Bosch-BME joint efforts to develop key components for automated driving

Robert Bosch and BME (Budapest University of Technology and Economics) have concluded a three-year joint development project to support the production of autonomous vehicles. The closing event held on 13^th June 2023. at the Bosch Budapest Innovation Campus of Robert Bosch Ltd. hosted key scientist of the project who presented and demonstrated the main development results. The joint project employing nearly 30 BME researchers, PhD and MSc students and about 60 development engineers from Robert Bosch Ltd. started in spring 2020 and was closed at the end of May 2023. András Kemler, Managing Director of technical areas, location manager at Robert Bosch Ltd., who coordinated the cooperation with BME, said at the closing event of the project: “The success and experience of the three-year joint work with the participation of nearly 60 experts have laid the foundation for the continuation of the cooperation.” Dr. Zsolt Szalay, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Automotive Technologies at BME, added, “I am very happy and proud that our university was able to provide real value to one of the world’s largest industrial companies through collaboration and teamwork.” The project was financed by the National Research, Development and Innovation Fund within the framework of the “Support for market-driven research, development and innovation projects (2019-1.1.1-PIACI KFI)”

An organic part of smart city and innovative highway traffic concept are the shared, connected, and highly automated vehicles. Less kilometers driven and better organized traffic can result in the reduction of travel time and also a decreased level of emission and noise. Components that support automated vehicle functions therefore make a significant contribution to safer, cleaner, greener and more efficient transport. However, to achieve these goals, continuous technological development is indispensable. Effective and successful research and development processes require the use and improvement of rigorous, but always supportive validation and verification methods, and the use of cutting-edge test procedures.

Robert Bosch Ltd. and BME with the involvement of ZalaZONE proving ground performed a three year long joint research and development project with the main focus on validation and verification of sensors and components for automated driving. The project covered the development and extension of the validation and verification concept and process for the newest generation front camera and radar – including performance-, stability- and robustness measurements. For this purpose, a multi-sensory reference measurement system was developed. This system is capable of generating reference data supporting the evaluation and validation of the above sensors.

The researchers identified the test requirements and developed the methodological framework and the related software and hardware for the validation and verification of camera and radar-based environment sensing components to be used for automated vehicle functions. They developed software to support the testing of automated hardware reliability and HiL/SciL (Hardware-in-the-loop/Scenario-in-the-Loop) testing methodology, which combines real and virtual test environments to test significantly more traffic situations than in case of the previously available testing methods.