A vehicle’s character is largely determined by its chassis – and increasingly, this means the precise coordination of multiple actuators such as brakes, steering, damping systems and drive. This coordination is already orchestrated today by ZF’s cubiX software. Now cubiX also supports the complex calibration of individual actuators during the development process. Designed as an intuitive tool for OEMs, cubiX Tuner automatically calculates the interdependencies between actuators. An electronic control unit (ECU) can now be configured with the manufacturer’s unique “brand DNA” in just a few clicks. This saves time, costs and effort when developing new vehicle models.
Chassis actuators ensure that a car accelerates safely, brakes reliably and stays stable through corners. For some time now, these systems have no longer been controlled (purely) mechanically but by software. With cubiX, ZF already offers an intelligent solution on the market that seamlessly connects individual actuators to deliver optimal control interventions while driving – whether for safety, stability or driving dynamics. ZF also controls actuators of competitors.
But before a vehicle ever hits the road, its chassis must be calibrated – including every single actuator in every possible position that is used for control interventions. And that consumes a tremendous amount of development time. “Ensuring that a car behaves as requested by the OEM in all situations depends on several thousand parameters,” explains Philippe Gasnier, Head of Research and Development of the ZF Chassis Solutions Division. After all, there is hardly a driving situation where multiple actuators are not working together.
In this interplay, all influencing forces and variables must be considered, tested and verified. “This is, to put it mildly, extremely complex,” says Gasnier. At least, until now. With the cubiX Tuner, ZF leverages the unique advantages of the software-defined vehicle to simplify and accelerate this process. This saves costs, reduces effort and significantly shortens the development cycle – especially for platforms delivered with multiple drive configurations such as front-, rear- or all-wheel drive: “While the algorithms handle the identification of core parameters, engineers can fine-tune the vehicle’s dynamics with precision, allowing application maturity to be reached much earlier ” explains Gasnier.
Brand DNA with just a few clicks
“For a long time, a car’s character was defined primarily by its engine,” says André Engelke, Head of the Vehicle Motion Control System House. “That’s changing in the age of electrification,” he adds. Where once a combustion engine rumbled under the hood, an electric motor now often hums quietly. “In other words: Bringing the brand DNA to life is increasingly becoming the responsibility of the chassis.”
Unlike previous tools, the cubiX Tuner was developed from scratch specifically for this task, bearing modern electric/electronic architectures in mind. “Our customers can adjust chassis parameters at the vehicle dynamics level without having to dive all the way down to the algorithmic level,” explains Engelke. This enables precise and perfectly tailored calibration of the driving experience. And most importantly: easier than before. That’s because ZF combines decades of expertise in chassis technology with data and AI-driven methods to automatically adapt the complex interdependencies of dynamic functions. “Put simply: If our customers notice during a test drive that the maximum steering angle during cornering needs adjusting, they can do it with just a few clicks. The cubiX Tuner then automatically calculates which additional parameters it needs to adjust and how,” Engelke explains. This is done through an intuitive interface that automatically generates a “tuning map” for the vehicle based on the OEM’s inputs and writes it directly to the ECU. The tool can calibrate not only ZF actuators, but also components from other manufacturers. An “Expert Mode” makes it possible to dive even deeper into fine-tuning the chassis setup.
Easy onboarding, comprehensive features
The cubiX Tuner will be available in two versions. One is a full version controlled via PC, and the other is a Lite version that allows parameter adjustments directly in the vehicle using a mobile app. The latter is compatible with both Apple CarPlay and AndroidAuto. Both versions have cloud connectivity for data backup and an AI-based optimization feature that runs offline and locally.
The cubiX Tuner also allows OEMs to first test their calibrations in a virtual simulation before the parameters are written to the ECU and applied to the chassis. “This greatly simplifies before-and-after comparisons, as the car no longer needs to be tested on the track for every single parameter change,” says Engelke. As a result, the cubiX Tuner can unlock the full potential of the software-defined vehicle’s chassis – with significantly less effort, time and cost.
SOURCE: ZF
