The power of simulation to AV design and development
In this episode of the Future Car Podcast, Nand Kochhar, VP of Automotive and Transportation Industries, and I, Conor Peick, Thought Leadership team writer, continue a series of conversations on autonomous vehicles and how they will shape the future of mobility.
As the automotive industry moves into the future, automotive companies are faced with the challenge of designing increasingly complex vehicles to satisfy consumer demands for greater automation, convenience, and connectivity. AVs are only expected to exacerbate this trend of growing vehicle complexity. AVs will require state-of-the-art components from multiple domains including software, semiconductor chips, sensors, and electrical wiring. As these systems grow in complexity, they also must become increasingly integrated, driving even more growth in vehicle complexity.
This complexity becomes particularly challenging as the lifecycle moves into the verification and validation phase. Indeed, many estimates predict that AV platforms will need to complete the equivalent of billions of miles of testing to demonstrate their safety and reliability. Such a volume of testing is required to investigate non-routine traffic situations that are difficult to encompass when developing the self-driving system.
Completing such a rigorous testing program with real-world prototypes alone would be impossible. This is where modern digital simulation and testing solutions can change how vehicles are developed to overcome the challenges of the future. To dive into the topic of vehicle simulation and testing, Nand and I are joined by Robbert Lohmann, Business Development Director of AV’s at Siemens Digital Industries Software. We talk about the growth in virtual methods of vehicle testing and verification, how driving scenarios are generated for simulations, the role industry standards may play, and how the digital twin facilitates the future of automotive development.
Robbert Lohmann – Business Development Director AV
Robbert is an experienced project sales and marketing professional, with an affinity for mobility and smart cities. Robbert’s experience ranges from setting up companies and managing them operationally, to project sales and delivery.
Robbert has experience with sales for the port and material handling industry and with automated transit in cities and at airports. He has established relationships with actors worldwide, ranging from governments and cities to transit operators, real estate developers, urban planners, architects and airports.
Nand Kochhar – VP, Automotive & Transportation Industry
Nand Kochhar is the vice president of Automotive and Transportation Industry Strategy for Siemens Digital Industries Software. He joined Siemens in 2020 after nearly 30 years with Ford Motor Company, where he most recently served as Global Safety Systems Chief Engineer. In this capacity, Kochhar was responsible for vehicle safety performance of all Ford and Lincoln brand products globally. He also served as Executive Technical Leader, CAE, and as a member of Ford’s Technology Advisory Board. Kochhar’s tenure at Ford also included executive engineering leadership across a range of disciplines including in product development, manufacturing, digitalization, simulation technology development and implementation.
Kochhar has additionally been active in SAE International, where he has served as Chairman of the Executive standards committee, leader of a cross-industry group focused on driving standards for mobility, autonomous vehicle development, electrification and connectivity. Kochhar also served as Chairman of SAE’s Motor Vehicle Council for 2015-16 terms, after which he was named the Vice Chair of Technical Standards Board (TSB) in 2017 and then TSB Chair in 2018 and 2019.
Kochhar graduated from Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) with a master’s degree in Engineering Mechanics. He was inducted as a member of the Academy of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineers at Missouri S&T in 2005. He lives in Northville, Michigan with his wife and two kids.
Conor Peick – Thought Leadership Writer
Conor Peick is a Marketing Coordinator helping to create forward-looking content for the Thought Leadership team at Siemens Digital Industries Software. Conor collaborates with seasoned industry experts to produce podcasts, articles, blogs, and other forms of content focused on the trends and challenges companies face in the future, and the technologies that may provide solutions.
On the Move: A Siemens Automotive Podcast
The automotive and transportation industries are in the middle of a transformation in how vehicles are designed, made, and sold. Driven by an influx of new technologies, consumer demands, environmental pressures, and a changing workforce in factories and offices, automotive companies are pushing to reinvent fundamental aspects of their businesses. This includes developing more advanced and capable vehicles, identifying new revenue sources, improving customer experiences, and changing the ways in which features and functionality are built into vehicles.
Welcome to On the Move, a podcast from Siemens Digital Industries Software that will dive into the acceleration of mobility innovation amid unprecedented change in the automotive and transportation industries. Join hosts Nand Kochhar, VP of Automotive and Transportation, and Conor Peick, Automotive and Transportation Writer, as they dive into the shifting automotive landscape with expert guests from Siemens and around the industry. Tune in to learn about modern automotive design and engineering challenges, how software and electronics have grown in use and importance, and where the industries might be heading in the future.
