Component supplier major, Minda Corporation, the flagship company of Spark Minda Group and engineering simulation major, Ansys inaugurated a joint Centre Of Excellence (CoE), at the Spark Minda Technical Centre (SMTC), Pune.

The CoE was inaugurated Suresh D, CTO, Spark Minda Group and Rafiq Somani, area vice-president, India and South Asia Pacific, Ansys. The partners aim to strengthen and further improve the capability of finite element analysis in emerging automotive areas.

The Spark Minda Technical Centre, which was established in January last year, sees another major development here with the partners set to work towards future areas like connected, electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles, and advance driver-assistance systems (ADAS).

The CoE will collaborate for virtual simulation in upcoming technology areas such to improve the performance and reliability. The technical centre will also contribute towards testing and amplifying the technical capabilities of legacy and non-legacy products of Minda Corporation. It will nurture innovations to create breakthrough solutions tailored to address the market requirements and actively pursue opportunities in the area of new-generation technologies such as Connected Mobility, ADAS, Electrified Mobility, Body Control and Multi-function Controllers, Smart Security and Vehicle Access Solutions among others.

Spark Minda says the Centre of Excellence would be a prime functional example in creating some of the exemplary products and innovations in the areas of engineering and technology. SMIT is claimed to have the best-in-class NABL accredited R&D centre equipped with the latest test and measurement equipments, development tool chains & environment and fully operational laboratory for supporting development of embedded software and hardware.

The facility will enable capacity building for the company in advanced simulations, and a state-of-the-art EMI-EMC (Electromagnetic interference & Electromagnetic compatibility) test facility to cater to complete suite of design and product validation tests. The engineering and design office is spread across 40,000 square feet which is designed to accommodate up to 400 employees.

Spark Minda Group's, Suresh D said:  “Inception of SMIT has laid an ever shining milestone for Spark Minda Group. Inauguration of Centre of Excellence with Ansys will further strengthen and streamline the group’s focus in virtual simulations of the products. Expertise of SMIT and technological support of Ansys will help in improved testing and simulations of EV segments. With industry moving towards autonomous driving and enhanced simulated driving modules amalgamation of these two entities will help in deriving and address the global megatrends in automotive solutions.”

Ansys' Rafiq Somani, said, "The current transformation in the Indian automotive space is historic, especially with the marked move towards electric vehicles. The government is also encouraging this move by offering fiscal incentives and favourable regulatory environment. ANSYS would like to lead this move to electric with our expertise in engineering simulation that promises shorter time to market and higher quality. Our partnership with Spark Minda Group is a step in that direction where we play an active role in manufacturing in this historic transformation.”