Mercedes-Benz has invested greater than €200 million within the Electrical Software program Hub on the Mercedes Expertise Centre (MTC) in Sindelfingen. Quite a few software program, {hardware}, system integration and testing capabilities are introduced collectively underneath one roof. With this step, Mercedes-Benz is intensifying its method of cross-functional collaboration.
The Electrical Software program Hub accelerates the transformation of Mercedes-Benz. From 2025, all new car architectures shall be completely electrical. Mercedes-Benz takes a holistic method with regard to car software program, starting from primary analysis and growth to the coding of software program.
Round 1,000 new jobs are at present being created for software program builders in Sindelfingen alone. As much as 2,000 extra jobs are at present being added within the international R&D community.
The Electrical Software program Hub brings collectively the 2 key strategic subjects for the way forward for Mercedes-Benz and strengthens the position of the Sindelfingen website as a central growth and qualification hub.
The Electrical Software program Hub is an epicenter of our analysis and growth and on the identical time carefully networked with the worldwide manufacturing websites. That is the place key features of the way forward for Mercedes-Benz develop into actuality—particularly our personal MB.OS working system. Vehicles are among the many most advanced merchandise usually. The {hardware} and software program are decoupled and should work collectively completely. We guarantee this within the Electrical Software program Hub. It’s our software program integration manufacturing unit.
—Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Administration of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, Chief Expertise Officer liable for Improvement and Procurement
With growing digitization, the management items within the car are taking up ever extra advanced duties—from infotainment and driving help techniques to the electrical drive. The combination of all parts is thus growing in significance. This course of is very advanced. That is all of the extra true as car growth is not completed at a sure level.
Vehicles in buyer arms additionally obtain steady software program updates with new and improved capabilities. The Electrical Software program Hub affords decisive benefits on this new car world: Some 1,100 specialists from 19 cross-functional departments work collectively in nearer bodily proximity than ever earlier than. Along with the enlargement of digital testing procedures, this will increase each the tempo and the standard of the combination processes. The intensive interlinking of the disciplines in a single constructing makes the Electrical Software program Hub distinctive.
The brand new constructing has 70,000 sq. meters of area unfold over eight ranges. The within of the Electrical Software program Hub displays all the electrics/electronics integration course of of car growth. The workers be sure that all {hardware} and software program parts created in analysis and growth work completely and work together seamlessly.
From high to backside—from code to product—software program and {hardware} enter additional and additional into the car till they’re built-in into car prototypes within the decrease areas. Throughout this part, there’s an in-depth alternate with the car vegetation worldwide in order that new developments may be optimally transferred to sequence manufacturing.
The higher flooring home the software program code creation and pre-integration labs. Right here, the specialists first use digital applied sciences and simulation to check whether or not the assorted software program parts work together accurately with one another and whether or not the car capabilities are applied accurately. For instance, parts and management items are examined totally routinely in a digital car—hardware-in-the-loop. For this objective, extremely specialised take a look at benches are used within the Electrical Software program Hub, that are operated for numerous mannequin sequence underneath growth. In precept, solely the electronics with the software program to be examined are actual, all the remainder of the car in addition to the setting are simulated.
Even in very early phases of software program growth—i.e. earlier than the primary management items can be found as {hardware}—particular simulation strategies can be utilized to check the car capabilities. All these procedures goal to shorten growth occasions by means of excessive automation and to achieve a excessive degree of software program maturity as early as attainable.
Even the whole simulation of a take a look at within the car is feasible within the Electrical Software program Hub by means of the know-how of the “digital take a look at drive”. This includes shifting and testing a digital car in a completely simulated setting in the identical method an actual take a look at drive would—solely this take a look at drive takes place in a laboratory on the sixth flooring of the Electrical Software program Hub.
A key idea of this constructing is the shut proximity of all take a look at services and take a look at benches of the software program integration (together with the car) and of the engineers who function them. This makes an necessary contribution to shortening the event time by optimally supporting integration.
The drivable prototypes are situated on degree 4. Retreat areas are grouped round assembly rooms. This permits the groups to guage collectively instantly the information obtained in the course of the checks. For the reason that whole constructing is networked through fiber optic know-how, the big quantities of knowledge generated throughout these checks may be learn in a really quick time. The manufacturing stage and start-up validation are additionally totally built-in within the constructing.
With the preliminary start-up of the electrics/electronics (E/E) of the prototypes and a profitable maturity-level administration system, the Mercedes specialists topic all the growth course of to a relentless actuality verify. In addition they validate the following sequence manufacturing course of, together with testing necessities and procedures, within the Electrical Software program Hub. Right here, the event pre-integrations work hand in hand in a single constructing with the manufacturing E/E integration middle, from the element to the car.
The three decrease ranges are specifically designed for laboratories, workshops and take a look at benches. That is the place the various international challenges that Mercedes-Benz automobiles have to fulfill may be reproduced.
The car take a look at benches permit checks at temperatures from -30 to +50 levels and speeds of as much as 250 km/h. As well as, the Electrical Software program Hub has 250 charging factors. Which means that a lot of totally different automobiles may be charged concurrently at any time. This additionally accelerates testing and will increase the tempo of growth.
There are totally different charging requirements worldwide for the charging infrastructure, which the techniques within the Electrical Software program Hub replicate. This additionally applies to Excessive Energy Charging. Mercedes-Benz can thus be sure that software program, digital purposes, electrical driving and charging in buyer arms perform stably and accurately at all times and all over the place.
