Smart, urban, vehicle platform

We are knocking on the door of future mobility! Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) made to support monitoring, warning, braking and steering to reduce the risk of human error and increase car and road safety, are paving the way for autonomous driving.

Public and regulatory interests in safety applications that protect drivers and reduce accidents will further increase the demand for ADAS over the next decade. By 2020, all vehicles in the European Union and the United States are required to be equipped with autonomous emergency-braking systems and forward-collision warning systems.

To ensure a safe and comfortable driving experience in the future, these assistant systems need to be put through their paces. Naturally, it would be irresponsible to test these systems and their functionalities in real-life scenarios on the road during their pre-development phases.

So, umlaut has developed a craft car called SMURV - short for SMart URban Vehicle – to test ADAS functions in a safe environment in the field. With a solid understanding of its functional safety requirements’ impact, umlaut engineers began instrumenting the SMURV platform to evaluate autonomous and connected vehicle concepts.

Its various sensors, GPS and cameras are mounted onto the vehicle, using appropriate brackets and racks. Sensor connectors and wiring are prepared according to the desired layout and interface elements. PC’s have also been installed to log sensor data. Consequently, the SMURV enables OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to test different configurations of hardware and software in real-time under authentic dynamic driving conditions.

Moreover, the SMURV’s remote access allows for global collaboration. Via rapid prototyping and cloud connection, a colleague from the other end of the world can install a new function – like object detection, for example – and get measurement data in the blink of an eye.

In a nutshell, the key benefits of our umlaut craft car are playful testing of new ADAS ideas and functions in predevelopment phases, as well as fostering internal cooperation across different locations and even continents.

That’s why leading automotive OEMs and Tier 1s entrust umlaut with the definition of their technology strategy, the development of use cases and requirements, and the delivery of new connected services and autonomous technologies to the market.