Innovations in lightweighting, advanced communications and better visibility dominated the 2020 Automotive News PACE Awards, which honoured 13 supplier winners in a ceremony delivered virtually last week.
The 2020 winners and their innovations, concerning Lighting and ADAS are:
Magna Exteriors: composite space frame
This new approach to high-volume production of lighter-weight tailgates and liftgates uses a composite space frame reinforcement. The structure meets automaker performance standards while delivering a 10% mass reduction versus steel reinforcements. The innovation also gives auto designers greater flexibility for new styling features with more complicated and bolder shapes. First customer: Toyota, for their Supra.
Marelli: H-Digi lighting module
A 1.3-megapixel digital light headlamp with improved illumination and finer resolution, using digital micromirror devices. The mirror matrix is illuminated by innovative high-current LEDs projected onto the street by means of a multilevel lens system. The first application is the Mercedes S-Class Maybach
Mobileye: Road experience management system
By equipping customers’ vehicles with Mobileye’s EyeQ4 chips and software capable of collecting and uploading up-to-date road data to the cloud, Mobileye are harvesting, aggregating, and localising data to create high-definition digital maps that work anywhere. The sensing systems record information on lane conditions, drivable paths through complex intersections, and static scenes such as road signs, traffic lights and on-road markings to 10-cm accuracy.
The first customer is Volkswagen.
Valeo: XtraVue trailer
This magic see-thru system gives drivers improved rear visibility when pulling a trailer. Valeo’s system creates an unobstructed view from the cockpit, as though the trailer isn’t there. XtraVue works by combining the real-time video feeds of two cameras, one on the back of the towing vehicle and the other on the back of the trailer. The two images are aligned and light-matched into a single enhanced rear view. The first customer is GMC on their Sierra Heavy Duty pickup truck.