Automotive and industrial supplier Schaeffler and Mobileye, the Intel company developing automated driving solutions, have agreed a long-term cooperation agreement to advance the industrialization of autonomous vehicles.
“Rapid regulatory and technological change, increasing urbanization and growing social awareness of mobility are increasing the need for alternative, novel concepts such as autonomous people or logistics movers,” explained Matthias Zink, CEO, Automotive Technologies, Schaeffler.
“They play a crucial role in sustainable mobility and are a future field in our Roadmap 2025. With the partnership with Mobileye, we want to develop autonomous shuttles to series production.”
The rolling chassis from Schaeffler is to be combined with the Mobileye Drive self-driving system in order to develop a new, flexible platform for self-driving shuttles and other vehicle products capable of Level 4 automation, ideal for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and Transportation as a Service (TaaS).
“Mobileye Drive is a versatile, scalable solution that enables any vehicle type to become self-driving. The new and innovative Schaeffler rolling chassis vehicle platform equipped with Mobileye Drive will enable broad deployment of autonomous shuttles and other driverless transportation solutions starting in the next couple of years,” added Johann Jungwirth, VP of Mobility as a Service at Mobileye.
The Rolling Chassis from Schaeffler is a flexible, scalable platform developed with driverless mobility solutions in mind, such as the transportation of people or goods and special applications such as mobile charging solutions or pop-up stores on wheels.
According to the company, a wide variety of variants can be implemented depending on customer requirements – from a simple drivetrain via an e-axis and central steering to the use of four Schaeffler Corner Modules. The corner modules, which the company states are currently being refined for series production, each allow a steering angle of up to 90°. They include the wheel hub motor, the wheel suspension including air suspension – making it possible to lower the vehicle for entry – the actuator for the electromechanical steering and a brake.