DICV unveils mechatronics lab for commercial vehicle development

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, has opened a new Mechatronics Lab at its Oragadam facility. This lab improves the efficiency of software architecture verification and validation, reducing costs by 70-80% compared to traditional methods. The lab employs agile methodologies to quickly identify and resolve software issues, significantly shortening testing and verification times.

The Mechatronics Lab verifies software functionality for DICV's trucks and buses, ensuring they meet current safety standards and are prepared for future global regulations. Pradeep Kumar Thimmaiyan, President of Product Engineering & Chief Technology Officer at DICV, stated that the lab represents a transformative phase in their R&D operations and serves as a hub for innovation. 

Dilip Shrivastava, Head of Mechatronics and Software Technology at DICV, highlighted the lab's capabilities, noting that it can verify and validate around 300 features and over a thousand signals within 10 days, as well as verify 600 fault codes in a developing product within weeks. 

The Mechatronics Lab facilitates the evaluation of various vehicle architectures without requiring multiple test vehicles. It can simulate and confirm rare fault cases that are difficult to reproduce in real-world conditions. The lab's infrastructure includes a flashing station for pre-production verification of electronic control units and an Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) setup that allows on-road data to be reproduced in the lab.

Over the past decade, DICV has established high standards for safety and efficiency in the commercial vehicle industry. The new Mechatronics Lab is expected to further this tradition by introducing advanced safety features such as Autonomous Emergency Braking System (AEBS), Blind Spot Assist, Driver Drowsiness Alert, and Lane Departure Warning.