Tech

nolo

gy

- a news magazine for

engineers in theVolvo Group

No. 2 2002

Paperless office for Buses

Eye behaviour research enhances safety

Research benefits Europeand Trollhättan

Impressive 3P Tech Show

The Volvo Anti-theft System

Industrial PhD programmeat Volvo 3P

Technology magazine

The advances achieved by the engi-

neering functions of the three

Volvo Group truck companies

(Mack, Renault and Volvo) world-

wide, under the pressures of the

integration process, are worthy of

high recognition. Despite a number

of major challenges, all have con-

tinued with their work and achieved

significant progress under difficult

conditions.

In particular, the recent 3P

Advanced Engineering Tech Show

in Lyon demonstrated that a great

deal is happening on every front

within the product development

functions of these companies.

Our work during the integration

process shows that there are still

many issues to be addressed – and

very many attitudes to change – at

both local and global level. Much

criticism and many questions have

been raised in what is a complex

organisation, and we could not

have moved forward without these

discussions. However, the way

ahead is now clear, and the time

has come for all of us to genuinely

implement our new, multi-brand,

globally focused organisation.

While many of us are working

hard to build the new organisation,

I know that not everybody under-

stood the full potential of what was

achievable when the new organisa-

tion was first announced. However,

we must all take a hard look at the

reality of the truck industry today.

The higher demands to which truck-

makers are now exposed make

joint R&D a necessity and show

that operation of the truck busi-

nesses on a standalone basis is not

a viable scenario in the long term.

The combined strength of Mack,

Renault and Volvo provides us with

a great opportunity. We are on the

way to developing the first world-

wide platform in the truck industry.

We have the capability to become

No.1 in the world in the years

ahead – a position which none of

the companies could realistically

have achieved on its own. I am

happy that the merger has taken

place since it gives us the opportu-

nity of becoming a true world lead-

er in our industry.

Ultimately, we will overcome the

problems – we have the knowledge

and the skilled people to do it!

Strong leadership will also be

essential.

Our volume base is such that we

can work closely with key global

suppliers as preferred customers.

This enables us to be the first to

benefit from their innovations and

to secure optimal long-term part-

nerships with them. Product devel-

opment is an integral element of all

purchases and the process is work-

ing extremely well.

This combination of factors gives

us sufficient strength to defeat our

competitors!

The full implementation of seg-

mentation and a multi-brand phi-

losophy is of vital importance. Our

organisation is now geared to meet

this challenge and all of us must

work towards the same goal!

I feel that the integration process

has gone well in North America,

with Greensboro focusing on high-

way trucks and Allentown on the

vocational sector. We need to carry

through this thinking in Europe,

where Lyon, for example, should be

focusing on distribution – every-

where and not just locally.

Although we have to work in

multi-brand mode, it is equally

important to protect and support

the individual image of each brand.

Thus, Volvo is world-famous in the

long-haul sector, while Renault is

known for being ‘innovative’ and

‘caring and daring’, and Mack’s dur-

ability will forever be synonymous

with the slogan ‘Built like a Mack’.

We will remain faithful to these

concepts!

I firmly believe that our present

course is the one which will best

support and preserve our three

strong brands – both now and in

the future. We have to combine our

forces and we have the chance to

do so now. Serving more customers

will be our means of survival.

This is an exciting time. There are

very many success stories and we

have made significant progress

towards full integration!

Hugo van Belleghem

Senior Vice President,

Product Development, 3P

Embracing a multi-brand philosophy

Cover photo: Work in full swing at Volvo Buses’ new experimental workshop. (Photo: Roger Lundsten)

Technology magazine

3

Not a scrap of unnecessarypaper, a meticulously desig-ned office layout and a gen-erously sized workshop –Volvo Buses’ new productdevelopment facility is pur-pose-built for its applica-tion!

I N A U G U S T , the Volvo Busesdevelopment department movedto new premises in the rapidlyexpanding Göteborg harbourarea of Arendal.

Lars-Eric Ericsson, head of theVolvo Buses technical depart-ments at Product Development,was in charge of the move. Theproject manager was IngmarBörjesson, head of the prototypeworkshop and testing function.

The entire Product Develop-ment workforce – 250 officestaff and a total of almost 60workshop personnel – has beentransferred to ARAK (office)and ARAL (workshop), as thetwo parts of the facility areknown.

Right on time“The timetable, which was final-ised in December 2001, wasadhered to exactly,” commentsLars-Eric, “as was the cost sched-ule. This included a considerableamount of personnel training,particularly in the use of Out-look. Our aim is create the trulypaperless office. Outlook con-tains a series of functions whichcan be used to replace papertransactions, especially docu-ment storage. For this reason,nobody is allowed more thanone bookshelf – and there are noexceptions!”

There are basically no parti-tions in the office, except aroundthe centrally located conferenceand printer rooms, and the

small, individual workroomswhich are required. The work-places are positioned four-by-four in a configuration whicheliminates the feeling that thereis somebody ’looking over one’sshoulder’.

“We have also been able toequip the conference rooms withPCs since the engineers no long-er need both a workstation and aPC. The modern workstation hasa ‘virtual PC’ built in,” explainsLars-Eric Ericsson.

“Everything that was done aspart of the move was costed andeverything that we do has to beprofitable. To this end, we haveestablished an in-house commit-tee, with floor managers, toensure that standards are main-tained and all viewpoints areconsidered.”

Security rulesLars-Eric explains that the moveto the three-storey building wasmade on the basis of security.The ground floor is occupied bya public restaurant and assemblyarea, a reception desk anddepartments with a largely cus-tomer interface – purchasing,service publications and productlines. The first floor is occupiedby the groups working onframes, installation and vehicledynamics, as well as projects.The second floor, which is themost secret, houses theadvanced engineering, power-train and electrical/electronicsystem groups.

The generously sized workshopis located in the adjoining build-ing.

“This is the reason we chosethis precise location,” says Lars-Eric. “Autoliv built the work-shop to produce an order whichfell through, and we were able

Paperless office for Buses

Lars-Eric Ericsson(right) and IngmarBörjesson.

Behind chassis: From left: Olav-ToreHeimholt, Lars-EricThorin, Dan Lindbergand Göran Magnus-son. In front of chassis:Göran Hermansson-Malm (kneeling) andMikael Brude.

Continued on page 7

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Technology magazine

E N T I T L E D Driving Support fromVISual Behavior RECognition(VISREC), Trent Victor’s pro-ject is co-funded by the the Pro-gram Board for Swedish Auto-motive Research.

“The basic objective is to pre-vent accidents due to lack ofattention. This may be caused,for example, by a mobile phone,drowsiness or other distrac-tions,” he explains. “We want toidentify new applications andproducts which enhance safety.

“There are several peopleworking on Attention SupportSystems at VTEC. My focus hasbeen to examine specificallyhow eye behaviour can be usedin this context, as distinct fromother sensors, such as radar, lanetracking or steering wheel move-ments.”

Accident statistics show thatdriver inattention (visual distrac-tions, ‘looking-without-seeing’and drowsiness) is the primarycause of accidents. In the USAalone, this represents 1.2 millioncollisions per year, mainly of therear-end and run-off-road types(Wang et al., 1996).

Three-stage approachTrent explains that the work iscarried out in three stages underthe headings of sensors, detection

and applications.“A truck driver can be dis-

tracted by a great many thingswhile on the road. We must doeverything possible to design outthe causes of distraction. By par-ticipating in the developmentprocess, we can use simulationsand interactive testing to deter-mine, for example, if a new driv-er display on the instrumentpanel presents such a risk,” saysTrent.

“We have developed the VDM(Visual Demand Measurement)tool, which enables us to evalu-ate systems such as those in anew truck. Until now, it was pos-sible to analyse eye movementsonly by manual methods using avideo. Now, for example, we canevaluate an on-board informationsystem in a few minutes ratherthan several days.”

FaceLAB tool has Volvo rootsHe explains that Volvo has beeninvolved in the development ofan eye movement detection

system known as FaceLAB incollaboration with the SeeingMachines company. In thissystem, the driver is studied bytwo cameras and all informationdescribing where his (or her)gaze is directed, and how oftenand for how long the gaze isaverted from the road, isrecorded and analysed by VDM.

Taking his place in thelaboratory’s driving simulator,Trent studies his own eye move-ments in real time on the moni-tors beside him. The direction ofmovement is indicated andamplified by small traces.

“A researcher from theAustralian National University(ANU) arrived here in 1996with the idea of undertaking acollaborative research project todevelop the sensor. Volvo andANU subsequently decided toinvest their rights to the technol-ogy in a spin-off company calledSeeing Machines.

“So the company is part-owned by Volvo, and FaceLABis now used by most automakers,as well as by research institutesand universities.

“The sensor has practicallybecome an industry standard,and works well for analysing eyeand head movements, as well aseyelid closure,” explains TrentVictor.

Causes of distractionActing as sensors, the camerasrecord an enormous volume ofdata describing the subject’s eyeand head movements. Thisyields information on what thedriver is doing, what distractshim and what makes him tired,or even stressed.

“So how do we recognise dis-traction from the data werecord?” Trent answers his ownquestion:

“We traditionally use fourparameters to analyse eye move-ments in order to design out dis-traction:A Total task time B Total glance time (total

number of glances away fromthe road)

Trent Victor has been working at Volvo Tech-nology (VTEC) for a number of years as a PhDcandidate from the Graduate School for HumanMachine Interaction at Linköping University. Hisfield is the behaviour of the human eye when dri-ving a vehicle. He tells us that knowledge of eyeresponses can be used to design out distractingproduct characteristics and to develop new waysof maintaining driver attentiveness while driving.

Eye behaviour researchenhances safety

Trent Victor uses a simulatorto study his owneye movements.Every movementis recorded by thetwo cameras anddisplayed directlyon the adjoiningmonitors.

Sensors Detection

Product DesignAnalysis Tool

Real-timeAttention Support

Measurement of threetasks by VDM.

Accident statistics

show that driver

inattention is the

primary cause of

accidents

A truck driver can

be distracted by a

great many things

while on the road

Technology magazine

5

C Glance frequency (number ofglances)

D Single glance duration (average glance length)

“Research has shown that eyelidclosure (calculated using thePERCLOS algorithm) is animportant parameter in deter-mining that the driver is tired.Head movements are also ofinterest since they can indicateboth tiredness and a high work-load.

“These parameters areassigned to the three functionalareas of drowsiness, distractionand workload management aspart of real-time AttentionSupport.”

Own measure of distraction“I have also developed a newmeasure of distraction which Icall Percent road centre. Thisdescribes how often the driverlooks at the road during a spec-ified period of time,” adds TrentVictor.

“Percent road centre correlatesvery well with other glance-based indices. An advantage isthat comparisons can be madewith normal driving and all ofthe results can be computed inreal time.”

The recorded measurementsof various movements and devia-tions – not only from eye behavi-our analysis, but also from sen-sors such as steering wheelmovements and lane trackers –

can be used to design variouscountermeasures to distraction,high workload and drowsiness.Typical examples of possiblefunctions include:

Drowsiness management• to provide warnings and infor-

mation in the event of drowsi-ness.

Distraction management• to remind the driver to return

his gaze to the road in theevent of a serious distraction;

• to provide an earlier collisionwarning if the driver is look-ing away from the road orstarts to doze off;

• to programme the automaticcruise control system to widenthe distance with the vehicleahead if the driver is dis-tracted.

Workload management• to delay incoming messages

(such as phone calls) until thedriving situation has eased;

• to pause verbal or auditoryinformation (such as e-mail ormessage readouts);

• to simplify text and symbolson a complex display.

General• to provide post-trip informa-

tion reporting the driver’sattention history (how tiredor distracted he was, howhigh his workload was,whether he ‘wandered’ on theroad, and so on).

“These ‘antidotes’ or counter-measures, otherwise known asAttention Support HMI, arenow under study as the finalphase of my thesis.”

More and more distractions“In physical terms, it is becom-ing easier and easier to drive abig truck. The downside is thatthere are more and more thingsto distract the driver, such asphones, displays, TV, theInternet, and so on,” declaresTrent Victor.

“We must help drivers to real-ise the consequences of inatten-tion – something of which hemay often be unaware for pre-cisely that reason! The solutionsshould be perceived as discreetsuggestions, not as irritatingreminders.” ■

The images clearlyshow that the driver isdrowsy – an appropri-ate time for a warningto stop and rest.

The message readoutcan be paused and thesound muted automati-cally when the driver'sworkload is high.

In physical terms,

it is becoming

easier and easier

to drive a big truck

Technology magazine

6

ESTABLISHED IN 1994, NFFP isabout to enter its fourth phase.Volvo Aero (VAC) has commit-ted SEK10 million and SaabSEK20 million to the currentthree-year NFFP3 programme, atotal matched by the Swedishgovernment through theSwedish Defence Matériel Ad-ministration (FMV) and theSwedish Agency for Innovation(VINNOVA).

The two companies havesponsored 50 PhD candidates aspart of their comprehensive pro-gramme of collaboration withalmost all of the Swedish univer-sities, notably the active Troll-hättan-Uddevalla University ofTechnology. About 30 profes-sors are engaged as tutors.

One of these is Bengt-OlofElfström, research director atVolvo Aero and professor ofproduct development at LuleåUniversity of Technology.

Extensive VAC involvementBengt-Olof outlines the variousrelationships which exist bet-ween basic research projects car-ried out under the NFFP umbrel-la, to illustrate the importance ofVAC’s research to the EU’sframework programme and toregional growth in Trollhättan:

“A concept originated by a

university can bedeveloped further inup to five stagesthrough demonstratorprojects at VAC tobecome part of a pro-ject within the EU’sframework pro-gramme. Productdevelopment at VACbrings the project to‘Stage 9’, which means

that the product is air-worthy and can be manu-

factured commercially,” explainsBengt-Olof.

In this context, he drawsattention to the EU’s fifth frame-work programme, in which VACis deeply involved both in pro-jects, and in the Clean and Antledemonstrators (whose goals areto reduce emission levels andoperating costs). With its uniqueexperience in the simulationfield, Luleå University ofTechnology is also a participantin these projects.

The knowhow gained fromthese activities will be carriedforward into the sixth frame-work programme, which isscheduled to commence in2003/2004. In the military sec-tor, similar activities have beeninitiated as part of the EuropeanTechnology Acquisition Program(ETAP).

Major playersA number of major projects inwhich VAC will be a leadingparticipant alongside Airbus andRolls-Royce have been launchedin the civilian sector. The objec-tive of the ‘First Call’ will be tosecure resources for a project –Vertigo/Viaduct – to study virtualsolutions, as well as businessconcepts and their effects on theproduct concept. This pro-gramme will cost an estimatedSEK500 million. CostingSEK400 million, another project(Inrem) involving Rolls-Royceand VAC will simulate the pro-duction plant of the future.

The ‘Second Call’ a year laterwill deal with planning for a pro-ject known as VITAL, whose aimis to demonstrate a competitiveaircraft engine complying withfuture environmental standards.The project will cost an estimat-ed SEK1 billion.

“The foundation provided byNFFP is a major advantage toour participation in EU pro-jects,” stresses Bengt-Olof Elf-ström. “Ericsson Microwave isabout to become involved in theactivity and we hope to increasethe government’s – and our own– commitment to SEK50 millienin a new stage of NFFP.”

Innovatumhatches ideas“Apart from providing a plat-form which enables us tobecome involved and establish apresence in Europe, NFFP hasgiven us an opportunity – thanksto our major involvement in

Research benefits Europe and

Trollhättan

Basic technological research at Volvo Aero is car-ried out partly under the aegis of the SwedishNational Aeronautical Research Programme(NFFP). The findings contribute to raising levelsof competence in Swedish universities and insti-tutes of technology, generating greater competi-tiveness for positioning within the EU, andstrengthening the corporate climate in the city ofTrollhättan and its environs.

Projects under way atVolvo Aero include

‘Virtual manufacturingin product develop-

ment’ carried out byNFFP doctoral candi-date Daniel Berglund(nearest camera) and

‘Manufacturing andmodelling of fabricatedstructural components’

carried out by EU doctoral candidate

Henrik Alberg, both ofLuleå University of

Technology.

Research Director andProfessor Bengt-OlofElfström uses his bigwhiteboard to describeVAC’s research pro-grammes.

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“The foundation

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pation in EU pro-

jects”

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Technology magazine

modelling, simulation and visual-isation – to add the University ofTechnology here in Trollhättanto the exclusive company of themost reputable universities inEurope,” adds Bengt-Olof.

Since 1999, local activitieshave been coordinated by a tech-nology centre known asInnovatum, which administersthe smooth-running cooperationbetween the Volvo Aero, Saaband Film i Väst companies,mainly in the areas of design,production and media.

“The university’s three maindepartments, Manufacturing En-gineering, Media and WorkIntegrated Learning (we hope toinvolve the fourth, Health andHandicaps, at a later date), areideal for the purposes of our col-laboration,” declares Bengt-Olof.

“The objectives of Innovatumand the joint ventures – forexample, sourcing productiontools locally – should create 200more jobs in the region. Thisshould enable us to deliver theworld’s shortest lead time fromorder to finished product.”

Everything simulatedBengt-Olof explains that DLP(Digitally Linked ProcessControl) is an important Inno-vatum project.

“We are aiming to develop afully simulated production envi-ronment,” he explains. “Nobody

can offer that at present. All ofthe company’s systems, includ-ing its learning processes, shouldbe digital.”

He mentions Volvo Aero’sLinux cluster of 150 ordinarydesktop PCs, which was assem-bled by a summer trainee a fewyears ago:

“At the time, this was the sec-ond most powerful supercom-puter in Sweden – and it cost amere SEK1.5 million!"

A brief description of VolvoAero’s research activities withinNFFP and the EU’s frameworkprogramme might make themsound relatively abstract. But thefact is that VAC and other com-panies in the Trollhättan area areclearly world players in the con-text of the aircraft industry ofthe future, and in terms of themost up-to-date productiontechnology used in manufactur-ing industry today! ■

Continued from page 3

to lease both it and the newlybuilt office through the Volvoproperty company, Danafjord –at the same cost as our formerpremises. The workshop isequipped exactly to our require-ments, partly through the pur-

chase of used machines. Sincewe sold our old machines, it wasnot especially expensive to equipthe new premises.

“The materials testing labora-tory was the one facility whichwas not moved. This problemwas solved by concluding a joint

Göran Hermansson-Malm pictured beside the cutting machine.

agreement with a consultancyfirm to carry out rig testing. Thespace originally earmarked forthe laboratory was given over toa project room, in which we candevelop complete buses andview the results as they emergeby displaying digital models onthe wall. Adjoining the projectroom is a software lab where wecan simulate complete buses.”

He is also proud of the factthat Volvo Buses is pioneeringthe very latest ’caD’ system,Catia V5.

“Since design is the priority,only the ’D’ is a capital,” ex-plains Lars-Eric. ■

The DLP project at Innovatum in Trollhättan is directed by Project ManagerPatrik Andersson (right), assisted by production technician Mikael Andersson.

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Technology magazine

8

The impressive range ofdevelopment projects onwhich Volvo Group resear-chers are working at pre-sent was demonstrated clearly at the 3P ProductDevelopment Tech Showheld in Lyon at the end ofNovember. With BernardFavre of 3P AE, Lyon ashost, 3P’s Advanced Engi-neering function, led byNiklas Hamnstedt, exhibited40 exciting projects to the80-plus participants.

I N H I S I N T R O D U C T I O N , HugoVan Belleghem declared thattechnology, combined with effi-ciency and competence, is 3P’shighest priority. Using a seafaringanalogy, he reported that thecrew of the ‘Good ship 3P’ wereready and able to meet the toughchallenges which still lie ahead.

“It was not easy to select theprojects to be exhibited at theshow,” Niklas Hamnstedt ex-plained. “We had about 100 tochoose from, but we were for-ced to limit the number to 40.However, I believe that theseclearly illustrate the scope oftruck-related research and AEwork being carried out by 3P,Volvo Technology and VolvoPowertrain.”

The projects in question(some of which are still current)were conducted at Volvo 3P’s

four development centres inAllentown, Greensboro, Lyonand Göteborg. Some wereundertaken jointly by more thanone centre, while others wereexclusively local.

There were six project classifi-cations, each represented by 6-8projects. The areas were:

• Calculation, simulation andmethods

• Safety• Productivity• Environment and materials• Vehicle and transport systems• Comfort, ergonomics and

human factors

‘Massage seat’Our first visit was to the sixtharea (Comfort, ergonomics andhuman factors), where we founda number of driver’s seats con-nected to a computer. This pro-ject has a number of differentaspects and Maniphet LuongVan describes her experimentswith a ‘massage seat’ designed toprevent back pain.

“We study the movements ofthe spine while driving,” sheexplains. “The spine needs tomove and the purpose of theproject is to test a massagesystem which permits that.

“It is important that the vibra-tions are in tune with the fre-quency of the cab movements.Studies show that the driver isoften seated incorrectly and hasdifficulty in altering his or herposition. The massaging action isuseful for this reason,” she be-lieves.

Universal rear and silent headManiphet Luong Van tells usthat she is studying seating com-fort in trucks for her doctorate,although a great deal of researchremains to be done.

“Comfort also costs and theproblem is to identify solutionswhich combine satisfactory cha-racteristics with the right coststructure in production-readyproducts.”

She also describes the RenaultTrucks test module, whichresembles the human rear andpermits the comfort of the seatcushion to be evaluated objec-tively. The module is universaland can be adapted to simulatehumans of all sizes and weights.

“This provides an objectiveway of talking to suppliers andcustomers,” she says and goes onto describe some of her work onthe ‘silent head’, a method of fil-tering off low-frequency noisefrom an area around the driver’shead. This is a project which att-racts a great deal of curiosity.

Coloured plasticThe Environment and materialsarea includes a number ofinteresting projects from theUSA – one dealing with a carbonfibre bonnet several kilogramslighter than conventional com-ponents, and another with alu-minium brake drums. Otherexhibits include the exteriornoise control and exhaust activemuffler projects from the chassisdepartment at 3P in Lyon, bothconducted by Philippe Vignassa.

A project on the use of anenvironmentally compatibleplastic in cab exteriors was the‘baby’ of Karl-Johan Bengtssonof Cabs, Exterior in Göteborg.

“Sixty-five percent of all ofour cabs leave the plant as ‘whitegoods’ and painting accounts for60% of the cost of finishing acab-in-white. To reduce thiscost, we have developed a col-oured plastic possessing thenecessary environmental anddurability properties. This offersthe prospect of considerablesavings, which is not usually thecase with environmental solu-tions,” he says.

Karl-Johan notes that the plas-tic is a 100% renewable, biologi-cal polymer made from cellulose

Impressive 3P Tech Show

Three powerfulRenault trucks were the first sight to greetvisitors to the 3P AETech Show.

One of the trucks waspacked with interes-ting safety features.

The projects

were conducted

at Volvo 3P’s

four development

centres

Technology magazine

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extract, in other words, fromplant fibres such as maize flouror wood. The material is alsoflexible and suitable for injectionmoulding.

Safe tunnelsSafety is always of interest in aVolvo context and the exhibitsincluded the EU Safe tunnel pro-ject, in which 3P is a participant.The system enables a truck tocommunicate with its environ-ment and warns the driveragainst entering a tunnel with afault capable of causing an acci-dent. The vehicle’s own sensorsinteract with those of the sur-roundings by means of an advan-ced telematics system. This iscertainly an area of currentinterest given the number oftunnel accidents which haveoccurred in recent years.

Demonstrated by AndersAgnvall and Petter Larsson fromVolvo Technology, the equip-ment used to analyse eye move-ments (described in anotherarticle in this issue) was also onview at the Tech Show.

Valérie Delachat from Lyondescribed her Steer-by-wire andDrive-by-wire projects – anotherarea of extensive research in the

industry. One of the excitingprojects in the area of Vehicleand transport systems was entit-led Virtual tow bar – automatedplatoon, a system which ‘pulls’the truck along as though on astring when driving on themotorway.

Mack ‘Birdcage’The middle of the floor wasoccupied by a Mack cab. LouisPaviet tells us about this jointproject between Mack andRenault:

“We call it the ‘Birdcage’. The

purpose was to manufacture acomplete cab (such as a seriesCH unit) from aluminium,” heexplains. “We wanted to see if analuminium cab has the same tor-sional rigidity, the same crashresistance and the same durabili-ty as a steel one.”

“The cab is built from extru-ded sections joined by alumini-um welding. The basic frame isbuilt from sheet moulding com-pound (SMC) panels for rigidity.The biggest advantage is the 40-45% reduction in weight.

“Four prototype cabs havebeen built and we have evencrash-tested one of them. Theresults comply with all of Mack’sstandards,” says Louis Paviet, notwithout pride.

Although the 3P AE TechShow could fill many morecolumn inches, the above pro-jects should provide a flavour ofthe hectic pace of activity in pro-duct development today. To theobserver, this offers enormoushope for the future! ■

Bernard Favre and Niklas Hamnstedtorganised the Tech Show.

The driving simulator for filming eye movements aroused great interest among the 80-plus participants.

Maniphet Luong Van is developing a ‘massage seat’for trucks.

Louis Paviet of 3P Cab Lyonwas involved in the ‘Birdcage’aluminium cab project.

Karl-Johan Bengtssondemonstrates the bio-logical polymer plasticwhich has been devel-oped to protect the en-vironment and savemoney.

Day Two of the Tech Show was devoted to a series of inte-resting workshops. Strict secrecy was the order of the day.

“We wanted

to see if an alumi-

nium cab has the

same torsional

rigidity as a steel

one”

Technology magazine

10

The day before Technologyinterviewed Lars Göran Ekabout the Volvo Anti-theftSystem, the Göteborgs-Posten daily reported onthe rapidly increasing waveof truck robberies currentlytaking place on the roads ofSweden and other coun-tries. In this situation, theintroduction of an anti-theftprotection system for truck-ers is certainly well timed.

“H I G H W A Y R O B B E R Y a lucra-tive business” screamed the G-Pheadline over a story describingthe robbery – possibly using agas – of a truck driver and his11-year old daughter at a reststop on a German autobahn.Happily – although the driverdid lose his wallet and mobilephone – the pair escaped with-out injury and the cargo wasuntouched.

“We can offer a safety systemwith an extremely high custom-er value for all Volvo trucks”says Lars Göran Ek, manager ofthe Volvo Anti-theft Systemproject. With one of theseinstalled, we can guarantee thatthe thieves involved in theGerman incident would havetaken off empty-handed oncethe siren sounded.”

Based on demands from theDutch insurance industry body,SCM, and its British counter-part, Thatcham, the system tooktwo years to develop.

EU-approved“In practice, the system is EU-approved following its certifica-tion by the British VehicleCertification Agency (VCA).Excellent teamwork enabled usto meet all of their require-ments,” remarks Lars Göran.

He adds that Renault alreadyhas its own anti-theft system,which, however, is based on adifferent electronics architecture.

“We expect that the next gen-eration will be common and willinclude additional functions,such as a gas sensor, as well as afifth wheel sensor andalarms on compartmentswith doors to preventthe theft of trailersand loads.

“The currentdesign of the VolvoAnti-theft Systemprovides driverswith excellent pro-tection. It is also in-terconnected withthe engine immob-iliser to prevent thetheft of the completerig.”

Expert ItaliansLars Göran tells us that thesystem was developed in col-laboration with Delta Elettronicaof Italy, which markets the well-known Cobra brand of alarm andsafety products.

“Delta has a staff of pleasantand highly expert people,” saysLars Göran Ek. “We found outlater that we really had chosenthe best possible partner. TheVolvo project group was alsocomprised of very progressivepeople from various depart-ments. Simon Andersson, chief

electrical engineer, and myselfboth worked full-time, whileabout ten other members fromfunctions such as Parts,Purchasing, Production, Cabsand Product Design wereinvolved on a part-time basis.

“I would like to congratulatethe entire project team which –despite an extremely tight time-table – developed this excellentsystem to the required standardof quality and within budget. Iwould also extend sincere thanksto our colleagues, Jan de Korte

in the Netherlands andRay Cattely in

Britain, whoassisted us

with

information from their own mar-kets and customers, and alsowith local certification by theinsurance industry bodies in thetwo countries.”

He explains that the completewiring is housed in a well-pro-

Perfect timing:

The Volvo Anti-theft System

With its 105 dB, the well-concealedVolvo Anti-theft System siren is an effective deterrent to the would-bethief.

The Volvo Anti-theftSystem project group.From left: Jörgen Lorent-zon, Larry Karlsson, P-O Brandt, Bo Olofs-son, Hans Emanuel,Lars Göran Ek, MattiasJohansson, Frank Zeljko,Simon Andersson,Christer Nordin, BengtRatzmann and StefanSvensson. Missing: Jan Carlborg,Mark Ball, Bo Franzon,Bodil Lindberg, BjörnHenriksson and LarsBrandt.

The driver is free torelax with the VolvoAnti-theft System onboard.

Technology magazine

11

tected location on board andthat the siren – which operatesat 105 dB(A) for up to five min-utes – is built in securely and isequipped with a standby battery.Needless to say, the flashers alsooperate as part of the alarmsystem. Operated by the sameremote control as the centrallocking system, the alarm is ena-bled when the truck is lockedand disabled when it isunlocked. The entire system isconnected to the on-board J1587bus and, of course, is alsodesigned for various other add-ons.

Open window no problem“An LED on the panel indicateswhen the alarm is switched on –which can also be performedwith the window down. Twosensors in the roof respondimmediately if an arm is reached

through the open window,”explains Lars Göran. “Allhatches and doors are also pro-tected by sensors.”

The movement sensor can alsobe disabled temporarily by oper-ating a pushbutton on the panelbefore setting the alarm. Thisenables the driver to sleep in thecab or, for example, to leave adog in it while the alarm systemitself remains on.

“The system also incorporatesa panic button, which triggersthe alarm after two seconds. Thetruck can be driven with thepanic alarm in operation. Thealarm is switched off using thesame button.”

The system is equipped withother sensors, some relativelysophisticated. One is mounted inthe front grille, while the elec-tronic control unit is providedwith a tilt sensor which detectsany attempt to tilt the cab. Thissensor incorporates an automatic

calibration function to allow thevehicle to be parked on a slope.

During production, the enginecontrol module and the electron-ic immobiliser are matched witheach other, and with other on-board control modules, with theaim of frustrating attemptedtheft by replacing the ECM.

Lars Göran Ek mentions thatthe system is available only onnew vehicles and not as anaccessory. This guarantees thequality and reliability of thesystem since retrofitting of thealarm would be a major job. Thevalue to the customer is alsoincreased since a factory-fittedalarm may attract a reducedinsurance premium or a lowerexcess than a retrofitted one.

“In future, it is possible thatcontracts to operate in certainareas will be awarded only tohauliers with anti-theft alarms,”believes Lars Göran Ek. ■

An immobiliser is anobvious part of thesystem.

Freddy Fuxin is a graduateof Luleå University ofTechnology. He became alicentiate in 2001 and hopesto receive his doctorate in2003. His colleague, PeterLingman from ChalmersUniversity of Technology,Gothenburg (CTH), has justreceived his licentiateship.Both are deeply involved inresearch and are vital mem-bers of Volvo 3P’s PhD pro-gramme.

S I N C E E F F E C T I V E cooperationwith universities and researchinstitutes is vital to a technologyintensive company like Volvo,several of the Volvo companies

operate PhD programmes. Thisapplies to Volvo 3P, whereStefan Edlund, manager ofVehicle Simulations & TechnicalSystems, has been working toestablish a long-term programmeof research in the product devel-opment area.

“Unlike many other pro-grammes of this type, our aim isto build up successively to alevel at which we can continueto provide areas of strategicimportance to the company withone to two doctoral candidatesper year,” he explains.

Freddy Fuxin and PeterLingman are two of the six pro-spective PhDs currently involvedin the programme.

Geometry the keyword“Geometry is the keyword of my

research,” begins Freddy, show-ing us his licentiateship thesiswith the title of Evolution andcommunication of geometry basedproduct information within anextended enterprise.

“The purpose of the project isto eliminate rework. Moderndesign is based on 3D geometryand many organisational func-tions ‘downstream’ of the designfunction can benefit from accessto a variety of such information.Two-dimensional CAD is nolonger good enough.”

Many users“The concept of an extendedenterprise embraces the geome-try users,” says Freddy. “Theseare to be found both within thevarious units – in areas such asindustrial design, chassis, cab,power train and electricalsystems design, parts and service,planning, and so on – and out-side the company in the form ofpartners and suppliers.

“Digital mock-ups are used asan integral part of this compre-hensive process. One result ofthe increased use of geometry isthat the number of physicalmock-ups can be reduced inearly stages. The reduction alsoimplies that increased number ofpersonnel must be able to workwith geometrical applications intheir respective areas of respon-sibility. In my thesis, theoreticalfindings and practical experiencewill be interwoven to develop ageometry management process.If a research project is to achieve

Industrial PhDprogramme at Volvo 3P

▼

Peter Lingman hasjust received hislicentiateship for histhesis on retardationcontrol.

“Two-dimensional

CAD is no longer

good enough”

Technology magazine

Technology magazineTechnology magazine – a news magazine for engineers in the Volvo Group throughout the world – is published by Group Issue Board – Technology (GIB-T)

Proprietor, GIB-T: Lars-Göran Rosengren, tel. +46 31 66 65 67, e-mail: lars-goran.rosengren@volvo.com

Adm. Coordinator, GIB-T: Carita Vikstedt, tel +46 31 66 65 61, e-mail: carita.vikstedt@volvo.com

Editor-in-chief and Publisher: Henrik Moberger, Tärnan Reportage AB, Göteborg, tel. +46 31 778 05 55, e-mail: henrik@tarnanrep.se

Translation and language editing: Tom Byrne, Techtrans Ireland, Cork, e-mail: techirl@iol.ie Photography (in this issue): Roger Lundsten, Göte Eriksson, Henrik Moberger

Graphic design: Anders Bodebeck, Göteborg, e-mail: anders@bodebeck.se Repro and printing: Typoprint AB, Göteborg

Reprints: Articles (including extracts and illustrations) published in Technology magazine may be reproduced only by permission of the editor-in-chief

scientific relevance, it must berelated to and challenge existingscientific literature in the field.”

Full braking controlWe meet Peter Lingman atCTH, where he is in the finalstages of writing his licentiate-ship thesis.

“Although I did most of thework out at Volvo, it’s impor-tant to me to have a desk here atCTH. This is a great help to mein my research and is also advan-tageous to the collaboration bet-ween the two,” comments Peter,adding that the title of his thesisis Integrated retardation control.

He mentions that he is thefirst PhD candidate to work atChassis, where he is involved incontrol technology and model-ling in relation to the design ofthe basic braking system in atruck. In addition to the ordi-nary service brakes, this includesthe Volvo engine brake (VEB) –the best on the market – and theoption of a compact retarder(after the gearbox).

Performance, safety and cost“The problem,” explains Peter,“is that these different elementsneed to be married together inan intelligent manner – in otherwords, a retardation strategy isneeded. The greater the numberof systems involved, the moreintelligent the control systemmust be – all with the aim ofassisting the driver in an increas-ingly complex situation.

“I am presently working toidentify an optimum mode ofinteraction between the differ-ent braking elements in terms ofmaximum safety, while contrib-uting to the highest possibleaverage speed and efficiency, forexample by minimising the costof brake and tyre wear,” addsPeter Lingman.

“The integration of on-boardsystems will be increasingly im-portant in future and the poten-tial for improving vehicle charac-teristics is very considerable. Thismay be a matter of combiningbraking and steering systems to

improve thehandling, or com-bining engines andgearboxes to improveperformance and comfort.”

Connection between projects“It is also important that theindividual research projectsshould combine to form a wholein order to utilise synergies andpromote cross-functional work,”says Stefan Edlund.

“In this context, Freddy’swork also provides the basis forfurther advanced research todevelop the optimum designprocess for cast components.Peter’s project relates to researchaimed at identifying environ-mental requirements for ourvehicles by means of advancedanalysis of the signals in the on-board data buses. It also coupled

with a project to determine howdrivers evaluate various types ofcombined perceptions, such asnoise and vibrations.

“In many cases, the PhD can-didates are associated withnational research programmes.This affords opportunities forfunding, as well as promotingfurther links with other re-searchers.

“Joining Volvo and the uni-versities together in a coherentresearch programme, in an activ-ity with many practical applica-

tions, is valuable to both usand the universities.” ■

▼

An almost complete digital mock-up (DMU).

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Freddy Fuxin is resear-ching methods of linkingall users of 3D geometryin the development process.

“The integration

of on-board

systems will be

increasingly

important in future”