A New Drive-by-Wire Technology for People with Disabilities and Industrial Applications

Project Information

Joysteer 3.0

Grant agreement ID: 807968

DOI

10.3030/807968

Project closed

EC signature date 13 February 2018

Start date 1 March 2018

End date 30 June 2018

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Smart, Green And Integrated Transport

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

BOZZIO AG
Switzerland

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - Joysteer 3.0 (A New Drive-by-Wire Technology for People with Disabilities and Industrial Applications)

Reporting period: 2018-03-01 to 2018-06-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Drive-by-wire technologies (DbW) comprise electronic driving systems and human-machine interfaces that replace the mechanical components operated by the driver. DbW enable current car adaptation solutions for people with disabilities. However, current adaptive solutions are today unable to match the performance of conventional controls— lacking in reliability, not meeting the driver’s expectations.
In addition, the automation trend is pushing original manufacturers (OEMs) towards the implementation of new systems that enable highly-automated & autonomous vehicles (AV) to remove workers from risky off-highway applications (e.g. construction, mining, agriculture-forestry, airport handling, rescue, etc.)
joysteer 3.0 is our novel DbW system offering the best drivability, safety and reliability standards for the steer, brake and gas functions of vehicles. The joysteer3.0 project aims at providing a technology modular system that guarantees maximum reliability and safety (very fast reaction to inputs, redundancy) so that it: 1) overcomes the drawbacks of current adaptive solutions and provides modules to also control secondary functions; and 2) provides the ‘arms’ of the driving system in AV

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The work performed in Phase 1 comprises technical and commercial activities. We assessed the market requirements and industry needs. We defined the modular system architecture, gathered the technical specifications for each module and carried out an assessment of the tasks and resources needed. In the beginning of 2018 we started the development activities with own funds and expect to have reached the first milestone of the project —a steer-only system— by end of July 2018.
Commercially, we have confirmed the willingness-to-pay of car adaptation companies. We found that the high interest in AV and teleoperation will drive the demand for projects to customize joysteer3.0 to industrial applications with OEMs. Finally, we have engaged our usual partners for distribution and for dissemination of the project results in these regions. Likewise, we have secured the support of important companies in our supply chain.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

joysteer3.0 entails great progress beyond the state of the art of DbW technologies because of its modular architecture and extended features that guarantee increased drivability and serviceability due to the enabled remote access —making it suitable for many safety-related applications. The expected socio-economic impact entails enabling the safe and reliable operation of car by people with disabilities and replacing humans in risky off-highway applications.
joysteer3.0 will mean a major milestone in the company’s strategy: it will open a new business field of industrial application for teleoperated and autonomous vehicles and improve drastically our cost structure. In the first five years of commercialization, we expect an accumulated EBITDA of €10.87 M and will employ some 8 new FTE jobs.

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