 
|
| |
|
|
Previous IAEC
|
2007 EDITION
|
|
305 International attendees From the automotive industry
42 International speakers from key companies of the Industry
20 Key companies exhibiting their technologies
Networking Dinner : 102 attendees at prestigious Automobile Club de France
|
IAEC raises level and participation for 2007.
Once again, IAEC (International Automotive Electronics Congress) kept its promises for its 4th edition. Now steadily scheduled in the calendar, and relying on an international attendance, this event is considered by the participants and the partners* as a major congress in the field of automotive electronics. The technical level (relevance of the topics, quality of the presentations, profile of the speakers) can be compared to other significant events, as those held in
. For this 2007 edition, IAEC achieved to gather OEMs (BMW, Daimler, Fiat, Ford, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Volkswagen), tier 1 suppliers (Bosch, Delphi, Johnson Controls, Siemens VDO), electronics competitors (Etas, Infineon, Freescale, Mentor Graphics, Vector), as well as Europe representatives (Enterprise and Industry DG of the EC, Ertico). In the exhibition area, 19 companies – including dSpace, Fujitsu, Melexis, Telelogic, Toshiba, or new comers such as Elektrobit – joined the list and showed their know how.
Concerning participants, the French industry was strongly represented through French car manufacturers (Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroën) and suppliers (Valeo), showing that IAEC was now a major event, in too. These VIPs attended to the traditional Gala Dinner, sponsored by ESG, and held in “Automobile Club” building, in one of the most prestigious locations of
Paris , Place de la Concorde. The networking is a big part of the event.
Participants come to the congress to get some useful information. By choosing “low cost” and “CO² reduction” as the major guidelines for the first day, the steering committee apparently met the expectations of the attendees.
About greenhouse emissions reduction, there is no doubt that electronics can help car manufacturers to achieve the goal fixed by the European Commission in 2012. BMW has mentioned its “Efficient Dynamics” initiative, effective on the whole car range, and that gives spectacular results with several models going under the limit of 140g/km of CO², as soon as next year. Head of Automotive Industry, at the
Enterprise and Industry DG of the EC, Reinhard Schulte-Braucks, gave the roadmap for the future regulation. He made a very appreciated presentation, before joining a panel with other speakers from Bosch, Ertico, Navteq and the European Federation Transport & Environment (T&E). With “stop & start” systems, by downsizing engines and by linking the GPS with the other sensors of the car, it’s possible to reduce both fuel consumption and CO² emissions. Ideas do not miss. But, the regulation will enforce car industry to do better and quicker than expected.
The other highlight of the day was the “low cost” approach. As people talk more and more about the 2500 $ car, and even the 1750 $ car, it was interesting to see how the electronics community could match the automotive industry requirements. This topic has been treated by Frost & Sullivan, PSA Peugeot Citroën and ESG, before being discussed during a panel session. Moderated by Ian Riches, from Strategy Analytics, this round table has associated ESG, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Freescale and Mentor Graphics. If ABS, ESP and climate control will be for sure fitted as equipments on low cost cars, the question is to know how can AUTOSAR help to design a lower price level electronics. If the standardisation allows to re-use components, and if AUTOSAR introduces a new process, it’s no so clear to get some added value, as well as cheaper hardwares and softwares. The business model is not defined, neither. But, the car manufacturer can make the difference with innovative and time to market solutions, to get ahead from other competitors. “A
Logan contains as much electronics as a mid-car of the middle of the 90’s”, said Denis Griot, VP EMEA for Freescale. The discussion is not over.
Introduced by BMW, the first day has been concluded by Rémi Bastien, from Renault, who came back on the main hot topics of the moment, and gave the vision of the French brand, both on low cost and on the development of electronics.
The second day of the congress was much more focused on workshops, with four topics treated simultaneously : E/E Architecture ; Driving Assistance and Infotainment ; Standardisation around AUTOSAR ; and Powertrain and Drivetrain management. The discussions have been deeper, with more technical presentations. It’s hard to find a link between the EWB (Electronics Wedge Brake) from Siemens VDO, the regenerative braking at Ford, the integration of consumer devices in car at Audi, BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen, and the BMW experience of AUTOSAR. Nevertheless, it appears that the key is the choice of the good electronics architecture. All the players want to have the right tools, to design in a more efficient way and to validate as soon as possible to detect possible troubles. Other key message : if FlexRay is now available, the CAN bus is still alive and will live again for several years.
The congress was ending the day after, with a training on real time systems (Osek/VDX and AUTOSAR) and sourcing in low cost countries. But, it was time for most of the participants to leave and to set date for the next IAEC : a congress that is evolving from year to year, and that wants to grow without losing the spirit that makes this event so unique.
* Infineon, Freescale, ESG, Mentor Graphics
|
|
2006 EDITION
|
|
200 International attendees From the automotive industry
40 International speakers from key companies of the Industry
30 Key companies exhibiting their technologies
Networking Dinner : 70 attendees at prestigious Automobile Club de France
|
IAEC STILL PROGRESSES AND GAINS IN QUALITY
A high level program and a skilled public, with top representatives of car manufacturers, Tiers 1 and semiconductors companies, according to the visitors of IAEC 2006 edition.
Organized by Comundi & reed Electronics Group, this third edition was a success. More than 300 people attended the conferences and visited the stands of the exhibitors. But beyond the frequentation, still a key to success, we will note that the profile of the attendees clearly changed. we could meet representatives of French manufacturers (Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroen) as well as foreigners (Audi, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Mercedes Benz technology), representatives of main tiers 1 (Bosch, Continental, Delphi, Denso, Faurecia, Johnson Controls, Magneti Marelli, Siemens VDO, Valeo, Visteon, SKF) and of the main actors of semiconductors (Freescale, Infineon, NXP, STMicroelectronics). The electronics industry was well represented and in addition we noted the presence of new competitors in the field of the GPS (Magellan, Tom Tom), of data processing (Microsoft) and telephony (
Orange , Parrot, Peiker).
It seems that the congress is now renowned in as well as in Europe, and that the participants are the first ambassadors of the event as they recommend it to their colleagues.
What thus makes the success of congress IAEC?
First, the conferences of course. The topics are chosen by a steering committee which includes, among others, Renault, Valeo, Visteon, Bosch, ESG and Reed Electronics Group. The presentations mostly dealt with safety and embedded communication, with in background the problems related to ergonomics (how to manage the flow of information) and to the business model (are customers ready to pay for more sophisticated functions), without forgetting the problems related to electronic architecture complexity. The success of the congress comes from the diversity of the topics discussed which are both technical and marketing. For instance the slots of Frost & Sullivan and Strategy Analytics led to discern trends (impact of the legislation for the development of the driver assistance) and to present forecasts. It is for example interesting to note that 29 brands offer Bluetooth technology in 70 models and that 73 million vehicles will be able to integrate the iPod by 2011.
The round tables were also very appreciated by the attendees. The first one was the occasion to speak about the relationships between manufacturers, tiers 1 and manufacturers of semiconductors, with among other subjects of discussion the objective zero defect, but also the delocalization. The first objective remains quality, even if the pressure on costs is a reality. One solution is to cooperate more between actors, as it is the case for Autosar. The second round table dealt with the new topic of the electronics convergence. As the public seems won by MP3 readers, GPS and the Bluetooth mobile phones, Car manufacturers and Tiers 1 wonder about the integration of these peripherals. The reflexion is about USB port, the wireless connection, the voice recognition and the human-machine interface. The partnerships, like the one between Tom Tom and several manufacturers, or the one between FIAT and Microsoft, were discussed and commented on.
We will also remember from this edition 2006 general trends, like the communication vehicle to vehicle, the decentralized architecture in the vehicle (with the cohabitation of several buses of communication), or the development of driver assistances systems, with in the long run, an objective zero accident. These topics were discussed during separate workshops on the second day.
In addition, one of the strengths of congress IAEC is to permit business meetings. In addition to the visit of the stands, coffee breaks, buffet lunches and some animations, the networking dinner was as usual an opportunity of making profitable connections within the exceptional place of the automobile Club de France. Sponsored by ESG and Rohde & Schwarz, this dinner also became an institution.
A third day of training conducted by Laurent George of the Central School of Electronics also allowed the engineers to improve their knowledge on the embedded real time systems.
Even more pointed and also always convivial, the IAEC congress confirms its high positioning in a growth environment.
|
|
2005 EDITION
|
|
200 International Attendees From the automotive industry
40 International speakers coming from the keycompanies of the Industry
35 Key companies exhibiting their technologies
Networking Dinner :60 attendees at the Autombile Club de France Place de la Concorde
|
|
The event confirms its international and upmarket positioning.
After its 1st edition in 2004, IAEC- International Automotive Electronics Congress took place in Paris again this year, from October, 3rd to 5th under the aegis of Reed Business Information and Comundi, its subsidiary.
Presence of Car manufacturers and Tier 1.
With more than 40 exhibitors and 300 attendees, the 2005 edition achieved great success.
Thanks to the involvement of BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Fiat, as well as IBM, Infineon, Rohde & Schwarz, TRW, Visteon and others, IAEC is now an essential event. Also, a high number of German people attended the event in spite of another one taking place in Baden Baden at the same time thus proving the indispensable role our congress is now playing in the automotive electronics industry.
Famous French car manufacturers like Renault and PSA Peugeot-Citroën were among the audiance as well as Tier 1 like Siemens VDO and Johnson Controls, and many semiconductors. This mark of interest confirms that the event, turned toward the international market with an upmarket position, managed to establish itself as an absolut must for the industry.
IAEC has become a privileged place where to hear the most prestigious representatives of the industry and to discuss strategic challenges such as quality, reliability, relocation.
|
|
2004 EDITION
|
|
150 International Attendees From the automotive industry
40 International speakers coming from the keycompanies of the Industry
25 Key companies exhibiting their technologies
Networking Dinner :A unique cruise in the heart of Paris
|
|
A SUCCESSFUL TEST PERFORMANCE FOR THE IAEC CONGRESS
The first International Automotive Electronics Congress (IAEC) kept all its promises.
This event was held in Paris from 27 to 29 September, concurrently with the world auto show, the Mondial de l'Automobile, and attracted nearly 260 participants and sixty speakers. The organiser, Comundi (a subsidiary of Reed Business Information), used the occasion of the trade show to take advantage of the lack of any international-level congress on auto electronics. It was a simple concept: to offer both a high-level congress with plenary sessions and specialised workshops and an exhibition to present its products and take advantage of opportunities for networking. The congress fulfilled its potential in this way, providing many useful contacts.
The attendance of prestigious companies (BMW, Infineon, Analog Devices, Freescale, Visteon, Renesas, AMI, Vector, TRW, Philips) and institutions (European Commission, Ertico) provided the opportunity to look in some depth at the important issues of the day and to shed some light on the latest development in auto electronics. It was only disappointing that participation was so light by French car companies (represented by Renault, Valeo and Bosch France) and top-flight equipment makers. A few partners such as Analog Devices and Infineon Technologies became seriously involved in the preparation and running of the event.
One of the positive things about this congress is that it provided an opportunity for players who do not usually talk to each other to meet up. For the first time, component suppliers were able to make their views known to auto makers in a panel discussion. The auto makers usually have dealings with the large equipment suppliers, and do not necessarily have any contacts with makers of semi-conductors. This is already a great plus.
The other lesson from the congress is that everyone has to work collaboratively to ensure that on-board electronics in cars work reliably. This is why Autosar deserves to be congratulated on this initiative. The biggest names in the automotive world, from car manufacturers to equipment makers, and including such trades as semi-conductor manufacturers, decided to get together to define standards that would be common to the entire industry. One of the highlights of the congress was the presentation by Dr Harald Heinecke, an electronics specialist from BMW and the official spokesperson for Autosar.
It is also worthy of note that simulation tools and tests have become essential for the auto industry. Cars now require a steadily increasing breadth of know-how and ever more leading-edge technology, given the increasing number of functions and components of which they are made up. Multiplexing is a solution to deal with these problems, but nonetheless, you still have to be able to make the right choice. As far as things go, the CAN bus will for some time remain the dominant bus, with support from the LIN bus for more peripheral functions. However, other standards are in the wings, such as Flexray, which seems likely to become dominant for high-bandwidth communications, and other prospects include "by wire" and Firewire for multimedia-associated applications. Some players, such as Vector, Volcano and NSI, have tools that are open to all these communication networks and they are able to give good advice to the big names in the auto industry.
The fundamental requirement is to be able to save time and improve reliability: this is fully in line with the sentiments of the car makers, since they are seeking to renew their ranges as fast as possible, and have ambitious projects to do just that. A saving of one month in designing a new model can save you more than ten million euros (or USD 12,500). Furthermore, software enables you to set up traceability within projects and to detect errors in time that may have had long-term consequences, such as a delay in launching a model, or recall campaigns. Telelogic gave a particularly clear presentation of this outlook.
In more general terms, the congress was able to consider the issue of useful innovation. After having bid up the stakes in recent years, some car makers are now taking the time to think things over, and are sometimes deciding to take out certain components that they think the end consumer may not require. While electronics does represent 90% of the source of progress in car making, the innovation has to be visible to be better accepted. Hence, there is a marked change in this area.
The action of regulatory authorities also has a decisive role. An example of this is the E-Safety initiative supported by the European Commission, which encourages auto makers to hurry up and develop driving-assistance systems to halve the number of road deaths. Public pressure is a powerful catalyst, both for the auto industry that is able to expand the technological content of its models and to turn that into a sales pitch to its customers, and for the suppliers, who are asked to develop new sensors (to detect obstacles, to measure tyre pressure). Road safety is a powerful vector for developing the market.
At the same time, it is clear that telematics is becoming more widespread. Customers are increasingly keen on satellite navigation and on-board radio and video. Telephony has also received a boost from Bluetooth, which lets drivers operate their mobile phones hands-free. Infineon used the occasion of the IAEC to present is Bluetooth-based telematics platform. The communicating car also comes equipped with emergency calling so that it can be located more rapidly in the case of an accident and contact emergency services. Emilio Davila from the European Commission and Michael Nielsen from Ertico explained how infrastructure in Europe needs to be constructed and communications harmonised. Emergency calling and navigation are essential services for the end consumer, but ones that auto makers are not yet used to selling. The message is still too much linked with the vehicle itself.
The environment is also a vital factor. The appearance of hybrid vehicles, self-starting cars, and advanced direct injection systems open up new horizons, at least until the 42-volt battery is perfected.
In summation, these three days were full of information exchange. At most of the high-level presentations, questions followed, from a highly attentive audience.
Lastly, what better parallel can be made between this congress and the Mondial de l'Automobile? Visitors to the trade show were able to discover the latest innovations on the market, while the finestspecialists in electronics and semi-conductors were gathered in Paris, under the aegis of Reed Business Information. Electronics plays a growing role under the bonnets and one of the advantages of the 2004 Mondial was to display systems such as the lane-change alarm (Citroën), the laser-controlled dynamic speed regulator and the collision detector (Lexus). This is proof, as though any were required, that the technology has progressed from the research stage to application.
The success of this first meeting encourages the organisers to repeat this concept and to invite players in auto electronics to come to Paris each year.
|
|
|
