Tier 1 supplier Valeo is to reveal five innovations at CES 2022, which it says will transform and shape cleaner, safer, more autonomous, more connected mobility. CES is to held in Las Vegas from January 5 to 8.
As a leading partner for EV OEMs, Valeo says it has developed technologies from small urban vehicles to high-performance premium cars, such as the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which is entirely powered by a Valeo-Siemens eAutomotive system. The electric powertrain is composed of two motors (the rear eAxle provides 300 kW of power, the front axle 170 kW), the inverter (the brain of the system) and the reducer (the equivalent of the gearbox).
The Tier 1 supplier will also present an all-electric 48V motorcycle. The 48V systems offers a cost-effective way of electrifying vehicles and are particularly well suited to new forms of mobility, such as small urban vehicles.
Valeo’s third-generation LiDAR scanner will also make its public debut, before being made available on the market in 2024. The company says thanks to its laser-based system, this LiDAR scanner can detect objects invisible to the human eye, cameras and radars, located at distances of more than 200 meters. Its perception and analytical capabilities also enable the driver to delegate driving to the vehicle in highway situations.
In addition to the long-range sensor, Valeo is adding a newly developed LiDAR for near-vehicle vision, the Valeo NFL (Near Field LiDAR), which will make its world premiere at CES 2022. When used on driverless, autonomous vehicles, it creates a safety 'bubble' around them. As soon as the vehicle starts, it can display a 360° vision of its surroundings. On a highly automated car, it provides peripheral vision, eliminating blind spots.
The Valeo VoyageXR Panorama technology provides a drone’s perspective – without the drone. In practice, it displays on a screen a 3D, 360deg view of the car driving down the road, as if it were filmed by a drone. The innovation offers enhanced safety in remote-controlled autonomous vehicles and creates new travel experiences blurring the boundaries between real and virtual.
The company says it has also extended its role in assistance and protection to inside the vehicle by creating the intelligent interior. Valeo Safe Insight combines several technologies to (i) identify the driver and alert him or her in the event of distraction or drowsiness, (ii) recognise when passengers are on board and remind them to buckle their seatbelt, and (iii) detect when there is someone in a stationary car and raise the alarm in case a child has been left behind.
In terms of air purification, Valeo’s high-efficiency vehicle cabin air filters come in, which it claims blocks 96% of allergens and 99.4% of viruses. In buses and coaches, Valeo UV Purifier eliminates over 95% of viruses throughout the journey, including Covid-19. Drawing on this expertise, Valeo has developed a terminal designed to detect health risks. The device can detect Covid‑19 in under 2-minutes without any patient contact, with the same level of accuracy as a PCR test.