ANDATA News
37th Conference on Driver Assistance Systems and Automated Driving in Aachen
On 25/26 June 2024, the 37th VDI Conference on Driver Assistance Systems and Automated Driving took place in Aachen. ANDATA was represented with 2 contributions.
On the one hand, the results and consequences of the COPE and DIGEST projects were presented and discussed in the lecture "Digital Twins as a Trustworthy Platform for Decision Support in Cooperative, Connected, Automated Driving".
On the other hand, Prof. Bortolazzi from Porsche, Prof. Maehlisch from the University of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich and Andreas Kuhn shared a discussion panel moderated by Auto Motor Sport Editor-in-Chief Alexander Bloch on the topic of How far are we realistic with ADAS and AF and when will which further developments come?
An exciting, open and honest discussion, in which a few unconvenient topics and truths were also raised...
3rd Place by Dominik Meierhofer at the Race Across America 2024
Dominik has delivered! Namely, third place in the Race Across America 2024 at his premiere! We congratulate him warmly and are especially happy that he finally reached the finish line healthy and safe!
As a reminder, what ANDATA's stakes are in the game: Safety Requirements from a UltraCycling Camps's perspective
Now it is up to us to deliver with our research and industry partners and to continuously advance our developments to avoid collisions with vulnerable road users. In any case, we are already eager to evaluate the data under his extreme conditions for performance and safety engineering as well as for motion predictions under wide varieties of circumstances in the American wilderness.
World Bicycle Day 2024
Anyone who knows us at ANDATA knows that we have a soft spot for 2-wheelers (powered as well as muscled).
As part of the COPE project (see www.project-cope.eu), we had already worked very intensively on the avoidance of collisions with vulnerable road users through V2X vehicle/infrastructure connectivity and collective perception.
We were supported, among others, by UltraCycling champ Dominik Meierhofer, who provides us with his motion data, including the recording of surrounding objects in thousands of bicycle kilometers per year for the detection and prediction of dangerous traffic situations.
In 2024, we continue our sponsorship and take the opportunity to get cycling data from the USA. Dominik will be taking part in the Race Across America this month! 5000 kilometers in one piece! We wish him all the best and much success! Ride safe!
Project 5G-MOBIS Shows Potentials for 5G Data for Mobility and Traffic
How can 5G mobile data be used in the mobility sector for improved traffic planning and control? Research Studios Austria, FG Studio iSPACE and the companies ANDATA and INVENIUM dealt with this question in the 5G-MOBIS project.
Improved possibilities in function and performance are promised by every new generation of mobile communications. This is also the case with 5G, which is currently being rolled out in Austria. As part of the WISS 2025 strategy, Innovation Salzburg and the State of Salzburg funded the 5G-MOBIS project to explore the possibilities of 5G in the transport sector. Now the project has come to a conclusion.
The project was intended to use 5G mobile communications technology to record passenger and traffic flows in a mobile cell unit so precisely that the resulting information can be used for traffic planning and traffic control. In theory, this has several advantages: For example, local providers could record and evaluate the flow of people using mobile phone data decentral. Smartphone apps do not access any data and data protection aspects are already solved in the design phase through clever local data preparation and abstraction of the data. The data will then continue to be under the sovereignty of local providers and detached from international cloud service providers. Such an approach could save very high costs compared to conventional traffic detection with traditional sensors.
The data basis for these investigations was provided by the company INVENIUM. INVENIUM is currently already the leading national provider of passenger flow analyses based on mobile phone data. As part of the project, the analysis options have been continuously improved.
"Intelligent intersection" thanks to intelligent use of data
The application of the 5G information on adaptive traffic control was contributed by the company ANDATA. For this purpose, the existing digital twin of the city of Hallein and its traffic flows was used to determine how precise the data in terms of temporal and spatial resolution must be prepared so that the detection and prediction of the traffic situation can be used for adaptive control of an "intelligent intersection". Specific procedures from ANDATA from the fields of AI and automated driving were used.
The iSPACE studio of the Research Studios Austria Forschungsgesellschaft (RSA FG) determined how the information from the mobile phone data can be used in traffic and spatial planning and prepared in compliance with data protection regulations. This included the analysis of passenger flows with different means of transport as well as of places of origin and destination in a regional context. Through the use of innovative methods of geoinformatics, mobile phone data in combination with statistical data could also be processed in compliance with data protection regulations and flexibly in terms of space and time. This enables a detailed view of traffic flows on different time scales and geographical levels. Among other things, this will enable improved planning of public transport to be realised.
Results invite further research
The project has shown that the basic idea works and that the tools developed in the project can be used in the context of "intelligent traffic control and planning". In practice, however, the mobile data on the current state of the art in 5G is not yet sufficient. This is mainly due to the fact that originally promised features of 5G were not made available by Asian technology providers in the desired forms. From a European perspective, it would therefore be welcome if more technological leeway were available again by regional stakeholders, as the project partners conclude.
Within the consortium, all tools will remain available and will be further refined to implement the specification for the necessary data and information for "intelligent traffic control". In this way, the research teams can introduce requirements and specifications at an early stage in the development of 6G, which is just beginning, and combine them with existing traffic detection methods in the best possible way.
With the help of Innovation Salzburg, a local network of researchers and regional companies was initiated, whose expertise lends itself to novel solutions in the mobility sector.
CARIAD to strengthen in-house expertise in active safety functions
CARIAD Group intends to acquire 24.5% of shares in VAIVA GmbH, an automotive active safety expert, from ANDATA, which is one of the leading artificial intelligence companies in the automotive software space. CARIAD Group and ANDATA have signed a share purchase agreement to that effect, completion of which remains subject to approval by antitrust authorities. Following completion, CARIAD Group would own 100% of VAIVA GmbH, thereby further strengthening CARIAD’s in-house expertise in active safety functions.
Several fundamental transformations must be mastered in parallel: electromobility, introduction of automated and connected driving, shift to software-defined vehicles. Ways of working are changing with the introduction of new development processes through artificial intelligence, data-based development as well as new collaboration and cooperation models. This requires a clear focus, concentration, and coordination of the various areas of expertise.
In this context CARIAD and ANDATA intend to reorganize their cooperation through the VAIVA joint venture. CARIAD Group plans to acquire the remaining 24.5% stake in VAIVA GmbH currently owned by ANDATA (Hallein, Austria). Audi Electronics Venture has held 75.5% of shares in the Joint Venture since its foundation in 2009 and CARIAD Group stepped in as shareholder at a later stage.
ANDATA will be able to focus on the innovation fields and new topics of customers within and outside the VW Group; driving forward and contributing its own solutions. VW Group brands will still have direct access to ANDATA's approaches and new solutions in connected and system-oriented development. This will facilitate collaboration with third parties (e.g. infrastructure operators and technology suppliers) - a necessity in future connected driving - and the formation of new, cross-sector innovation networks.
VAIVA has already supplied CARIAD and the Volkswagen Group with active safety functions for many years and benefitted from its long-lasting expertise in automotive safety software development. While passive safety systems, including predictive passenger protection, merely mitigate the consequences of an accident, active safety systems aim to prevent accidents from happening in the first place. This includes informing, warning, braking, and steering.
VAIVA’s strong knowledge base in developing active safety functions, simulation and accident analysis will enable CARIAD to cover 100% of active safety functions and software development in-house. The transaction represents an important step on CARIAD’s way to deliver a market-defining, 360° active safety platform with a dedicated software stack for individual functions.
“I would like to thank Birgit Kuhn for her valuable contribution to VAIVA in her function as shareholder representative. She helped establish the long and successful cooperation that has made VAIVA what it is today: a well-positioned player at the forefront of active safety technology for the European automotive industry. ANDATA has been a crucial partner for us and a major driver of innovation in the field of vehicle safety and connected, automated driving”, says CARIAD’s CFO André Stoffels.
Dr. Andreas Kuhn, CEO and CTO at ANDATA adds: "The introduction of cooperative, connected and automated driving requires in future new forms of cooperation and collaboration, cross-brand and cross-industry. We as ANDATA are pleased about the continuation of the cooperation and collaboration with the VW Group in the new setting, which also facilitates the introduction of additional new innovations by ANDATA. Above all, ANDATA will be able to better bridge the gap between the vehicle industry, infrastructure operators and other stakeholders and responsible parties in the transportation system."
"We welcome the new cooperative and more flexible organizational structure. The new structure allows us to better support and more easily integrate ANDATA innovations into our Roadmap. ANDATA will be directly available to us with full speed and innovative strength in the development of new vehicle functions," says Thomas Günther, Chief Launch Officer at CARIAD.
About ANDATA
ANDATA is a technology company specializing in the development and application of artificial intelligence and advanced simulation techniques since 2004. ANDATA has unique, combined expertise in the fields of integral safety, connected, automated driving and traffic automation. ANDATA is one of the founders of data-based development with artificial intelligence and modern development processes at Audi and VW.
About VAIVA
VAIVA GmbH was founded in 2009 as a joint venture between Audi Electronics Venture and ANDATA in order to establish ANDATA's development approaches more quickly within the VW Group. Since then, VAIVA has built up extensive expertise in the domains of ADAS, safety, virtual development and tooling with proven capabilities in timely and process-compliant implementation of safety-critical software. In addition to its end-to-end engineering services, VAIVA now offers technology & implementation advisory, and own products to facilitate system and software development.
About CARIAD
CARIAD is the automotive software company within the Volkswagen Group that bundles and further expands the Group's software competencies.
Established in 2020 under the name Car.Software Organization, CARIAD now has more than 6,500 experts worldwide working on a scalable technology stack for all Volkswagen Group brands, comprising a software platform, a unified electronic architecture, and a reliable connection to the automotive cloud. The company is also developing digital functions for the vehicle, including driver assistance systems, a standardized infotainment platform, software functions for linking powertrains, chassis and charging technology, as well as the new digital ecosystem and digital services in and around the vehicle. CARIADs software products can already be found in the Volkswagen ID. family – including for example the beloved ID. Buzz or ID. 7. The software platform E3 1.2, which launches in 2024, will empower the next generation of Audi and Porsche cars.
CARIAD has software competence centers in Wolfsburg, Ingolstadt, the Stuttgart region, Berlin and Munich, and has subsidiaries in China and the USA.
Original source: https://cariad.technology/de/en/news/stories/cariad-group-and-andata-ai.html
Further details can be requested from info@andata.at.