The automotive industry will be carried out through a generalized era of interruption. Electrification not only disappointed the culture of internal combustion of more than a century, but software integration has also promised to unify thousands of fashion car systems. Presented in CES, which represents Italy in its pavilion, some other component of the long -term automotive puzzle can be configured, which makes cars even more similar to modular PC devices. I talked to Ludovico Campana, CEO of Tuc. technology, the way your business expects to revolutionize automotive construction.
“To expand cars, a commercial installation and all these complexities are needed in addition to the product,” explains Campana. His vision, which began in 2013 and became a company in 2018, is to facilitate this process by offering a popular interface for most of the main parts of the car. Currently, the steering wheel of a car will probably have no compatibility with another, the board and the infotainment screen will be expressed on the platform or even in the model, and you probably cannot move a seat and perform all electronic settings. . Without primary reorganization.
Campana sees this as a major obstacle because the progression of new models or upgrades to existing ones wants to be faster in a competitive market. “That’s why automobiles haven’t replaced much since they were invented and it’s also the explanation why for existing problems,” he says. They can’t replace anything, because if they replace something, they have to rebuild industries, plants, and suppliers. The challenge of the European market, for example, is that we have lovely brands, we have lovely historic cars, yet you have a global that is now looking for something new. That’s why Tuc. technology was born. “
The idea was to create “one connector to rule them all”, although in the end the result was three connectors using a shared architecture. “It’s like the USB concept, but for structural and industrial devices,” says Campana. “It’s homologated for different regulations in cars and opens the possibility of something like the App Store in the physical world. If you want a bigger screen, you can buy a bigger screen because the modularity is enabled by the carmakers.”
The 3 types of connectors designed through TUC. The technology was called ARRAYPRO, Arraymini AndArraytiny, intended for other in-car programs. THEARRAYPRO is intended for seats and other heavy devices in the car. It is designed to meet the regulations of ECE R17, which means it can face a force of 20G. ThearrayMini is for paneling, cord steering and other systems, or outdoor lighting and wise gadgets. The recently introduced ArayTiny allows the connection of infotainment screens for features such as WeatherArray head displays, tool clusters and other various other operational or informational widgets.
All three connector types share technical capabilities, including support for 9V to 48V electricity supply (like the Tesla Cybertruck), delivering up to 400W of power to an attached device. Ethernet T1 is the data connectivity standard, delivering up to 1Gbits/sec throughput. Data transmission employs a standard Internet Protocol, like that used by Web browsers, smartphones, or Internet of Things devices. This can interface with existing automotive systems like CAN bus. However, while data is daisy-chained around a vehicle from device to device, Campana says that only automakers can provide access, so this won’t be a potential security weakness for car systems.
Although it is possible to interface with automotive high-voltage powertrain systems, this will only be at the control level. The focus is on the internal design of the car. “The concept is to create lovely empty cars with a technological layer that is our technology,” says Campana. A vehicle with TUC. Technology can theoretically be updated with new components, adding newer sensors. “The interfaces can be connected using a single cable to create the cabin of the future. The maximum vital benefits are load saving and customization. »This comes from the great simplification of a car’s wiring loom. “With classic wiring, the same style can have 20 other cables, harness projects and typologies. This means there is a lot to replace a screen. »
Simplifying this will be a popularization advantage of the connector. “Another allows for new business styles like an app store,” says Campana. Just like you customize your smartphone with other apps, having popular connectors can mean you can more smoothly replace internal elements in your car, such as seats, steering wheels, and infotainment interfaces. Do you want more or fewer physical buttons than your car? It can have an upgrade and will not necessarily want to be designed for your expression or style of car.
The interior of the car has other connectors.
Campana also believes that his company’s generation is streamlining and reducing the burden of coming up with new styles. Standard parts can simply be incorporated more easily into a new car design, or upgraded parts can be added to an existing new one. “We are telling automakers that they want to move their ideas, especially to the mass market, because with this formula they can have a less expensive progression process. Without other fragmented architectures and a single interface, they can simplify the progression chain. They can save about 20% on their style progression charges. Then they can open a new component business as far as possible. »
Features like infotainment screens of different sizes can easily be installed.
The TUC generation can be observed as a supplement of the software -defined vehicle trend that possibly popularized through Tesla throughout electrification. “We are like the moment of the trend began through Tesla,” says Campana. “But they concentrate on the screens. We build physical experience, not just a touch screen and interfaces. This is what makes it special, because the characteristics of the application and customization of the screen are pleasant, but they are not a complete solution for vehicles, because they are articles in which you have to live.
You can see where those progressions are happening in the hunt in the Chinese auto market, which is increasingly focused on emerging technologies rather than logo loyalty. When car buyers need to have the newest devices as temporarily as possible, car brands will need to be able to deliver them with the shortest progression cycle. “We can make Tesla’s bigger vision because they have already simplified the architecture of the car,” explains Campana. “We can help car brands do what Tesla does. “
The connectors provide a physical fitting, data, and strength in one.
“We focused our technology on the cabin of the future, but it could also be applied to some exterior modularity, such as cameras and sensors,” says Campana. “You could swap a conventional powered mirror for a camera-based system. The great potential of this technology is for mass markets. We spent six years making this happen. The lack of standardization is the problem, and we have the solution.”
The TUC. Technology concept, which will be presented at the TUC. hub generation workshop at the Venetian Expo CES, Hall G, Booth 62801, is already generating interest in the market. “We now collaborate with three of the five largest automobile manufacturers,” says Campana. “We can cite in particular the Hyundai Motor group, which is interested in our open innovation platform. We are just one step away from production and development. This still means that cars are still a few years away from moving beyond concepts, heralding a new technique for car manufacturing. “In 2027 we will see the first models on the roads. “
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