Automotive Engineering - October 2019 - 42

Q&A
Magna prepared for AV "marathon"

What are Magna engineers working on now that you can
talk about?
The big play is on the [SAE] Level
1, 2, and 3 autonomous driving. We
have a great foundation for the
vision systems, whether it's surround view or front-facing or rearfacing cameras. Euro NCAP is kind
of forcing a lot of features into the
front-facing camera, like AEB [automatic emergency braking]. We
have lidar, which we publicly talked
about going into production with
BMW. So, if you look at different
levels of cameras, the digital-imaging Icon radar and lidar and the
software associated with it, we
have what it takes to provide all
the features from Levels 1, 2 and 3.
We have the partnership with
Lyft and continue to work with
them on a Level 4 and Level 5 AV
stack. We jointly own the IP and
Magna CTO
we could use that to proliferate in
Swami Kotargiri
the auto industry or for the uses
that we see fit. With that, I think
we broadly cover all the necessary
building blocks for AVs. What is
more important right now is to see
how you can play a role and be
sustainable for a long period of
time. It's a marathon, not a sprint.
As you look at what to focus on,
are you talking with regulators?
When we did the rear-view visibility
system, which is kind of important
to this facility and our history, we
participated in all the discussions,
whether it's with regulators or SAE
panels or others. And we continue
to do that today. What's different
compared to 20 years ago with airbags or restraint systems is that
42 October 2019

safety drove things then. In this case, I think consumers are
starting to "pull," based on comfort and convenience.
Do customers have realistic expectations for what AVs can
do today?
Like any other technology, once you start having it in commercial scale, it's an iterative process. When we started having
lane-departure warning systems, people got used to the vibrations in the seat or the haptic feedback. For example, I'm still
used to looking in the mirror when I reverse the car, but the
next generation won't. They're comfortable with the camera
because that's what they started
with. I think that transition is going
to be extremely important for AVs.

If you look at different
levels of cameras, the
digital-imaging Icon radar
and lidar and the software
associated with it, we have
what it takes to provide
all the features from [SAE
driving] Levels 1, 2 and 3.

How far ahead does Magna look
when you come up with new
products?
If you look back into the history of
cell phones, you used to have crosschannel interference. You could hear
someone else talking on the line
because the usage grew beyond a
certain point that they hadn't expected. Today, radars might not be
in that many vehicles, but imagine
in the future when we're going to
have hundreds of thousands of vehicles with radar in them - how can
we have something that doesn't
have this interference? So, we said
we've got to get from analog to
digital, and that's how we ended up
with the Icon Radar.
What will it take to get from today's SAE Level 2 AV technology
to something more futuristic?
When you talk of AVs that are completely autonomous, you're taking
about a business model where there
might not be personal ownership.
With something that can get you
from Point A to Point B, without a
driver, the economics are very different. I think it will start in more
constrained geofenced areas -
where you can have a lot of miles
driven but not as many vehicles,
maybe. I think that's where you take
the first step, going from there to
full autonomy. I think full autonomy
is still a long way off.
AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERING

LINDSAY BROOKE

Swamy Kotagiri is Magna's chief technology officer and head
of the company's Power & Vision segment. Automotive
Engineering contributor Sebastian Blanco spoke with him at
the 2019 opening of Magna Electronics' new manufacturing
facility near Holly, Michigan. There, the company will be consolidating production lines to make and fully test around 12
million automotive-grade cameras a year. Some highlights of
our conversation:

Automotive Engineering - October 2019

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