AUTOTECH REVIEW (ATR) ROUND TABLE (2.0) CONFERENCE

HOTEL THE PARK, DELHI

MAY 22ND, 2015

 

Auto Tech Review, an automobile magazine associated with springer publications organized Autotech Review Round Table (2.0) Conference on May 22nd, 2015 at Hotel The Park, Delhi. Prof. D. V. Bhise, Head of the Department, Mechanical Engineering along with Mr. Awanish Kumar Yadav and Mr. Shubhdeep Chakraborty, students of B.Tech Mechanical Engineering attended the conference.

The theme of the conference was Automotive Electronics (Powertrain, Infotainment & HMIs). Welcome address was delivered by Mr. Deepangshu Dev Sarmah, Editor- in-chief, Autotech Review. Mr. Sarmah highlighted the objective of the conference and said that as manufacturing sector is growing and so there are more business opportunities available in Automotive Electronics sector. These business opportunities must be seized by the investors.

Opening Session

Keynote address was delivered by Dr. R. K. Malhotra is President of the Indian Chapter of International Council of Combustion Engines (CIMAC) President of the Tribology Society of India, Senior Vice President of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE India). Dr. Malhotra discussed that in the last two decades most of the innovations have been in the area of electrical assist and electronic controls and the auto industry. Evidently as most innovations depend heavily on the use of sensors, actuators and controllers, the electronic content per vehicle is slated to witness a phenomenal increase from nearly 30 percent in todays vehicles to as high as 50 percent in vehicles of 2030.

Mr. Sajid Mubashir, Member (R&D), National Automotive Board, Department of Heavy Industries, Government of India explained about AUTOSAR Consortium, AUTOSAR is an Auto Open System Architecture. Mr. Mubashir said that the use of electronic hardware and software is growing in automobile sector. Mr. Mubashir discussed about the following:

1. S3C opportunities (Software standards for smart Cards)

2. Toyota Hybrid Drive

3.Battery life in electric vehicles.

4. Methods to reduce cost of the battery

5. Climate control.

Mr. Mubashir also explained about National Mission on Electric Mobility. The program was launched on April 8th , 2015 by Government of India. The objective of the mission is to support the manufacturing and sales of affordable xEVs. This All India scheme was launched to cover vehicles in all segments (2W, 3W, 4W & Buses). The priority area of the mission is:

1. Energy storage

2. Motors and drives

3. Vehicle system and integration

4. Systems research

5. Public charging system

5. AC & DC Charging for electric vehicles.

6. Battery Bank

Mr. Prana Tharthiharan Natarajan, Program Manager, Automotive and Transportation, Frost and Sullivanpresented exclusive white paper on the growth potential of Chassis Systems Electrification and Active safety integration for automotive Electronics. The white paper focuses on the areas of prospective improvements in active safety technology integration in Indian vehicles and electrification of chassis systems. The number of electronics control units (ECUs) in Cars is reducing but the capability of each one is increasing. The paper also discusses Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) and post crash braking that can potential save 20 % more lives in case of an accidents.

Session 1 – Powertrain Electronics

Mr. Ashish Deshpande, Lead Technology Specialist, ANSYS India, highlighted application of ANSYS in automobile design and analysis. He discussed the role of system Engineer as an integrator who works in coordination with all other engineers from Mechanical, Computer and Electronics. He also discussed the concept of the reduced order model and an electric power train.

Mr. Eric Billiet, Chief Technology Officer, Magneti Marelli UM Electronics India, discussed integration of Electronics and Mechanical in bikes. Mr. Billiet highlighted five thrust areas for bike design as:

1. Safety

2. Traction Control

3. Improvement in the quality of the mobilizer,

4. Improving durability

5. Improving Fuel economy

Mr. Billiet explained the fact that by using EFI System in state of carburetor the mileage can be enhanced 80Kmpl from 52-55 Kmpl in city driving. To improve safety features in vehicles the concept of vehicle immobilizer and integration of immobilizer with Electronic Control Unit (ECU) was discussed.

Mr. Rajendra Dond, Senior Manager-Volkswagen India, Technical Development-E&E, New Product Development,elucidated the future challenges for diesel emissions. He discussed about the method to control Carbon Monoxide and Nitrogen Oxide. Mr. Dond commended efforts done by Volkswagen to electrify vehicle in all segments. He also discussed about diesel engine management system and turbo charged gasoline engines. He concluded by saying that Future of auto industry is “Electrified Powertrains”.

Mr. Kishore Rao, Managing Director, Math Works India Pvt. Ltd. explained model based design for automobile and adoption powertrain system development in India. Mr. Rao quoted example of Toyota for using model based design approach car design. Mr. Rao also spoke on an opportunity in engineering data analysis and front loaded embedded software development.

Session 2: Infotainment and HMIs

Dr. Tapan Sahoo, Vice President (Engineering Research, Design & Development), Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) explicated recent infotainment trend adopted by Indian customers. Mr. Sahoo highlighted MSIL journey in car infotainment sector saying MSIL started from dot-matrix display and presently working on digital radio. He highlighted the following during his discussion:

1. Navigation with voice guidance

2. Display and smart phone integration

3. Connected car

4. Driver Assistance Systems

5. Bluetooth Connectivity

Mr. Sahoo also presented a detail survey on infotainment usage by Indian customers.

Mr. Bipin Pande, Technical Manager, Automotive Product Group, STMicroelectronics, explained about contribution of STMicroelectronics in supply of silicon globally and design of powertrain Electronics. He focused on the following during his discussion:

1. Infotainment

2. Car Electronics

3. Safety Features

4. Wireless charging

5. Battery Charging stations

Mr. Roopak Nath Senior Principal Engineer, HARMAN India, explained his perspective during session 2 of the conference. Mr. Nath manages Advanced Research on Smart Connectivity and Infotainment System Solutions. He discussed the following:

1. Integration of smart device in the car

2. Safety and usability of smart device in the vehicles

3. Smart phone versus infotainment systems.

4. Customize Apps

5. Car projector technologies

Panel Discussion on “Automotive Electronics:

In the last session panel discussion was held and following areas were discussed:

1. Opportunities in Powertrain,

2. Chassis Design and Electrification

3. Safety & Telematics

5. Future of Electric Vehicles in India

4. Design of Automobiles for saving environment , saving life and saving effort in driving

5. Driving discipline enforcement in India

6. Driving roles and regulations

During the panel discussion Mr. Sahoo communicated to the audience that Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) is committed to passenger safety and is coming up with safety package at affordable price for all of its cars in coming years.

The conference came to end with the hope that deliberations of the day can potentially change the way the Indian automotive industry shapes up in coming future. Students learned a lot about latest happenings in the field of Automotive Electronics from the conference. The knowledge gained from the conference will help them in selecting a right career path in future.