Over the past 3.5 years, the SofDCar project was dedicated to researching and developing the Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) - a pioneering concept in which vehicle functionalities are increasingly defined by software. This technology enables more flexible and efficient customization of vehicle performance as well as the integration of new, software-based functions to meet the increasing demands for connectivity, autonomous driving and efficiency.
The successful final event of the SofDCar project with the 13 consortium partners from industry and science presenting their results in Stuttgart took place on 13 and 14 November. Part of these innovative demonstrators and technologies were also presented at the Research Institute for Automotive Engineering and Powertrain Systems Stuttgart (FKFS) and the Institute of Automotive Engineering Stuttgart (IFS) - with great interest from all participants, the project organizer and the funding body. Both, FKFS and IFS, focused on the field of Digital Twin.
During the event we had the pleasure of welcoming Stefan Heidemann from Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate and Marcel Vierkötter from TÜV Rheinland Consulting to our facilities. As a result of the Predictive Maintenance work package of SofDCar project FKFS demonstrated the AI-based detection of disturbed LIDAR sensors for ADAS and its impact on subjective driving comfort at the Stuttgart Driving Simulator. This will enhance usability of future vehicles by maintaining the operability of driver-assistance systems during malfunctions or challenging weather conditions.
By using the Handling Roadway test bench in the project, IFS showed that the influence of chassis systems on the overall vehicle dynamics must be monitored and that small deviations from normal behavior can be detected. In future, sensor data from the vehicle fleet can be used for this purpose.
The response to the project results was consistently positive. In particular, the project sponsor and the funding body Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection recognized the innovations and the contribution of the SofDCar project to the mobility of the future.