from Paris, this new centre offers various tracks (including a 1,8 km straight line), high-tech equipements and engineering services. Initially designed for ABS and ESP development, this new facility can welcome OEMs and suppliers to test and validate driving assistance systems. A part of the centre can be dedicated to autonomous vehicles for intensive testing. Link (in french) :  http://www.bosch-techniqueautomobile.fr/fr_fr/fr/about_us_9/testzentren_1/pruefzentrum_juvincourt_1/pruefzentrum_juvincourt_detailseite_1.html

After a LinkedIn group, we have created a Youtube channel. With short videos, the aim is to have a more dynamic communication and to keep you informed from the evolution of the congress (topics updates, speakers, organisation...). Here is a teaser with french VIP from automotive industry : You can also watch all the interviews (PSA Peugeot Citroen, Renault, Continental Automotive, CESA chairman...) in following that link :  https://www.youtube.com/user/CESA2014

Back in 2003 : automotive OEMs and suppliers founded the AUTOSAR consortium (AUTomotive Open System ARchitecture) in 2003. Its standardization would make it possible to integrate algorithms, in unmodified form, into the ECUs of different manufacturers, and this would support the distribution of functions to multiple ECUs much better. Ten years later, AUTOSAR is still a hot topic, and with good reason. Over 100 companies have developed specifications in a number of working groups. Meanwhile, the fourth main version has been published. Vehicles with AUTOSAR are in production, many automotive OEMs are currently developing vehicles with AUTOSAR, and nearly all of the others are showing excited interest and will hop aboard the train sooner or later. However, the full benefits of AUTOSAR can only be achieved when all of its elements are implemented systematically. And not only basic software. AUTOSAR makes it possible to derive and share precise machine-readable specification require...