ACTIA is one of twelve new winners in the Occitanie region to receive funding to support the modernisation of the aviation and automotive industries. Funded by the state as part of the government’s automotive recovery plan, the ACTIA project—named CaaS-3 for ‘Car As A Service’—tackles the challenges faced by the automotive industry of the future. In particular, it provides support to this industry which faces major technological, environmental, and societal challenges against a background of profound change in the sector and intense international competition among car manufacturers.
“ACTIA is an important player in the deployment of key technologies for the Industry of the Future, whether for its own needs in its three global factories or for its customers’ industrial needs. The CaaS project meets the latter purpose by enabling car manufacturers to deploy the latest level of vehicle diagnostics and programming technology in their production factories, and is therefore fully in line with the objectives of the French government-funded automotive recovery plan..” David Elizalde, Director of Development & Innovation Programmes, presents the challenges of this project, both for the industry and for ACTIA.
ACTIA’S CAAS PROJECT: TO SUPPORT THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IN A CONTEXT OF RAPID TRANSFORMATION
Address the technological, digital, and societal disruptions:
“The automotive industry is currently facing profound technological changes and major economic, societal, and environmental challenges that call into question its competitiveness, attractiveness, and ability to limit emissions. Factories operated by car manufacturers, and the entire industry, must adapt to major disruptions in the short and medium term.” David Elizalde explains.
In more detail
Technological disruption related in particular to the environmental agenda, with the shift towards a “new world by 2030” dominated by non-combustion vehicles.
Digital disruption, with the advent of autonomous and connected vehicles, and the emergence of such complex topics as the protection of data held by a vehicle, the increasingly frequent upgrading of vehicles, and the maintenance of complex electronic architectures.
Societal disruption, with the emergence of new industrial jobs in automotive production factories in the “upstream” automotive industry (more connected, more oriented towards the supervision of manufacturing processes), and the appearance of new uses in the “downstream” automotive industry, including car-sharing, vehicle use for a limited period of time, the increasing portion of vehicles managed by fleet operators, and finally, the necessary sharing of information between multiple players.
THE MAIN OBJECTIVES OF CAAS-3 FALL WITHIN THE GOVERNMENT’S AUTOMOTIVE RECOVERY PLAN.
Test all existing and future vehicle engines in factories.
The main technological objective of the ACTIA project is to provide automotive production plants with the testing (diagnostics) and programming capabilities for all types of vehicles, current and future, regardless of:
- their driving mode, whether autonomous or human;
- their propulsion system, whether combustion, electric, hydrogen, hybrid, NGV;
- the electronic systems on board: internal architectures, new generation of hypervisor-type computers, complex systems such as ADAS, ARTIV, infotainment, telematics, etc.
The technological challenge lies in:
- the number of computers to be programmed;
- the amount of data this generates;
- a limited time window;
- a physically restricted space.
“All this implies a radical change in how the tools, as well as the production operator and processes, perform. Particularly through the disruptive use of unexploited production areas to date and a fully autonomous tool. As a supplier specialised in diagnostic systems and vehicle architecture development, ACTIA is able to rise to this first technological challenge by providing a “state of the art” approach” emphasises David Elizalde.
Give the extended factory 4.0 (eX Factory) a backbone based on the digital image of the vehicle.
The CaaS project will therefore contribute to developing new tools and work processes which enable the manufacturer to produce vehicles that fully comply with their specifications (according to the Build As Designed principle), and according to the quality/cost objectives set by accelerating information sharing both inside and outside the factory, including with garages to ensure the Maintained / Repaired As Build rule, and to promote the Upgraded (Designed) As Maintained loop.
“Regarding this objective, ACTIA offers a unique positioning in the sector of automotive suppliers since it is active in all segments of the industry (upstream and downstream) and can therefore be a very valuable ally to car manufacturers throughout the vehicle’s life cycle.” Says David Elizalde.
Grant car manufacturers more autonomy in the vehicle inspection process at the end of the line, and ultimately better control costs
Funded by the government’s automotive stimulus plan, the CaaS project will result in more automated processes in factories and will limit outsourcing by the manufacturer since the solution offered by ACTIA is easy to use.
Reduce the environmental footprint of automotive production factories
By transforming the “end of the line” into an exemplary laboratory for process optimisation and productivity, the ACTIA project will generate immediate energy savings.
Improve the attractiveness of the automotive industry.
The ACTIA project will help to improve the attractiveness of industrial jobs by reducing the physical demands of operators on the production line by introducing new lightweight, ergonomic, autonomous tools that follow the vehicle throughout the inspection process. In addition, in the framework of this project, ACTIA will provide support to manufacturers as they lead change initiatives, by developing operators’ skills and preparing them for ongoing developments through training plans in line with the roll-out of the project’s solution in factories.
The Caas-3 project will help ACTIA accelerate its commercial development among its car manufacturer customers, both in France and abroad, by bringing its current “factory-based vehicle diagnostic” solution to unprecedented levels on the market.
Beyond these objectives, the Caas-3 project is also perfectly in line with the roadmap set out by Alliance Industrie du Future, which recommends a 360° change in the way manufacturing trades are understood, taking into account all aspects, be they technological, economic, societal, or environmental.
