Automotive manufacturers create opportunities for UK design engineers

Despite a broad belief that cars and other vehicles are made elsewhere, the UK has a vibrant automotive manufacturing sector. According to auto industry trade association SMMT, there are seven volume car manufacturers and 19 manufacturers of commercial vehicles. Between them, they make more than 1.5million vehicles a year, most of which are exported. But that's just vehicle manufacturing; a range of organisations, or tiers, feeds products to the manufacturers – the so called oems – via the automotive supply chain. And electronics content is growing rapidly. According to Freescale, electronic content now represents more than 35% of the value of a car. The company believes this figure could rise to 50% or more in the next decade or so. And it is this opportunity that has prompted electronic systems trade association NMI to launch the Automotive Electronic Systems Innovation Network (AESIN). The network is supported by such car manufacturers as Jaguar LandRover, Lotus and Nissan, as well as supply chain companies such as McLaren Electronic Systems, Freescale, Infineon, Renesas and Visteon. At the launch of AESIN in September 2012, NMI chief executive Derek Boyd said: "Cars are no longer simple mechanical machines; they are now dependent on electronic systems that make them greener, safer and more comfortable. A further revolution is underway, not only with a shift towards electric vehicles, but also with greater deployment of wireless communications for infotainment, vehicle to vehicle and infrastructure connectivity." According to NMI, the network will be looking to achieve a number of goals, including developing the UK's electronic system design market so that it becomes a leading global resource for the design of automotive electronics. AESIN evolved from the NMI's power network; an event held in 2009 with an automotive theme generated a lot of interest. Meanwhile, PowerelectronicsUK Group has identified transportation – and automotive in particular – as a theme. The move also made sense considering the automotive focus of NMI members such as Freescale, Infineon, Renesas and NXP, as well as the organisation's increasing focus on systems. And there is already a substantial base on which to build. In Boyd's opinion: "The UK has a strong base of vehicle, motor sport and electronic engineering capability and AESIN provides a specialist home for electronic systems innovation and supply chain development." Speaking at the 2012 Engineering Design Show Conference, Chris Aylett, chief executive of the Motorsport Industry Association, outlined the benefits of Formula 1 to the UK. "Eight of the 12 Formula 1 teams are based in the UK," he claimed, adding that F1 contributes £2.5billion to the UK's GDP and provides direct employment for 4000 people. Beyond the F1 teams, more than 3500 UK companies contribute to the F1 economy, supporting 40,000 people and 25,000 engineers. During his presentation, Aylett said F1 had created an unrivalled 'community of knowledge' in the UK (see fig 1). "This community works together in close proximity, delivering rapid response, high value, low volume prototypes based on high R&D investment. They do this using the exceptional 'know how' and 'can do' attitude of world class employees: engineers who rise continually to meet the next challenge." Tim Strafford, business development manager for McLaren Electronic Systems was another Engineering Design Show Conference presenter, outlining the development challenges involved in an F1 control system. "In F1, the drive to cut space and weight allowed us to optimise the electronic architecture and we now use a single ecu at the heart of the car to control and monitor everything; from torque based engine control with precise fuel injection and ignition timing of an engine rotating at up to 18,000rpm, right through to elementary control of the driver's drink pump." One organisation that joined AESIN shortly after its launch was design consultancy Plextek. According to company chairman Colin Smithers: "Automotive is an interesting area; in particular, how to bring consumer ideas into the car." Plextek's business development manager for the automotive sector is Andrew Ashby. He believes the UK is a fertile source of innovation for automotive technology and points to the influence of the motorsport industry as an example. In his view, tight control of the supply chain has made it hard for 'outsiders' to get innovative solutions adopted by manufacturers. He believes that, because car manufacturers have historically driven a low cost, low risk approach to technology adoption, they are now not in the position to deliver the rapid advances which consumers are demanding. "Manufacturers and their Tier 1 suppliers have to change their processes to keep vehicle content attractive to the consumer," he said. "They are finally recognising they need to construct a new delivery mechanism if they are to respond and survive. "Industries that remain closed to cross sector innovation and restricted by inflexible supply chains may suffer from stifled technological progress. As we have seen with Dyson, for example, the perfect solution can come from the most unlikely source. As people learn from people, companies and entire industries can take inspiration from design, engineering and manufacturing models being used for completely different purposes." In Ashby's opinion, AESIN will be a good way to enable this. "The consortium is, by automotive standards, a ground breaking group that will allow direct engagement between advanced technology providers and the various parties in the automotive industry. Since the launch of AESIN, we have seen discussions ranging from new industry standards to creating fast refresh software platforms for dashboard technologies." Ged Lancaster, senior manager, systems and software engineering, with Jaguar Land Rover, gave an oem perspective at the NMI's 2012 Future World Symposium. "The problem is that a car isn't a consumable." Yet drivers are more reliant than ever on consumer devices and are looking to use them in their cars. "One reason why we are pursuing the connected car is so we can remain competitive," Lancaster continued. "We have to enhance the services available to the driver, but making those services work is hard and I'm not enthusiastic about doing work that will generate customer dissatisfaction." Following the launch last year of AESIN, three workstreams have been identified: systems engineering; thought leadership; and skills. Systems engineering work is being led by Jaguar LandRover and supported by Plextek, while thought leadership activities are being driven by Visteon. Meanwhile, skills issues are being handled by NMI. Now, the organisation is looking to build on its successful launch. In the short term, an event is being held at Freescale's facility in East Kilbride on 5 March to discuss working in ISO26262. But looking further ahead, NMI is working on a dedicated automotive event in September that will allow its members and other companies to demonstrate their expertise to the automotive industry and to get involved in the automotive supply chain. For more on the NMI's automotive network and on the 5 March event, go to www.nmi.org.uk