| Ralf Schäfer, chairman |
There were three Tier-2 companies addressing the rubric “Mechatronics and Electronics” as suppliers during this round-table discussion: AML and Sonceboz dealing among others with actuators, stepper motors, cleaning systems, etc. as representatives for mechatronics and Mitsubishi Electric dealing with HID ballasts and LED drivers representing Electronics.
The discussion was covering 4 subjects.
1.Matrix Beam
Though matrix beam, created by electronic selective switching of arrays of multiple LEDs will definitely come in the premium upper segment of cars, there will still be room for “smart” actuators on the broader range of cars from the lower-upper segment down to the base segment in the next 15 years. Such smart actuators will combine different functions and thus deliver cost-effective solutions for the applicant. Anyhow, automatic leveling is also legally required for matrix beam systems, so this mechatronic function will remain. This remark guided the discussion to the next topic.
2. Automatic Levelling
A short but divided discussion took place on the requirement of automatic leveling for all cars. It was stated that sensor and actuator solutions will in future become much cheaper than today. Under such circumstances the additional safety benefit should be considered favorably versus a small economic drawback.
3. LEDs
First of all, from a technical perspective it was stated that actuators for LED-applications are quite different from known actuator designs for HID. This was a surprise for most of the participants.
4. Standardisation
A next critical discussion point was the missing standardisation of functions in the design of LED-systems. This missing standardisation will drive component cost and engineering resources to the top. Additional the rapid change of LED sources and lack of backward compatibility puts another burden by redesign cost.
Therefore it is absolutely necessary to drive for more standardisation. A guideline formulated during the discussion is “Standardise all which is not visible by the end-customer”. This statement emphasizes the need to keep the competition on differentiation to the real core perceived by the car-user and avoid unnecessary complexity where it is not valued by the customer.
If these conditions cannot be met, a delayed introduction of LEDs may occur for a broader segment of cars, especially also in view of the new HID solutions.
This strategic need for standardisation is mandatory for mechatronic components as well as for electronic drivers and electronic control modules.
