POC PROJECTS
EVALUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES OF THE PROJECT
Proof of Concept (PoC) is a part of project management, more precisely of project development. It determines whether a project is feasible in principle. This creates the basis for further work, as the project concept is either confirmed or projects that cannot be implemented are cancelled before high costs occur. The two most important reasons for Proof of Concept projects are the planning and structuring of the procedure and risk minimization.
We have already implemented proof of concept projects for many OEMs, designing prototypes, developing new software solutions, and conducting feasibility studies. With our experience in this area, we consider investment risks, critical requirements for software and hardware, as well as functional and acceptance tests of products or services with manufacturers, business partners and customers. This enables us to provide an accurate assessment of the effort and benefits of carrying out complex projects, thus enabling a well-founded evaluation of these.
To give an insight into our working methods, we have described exemplary proof of concept projects in the following:
DRIVING SOLUTIONS
With modern vehicle networking and innovative communication technologies, the interaction between vehicles and their environment is becoming more diverse than ever before. ZD Automotive is therefore engaged in research and development of vehicle networking and artificial intelligence to improve communication between vehicles, people and roads. We also promote the exchange of information between vehicles and the cloud for safe and comfortable driving experiences.
The aim of our Driving Solutions is to warn the driver of dangerous situations and thus make driving safer. In order to prevent accidents, warnings are already given during route planning for potentially dangerous sections of the route. To do this, we use advanced artificial intelligence that records and processes the driving environment, such as road conditions. The information about the road condition is transferred in real time to a cloud and compared there with data from other vehicles for the same route. All possible danger spots are then taken into account when planning the route of future trips by the navigation system, so that the driver can choose a safe and comfortable route.
We use the navigation simulation function in our own test setups to simulate a real vehicle environment and test the warning of dangers on the road. We also integrate an intelligent navigation system that reacts to traffic incidents to avoid traffic jams.
FACE RECOGNITION SYSTEM
Hardware architecture of the face recognition system
The development of modern facial recognition systems for a wide range of comfort and safety functions is costly and labor-intensive. Therefore, our software experts have determined the exact effort required for the development of a system for vehicle unlocking and driver recognition. This should ease the burden on the driver from the very beginning and, with additional functions, make the journey more pleasant. For example, the vehicle could be unlocked, and after getting in, the personal settings of the infotainment system and vehicle functions would be loaded. This includes adjustments to the interior lighting, automatic seat adjustment and the regulation of the air conditioning according to the driver’s wishes. This is particularly practical if the car is used by several drivers. While driving, the cameras allow the customer to see children in the rear seat via the infotainment system without losing sight of the road. The vehicle also detects if the driver is getting tired and warns him if necessary.
The technical implementation of these functions and the integration of a selection of them into the existing infotainment system was simulated by ZD Automotive and implemented in the real vehicle.
The following functions were realized with the face recognition system:
- Personalized music selection
- Automatic seat adjustment
- Child monitoring system on the rear seat
- Automatic regulation of the air conditioning system
- Monitoring driver attention
- Automatic adjustment of the interior lighting
HOME2CAR – BASED ON INTELLIGENT SPEAKER
We use cloud services to combine vehicle control systems with intelligent speaker. Customers can use the home2Car service provided by us to send voice commands at home, which can remotely monitor and control the vehicle.
For example, you can ask “Please tell me the next maintenance time” or give commands such as “Open the trunk” through Home2Car system. Not only in the real car, our HiL bench can also display the Home2Car system.
STREAMING
The infotainment system in modern vehicles should not only provide safety and information for drivers, but also entertain passengers. Our modern livestream solution is a completely new approach to this. With three different cameras, which film the passengers as well as the landscape and surroundings, the journey can be shared with friends, relatives or followers on social media profiles. In this way, particularly beautiful moments, views and journeys can be captured.
ZD Automotive has developed the technical basis for this. The cameras communicate via the vehicle’s own multimedia interface with the specially developed app, which enables sharing, recording and viewing.