MOBILITY ENGINEERING Produced by SAE Media Group
MOBILITY ENGINEERING
Magazines
Magazine cover

Current Issue

Archives

Magazine cover

Current Issue

Archives

Magazine cover

Current Issue

Archives

Magazine cover

Current Issue

Archives

Magna Prepared for AV “Marathon”

Swamy Kotagiri is Magna’s chief technology officer and head of the company’s Power & Vision segment. Automotive Engineering contributor Sebastian Blanco spoke with him at the 2019 opening of Magna Electronics’ new manufacturing facility near Holly, Michigan. There, the company will be consolidating production lines to make and fully test around 12 million automotive-grade cameras a year. Some highlights of our conversation:

What are Magna engineers working on now that you can talk about?

The big play is on the [SAE] Level 1, 2, and 3 autonomous driving. We have a great foundation for the vision systems, whether it’s surround view or front-facing or rear-facing cameras. Euro NCAP is kind of forcing a lot of features into the front-facing camera, like AEB [automatic emergency braking]. We have lidar, which we publicly talked about going into production with BMW. So, if you look at different levels of cameras, the digital-imaging Icon radar and lidar and the software associated with it, we have what it takes to provide all the features from Levels 1, 2 and 3.

We have the partnership with Lyft and continue to work with them on a Level 4 and Level 5 AV stack. We jointly own the IP and we could use that to proliferate in the auto industry or for the uses that we see fit. With that, I think we broadly cover all the necessary building blocks for AVs. What is more important right now is to see how you can play a role and be sustainable for a long period of time. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

As you look at what to focus on, are you talking with regulators?

When we did the rear-view visibility system, which is kind of important to this facility and our history, we participated in all the discussions, whether it’s with regulators or SAE panels or others. And we continue to do that today. What’s different compared to 20 years ago with airbags or restraint systems is that safety drove things then. In this case, I think consumers are starting to “pull,” based on comfort and convenience.

Do customers have realistic expectations for what AVs can do today?

Like any other technology, once you start having it in commercial scale, it’s an iterative process. When we started having lane-departure warning systems, people got used to the vibrations in the seat or the haptic feedback. For example, I’m still used to looking in the mirror when I reverse the car, but the next generation won’t. They’re comfortable with the camera because that’s what they started with. I think that transition is going to be extremely important for AVs.

How far ahead does Magna look when you come up with new products?

If you look back into the history of cell phones, you used to have cross-channel interference. You could hear someone else talking on the line because the usage grew beyond a certain point that they hadn’t expected. Today, radars might not be in that many vehicles, but imagine in the future when we’re going to have hundreds of thousands of vehicles with radar in them — how can we have something that doesn’t have this interference? So, we said we’ve got to get from analog to digital, and that’s how we ended up with the Icon Radar.

What will it take to get from today’s SAE Level 2 AV technology to something more futuristic?

When you talk of AVs that are completely autonomous, you’re taking about a business model where there might not be personal ownership. With something that can get you from Point A to Point B, without a driver, the economics are very different. I think it will start in more constrained geofenced areas — where you can have a lot of miles driven but not as many vehicles, maybe. I think that’s where you take the first step, going from there to full autonomy. I think full autonomy is still a long way off.

Topics:
Radar/LiDAR Systems Automotive Consumer Product Manufacturing Manufacturing & Prototyping Software

More From SAE Media Group

Autonomous Vehicle Engineering
AV Powers Bring May Flowers
Related Article Image
Automotive Engineering
Growing Lidar for North America
Related Article Image
Autonomous Vehicle Engineering
GM Announces Door-To-Door Ultra Cruise ADAS
Related Article Image
Automotive Engineering
Aisin Opens New North American Tech Center, Will Add Engineers
Related Article Image
    Magazine cover
    Automotive Engineering Magazine

    This article first appeared in the October, 2019 issue of Automotive Engineering Magazine (Vol. 6 No. 9).

    Read more articles from this issue here.

    Read more articles from the archives here.

    Top Stories

    INSIDERDefense

    Feature Image Army Launches CMOSS Prototyping Competition for Computer Chassis and Cards

    ArticlesElectronics & Computers

    Feature Image Microchip’s New Microprocessor to Enable Generational Leap in Spaceflight...

    INSIDERSoftware

    Feature Image The Future of Aerospace: Embracing Digital Transformation and Emerging...

    ArticlesMaterials

    Feature Image Making a Material Difference in Aerospace & Defense Electronics

    EditorialSoftware

    Feature Image Making Machines Software-Defined No Simple Task

    INSIDERRF & Microwave Electronics

    Feature Image Germany's New Military Surveillance Jet Completes First Flight

    Webcasts