Three years after founding its StelLab scientific network, PSA Peugeot Citroën is presenting the initial results of research initiatives conducted with its scientific partners. This research into “clean technologies”, Human-Machine Interface (HMI) and driver assistance systems offers a tangible example of the Group’s “Open Innovation” approach.
StelLab lays the groundwork for the cars of tomorrow
The Science Technologies Exploratory Lean Laboratory, or StelLab, was created to oversee the scientific partnerships conducted jointly by the Group’s Scientific Affairs Department and PSA Peugeot Citroën University. An integral part of the Group’s “Open Innovation” programme, StelLab is responsible for leading a network that fosters discussion and dialogue among scientists, experts from PSA Peugeot Citroën and high
quality outside partners.
Today, three years after StelLab was founded, the initial results of these research partnerships are being published, offering a view into the avenues the Group is exploring for the cars that will be on the road 15 years from now. PSA Peugeot Citroën’s mission through its OpenLabs network is to meet the major challenges of the future in the areas of environmental protection, automobile safety and driving experience.
Clean technologies, for reduced CO2 emissions
– Combustion of energy-dense solid fuel to replace oil.
– Simulation of the behaviour of composite materials to reduce vehicle weight.
– Production of shape memory materials to improve vehicle aerodynamics depending on the conditions of use.
Driver assistance systems, for increasingly safe vehicles
– Creation of driver assistance systems based on a “school of fish” formation to improve traffic flows, reduce collision risks and optimise travel time.
– Collection and analysis of data recorded on the open road to gain a better understanding of complex driving behaviours.
Human-Machine Interface, for a new driving experience
– Observation and analysis of Chinese customers’ cultural expectations to develop innovations that respond to their needs.
– Recognition of finger movements without the driver’s hands leaving the steering wheel to enhance in-car safety.
About
StelLab, the academic arm of PSA Peugeot Citroën’s “Open Innovation” programme. Defining StelLab’s role within the Group’s innovation strategy, Sylvain Allano, Executive Scientific Director of PSA Peugeot Citroën, explains: “StelLab is a tangible, living example of “Open Innovation” focused on the world of knowledge. With PSA Peugeot Citroën University, the Group has reached out to the scientific community in order to pool
technological and experimental resources, create mixed research teams and derive value together from fundamental and applied research. Together, we are building an efficient model of cooperation between research and industry.”
OpenLabs
The formal expression of a partnership of excellence with universities, an OpenLab brings outside scientists and Group experts together to work on a joint program in a priority area. The partners share both the program’s financing and its resulting intellectual property rights.
PSA Peugeot Citroën University
PSA Peugeot Citroën University was founded in April 2010 to create an extended learning organization combining schools of excellence around the world, with the goal of attracting a wide range of talent. The extended university concept relies on long-term relationships with schools and universities, the creation of teaching and research chairs and the development of OpenLabs, in partnership with the Group’s Scientific Affairs Department. These partnerships are the cornerstone of the Group’s strategic relations with the academic world. The work conducted through these teaching and research chairs and laboratories is of strategic importance for the Group’s future, as their applications will have a critical impact on our products and future processes.
Teaching and Research Chairs
Within the framework of sponsorship agreements, PSA Peugeot Citroën University supports widely recognised international Masters and PhD programmes of excellence in the Group’s priority areas. The partner university retains the intellectual property rights of the academic research conducted through these programmes.
