Global viewpoints: technology leads the way
TRW sees vehicle control system in its future
 Aly Badawy, TRW Vice President of Engineering-Steering Linkage and Suspension and IVCS. |
TRW knows brakes and it knows steering. It is applying its expertise in those areas, and now in suspensions, to develop an integrated vehicle control system (IVCS). "Individually, there's so much you can do with steering and braking, but when you combine them you can really optimize the handling of the vehicle," said Aly Badawy, Vice President of Engineering-Steering Linkage and Suspension and IVCS.
The technology involves using brake signals to manage steering wheel effort during various maneuvers and on various road surfaces. TRW has developed prototype vehicles to refine the system and demonstrate it to the vehicle manufacturers.
The realization of such a system will pay off not only in terms of better handling and ride performance, Badawy said, but also in part reduction and build simplicity, and hence cost reduction. A number of enabling technologies are still being developed, and the system itself is probably about five years or so away from mass production, he said. Hardware actuation technology is very close to production-ready.
"The major issue is, of course, safety," Badawy said. "These systems need safety-critical software and they require more power than typical 12- or 14-V systems of today. How do we ensure redundancies and make sure the system is fail-safe. That's the issue that's going to take some time."
IVCS is an example of how TRW is using its expertise in software and systems integration to improve vehicle handling. "Active corners" is another TRW initiative and is a form of IVCS. In this case, the chassis subsystems (braking, steering, and suspension) are packaged independently in each corner of the vehicle. This is accomplished through actuators that are controlled "by wire" (steering and braking). Each wheel could be independently braked or steered based on information from sensors and onboard computers.
Badawy said TRW is working with two European OEMs on the development of active corners. Europe is more advanced than the U.S. in terms of vehicle stability control systems, electric power steering, and electro-hydraulic power steering.
A sophisticated TRW technology ready for the market is Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), which combines the capabilities of ABS and traction control with a new lateral stability control feature. The technology is in the process of being launched on the Ford Windstar. Major European passenger car launches are slated for the 2002, 2003, and 2004 model years.
A new single, unified chassis organization encompassing steering (including heavy-duty), braking, and suspension is helping to break down walls in the development process, giving TRW a big advantage over its competitors, according to Badawy. The group is based in Livonia, MI, with satellite manufacturing and engineering centers around the globe.
Another way the company is trying to gain advantage in the market is through implementation of lean methodologies. "It's focused, and it's driven very hard," Badawy said. "And it's not only in the factory; it's also within the engineering organization. We're driving best practices throughout the organization globally. I have worked in many other companies, and in comparison, the TRW implementation is really very lean in every facet."
To cut costs, the company has created Tiger Teams, cross-functional groups of employees who aggressively seek cost reductions on a particular global product line. TRW also has put together a harmonization team to capitalize on global economies of scale for purchasing.
The company is also using "technology road maps" to help guide its product development process. "This is our way of keeping in front of us at all times the steps and, of course, the measures every step of the way," said Badawy. "For each step, there is a strategic action plan detailing what needs to be done. "There is no other way to really know we are improving our operations," Badawy added.
TRW's corner, axle, strut, and crossmember modules generated more than $300 million in revenue for the company in 2000. Badawy said he expects that figure to grow by a factor of 2.5 to 3 by 2005. Within the past 18 months, the company has opened four new plants that do mostly modules.
Engineers at TRW have developed a new engineering tool accessible on the company's intranet that helps in the design of hydraulic rack and pinion gears and ball joints. The engineer inputs vehicle weight and other basic parameters into the system, and the program outputs a design appropriate to the inputs. Badawy calls it a breakthrough that was developed in-house based on Pro Engineer software.
