Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2021 - 4

TECHNICAL
INNOVATIONS
EXECUTIVE VIEWPOINTS
Connectivity, AVs and new work patterns top-of-mind
for engineering leaders
SAE INTERNATIONAL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jeff Hemphill
President
Todd Zarfos
2020 President
Srinivasa (Sri) Srinath, Ph.D
2022 President Elect
Susan Ying, Ph.D
Vice President - Aerospace
Ken Washington, Ph.D
Vice President - Automotive
Engineering leaders who spoke about innovation and transformation at WCX 2021, from left: Roger Nielsen, Daimler
Trucks North America; Stephen Rober, Stellantis; Matt Tsien, General Motors, and Ken Washington, Ford.
Despite more than a year of COVID-19, lockdown,
component shortages and uncertainties, the outlook
for mobility engineering hasn't shifted too
dramatically during the global pandemic, as toplevel
executives remain bullish on new technologies
including autonomous vehicles (AVs) and
over-the-air (OTA) connectivity. " It's just a wonderful
time to be an engineer because there are
so many things going on, " said Matt Tsien,
General Motors executive VP and chief technology
officer, and president of GM Ventures.
Tsien and other executives talked about future
product and how the pandemic has altered
the work environment during the " How
Are Executives Driving Innovation and
Transformation " session at SAE's WCX 2021
Digital Summit. The panel discussion was moderated
by Dr. Ken Washington, chief technology
officer at Ford Motor Co.
Vehicle connectivity is top-of-mind for Roger
Nielsen, president and CEO of Daimler Trucks
North America. " We see connectivity as the
supporting technology to help our customers
with their business, " said Nielsen, noting that
connectivity is also a foundational system
for automated and autonomous driving systems.
" We're skipping [SAE] Level 3 automation
and going right to Level 4, " Nielsen said. The
reason to go straight to SAE Level 4 has a lot
to do with a commercial truck's sleeper bunk,
a potential lure for a sleepy driver who then
wouldn't be in position to handle driving tasks
during a technology hand-off. " As we go forward,
we see the autonomous world in trucking
being able to accelerate pretty quick just
4 June 2021
because of the needs we see in society, "
Nielsen said.
On the passenger vehicle side of future mobility,
Tsien said GM plans to introduce its
hands-free Super Cruise automated driving system
on 22 vehicles by 2023. The technology
debuted on the Cadillac CT6 luxury sedan in
2017. Ford recently announced that its
BlueCruise semi-autonomous driving technology
will be available via an OTA software update
on 2021 Ford F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E
vehicles fitted with the Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active
2.0 prep package. BlueCruise " is an example of
this continuum of automation where now we
can enable the sensor suite that's already been
integrated into the vehicle with advanced AI
(artificial intelligence) software to give the ability
to have hands-free, semi-autonomous driving
on the highway, " said Washington.
The pandemic and a microchip shortage
have altered business as usual, but creativity is
helping to solve immediate issues. " The biggest
thing right now is creating options for critical
modules and even the non-critical modules, "
said Stephen Rober, VP and global head of advanced
technologies for Stellantis. Options
have included looking at different suppliers,
different parts, and different pieces.
For workers, the pandemic has often meant
working at home. Engineers have re-invented
their workspace. " Labs have been created in
basements and garages. And instead of driving
to work and getting into a test bay, a garage or a
driveway might be the substitute, depending on
the maturity of the vehicle, " Rober noted.
Michael Weinert
Vice President -
Commercial Vehicle
Andrew Jeffers
Treasurer
David L. Schutt, Ph.D
Chief Executive Officer
Gregory L. Bradley, Esq.
Secretary
Pascal Joly
Jeff Varick
Rhonda Walthall
Joan Wills
SAE International Sections
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units comprised of 100 or more SAE
International Members in a defined
technical or geographic area. The purpose
of local Sections is to meet the technical,
developmental, and personal needs of the
SAE Members in a given area. For more
information, please visit sae.org/sections
or contact SAE Member Relations Specialist
Abby Hartman at abby.hartman@sae.org.
SAE International
Collegiate Chapters
Collegiate Chapters are a way for SAE
International Student Members to get
together on their campus and develop
skills in a student-run and -elected
environment. Student Members are vital
to the continued success and future of
SAE. While your course work teaches
you the engineering knowledge you
need, participation in your SAE Collegiate
Chapter can develop or enhance other
important skills, including leadership,
time management, project management,
communications, organization, planning,
delegation, budgeting, and finance. For
more information, please visit students.
sae.org/chapters/collegiate/ or contact
SAE Member Relations Specialist Abby
Hartman at abby.hartman@sae.org.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
FROM LEFT: DAIMLER; STELLANTIS; GM; FORD

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Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - June 2021

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