Bertrandt : cooperates with system developer Bozzio AG

(Ehningen, September 17, 2020) Bertrandt has signed a cooperation agreement with Bozzio AG, one of the leading manufacturers of drive-by-wire systems. This cooperation will help to successfully advance the development of autonomous systems. Bertrandt and Bozzio will provide support for their customers from the initial concept to final implementation, with the aim of decisively influencing vehicle development in the future.

The future, in both the mobility industry and logistics, will be characterized by autonomous systems, and their use is rapidly becoming more widespread. Safety plays a vitally important role in the systems and components used, especially with regard to the approval of the solutions involved. The reliability, modularity, and scalability of the steering and braking systems are of major significance for the implementation of autonomous driving functions. All these requirements are fulfilled by the joysteer® drive-by-wire system from Bozzio. In combination with customer-specific function and application developments as well as environment sensors, it can be integrated into the vehicle to provide autonomous driving functions.

The cooperation agreement between the engineering partner Bertrandt and the system developer Bozzio will create a comprehensive portfolio that combines development expertise with manufacturing competence. In the future, this will provide customers with safe and efficient solutions for all aspects of assisted or autonomous driving. This combination of the core competences of both partners will result in customer-specific solutions in the field of autonomous driving up to levels 4 and 5. 'Cooperation with Bozzio offers us completely new opportunities. Our comprehensive know-how and our many years of experience in vehicle and function development combined with the system competence of Bozzio will enable us to decisively further develop the market and various sectors in the field of autonomous driving,' says Michael Lücke, Member of the Management Board of Bertrandt AG.

The services, all of which are adapted to the customer's requirements, are provided on the functional levels of sensor systems, vehicle control systems, data interpretation, and the safe operation of functions and feedback. In addition, as specialists for the system levels (functions, components, and vehicles), Bertrandt and Bozzio can provide customized, adaptable, and scalable solutions from a single source - from the initial concept to final implementation.

Drive-by-wire technology allows the movement of the steering wheel to be transmitted to an electric steering actuator without any mechanical connection, in other words without the need for a steering column. Steering is therefore possible without a steering wheel and can be performed, for example, by using a joystick, or even without any control elements at all as part of a fully automated driving system. At the same time, there are interfaces to the brakes and accelerator, thus creating a control network between the steering, braking, and acceleration systems. To ensure safety, all system functions are designed with double redundancy and provided with electronic fallback levels. Similar systems are already available on the market for disabled drivers and are therefore generally also approved for use on public roads. Bozzio has been successfully serving this market for more than ten years, as joysteer® has been approved for use in Europe and the USA.

Bertrandt provides innovative engineering as well as consulting services in quality and project management from the initial idea to the production-ready product. We are working on advanced and sophisticated technologies for the present and the future, thus playing a decisive role in shaping tomorrow's world. With around 13,000 employees at more than 50 sites, we are internationally active and provide expertise in all high-tech sectors. Further information is available at www.bertrandt.com

Bozzio AG is a medium-sized enterprise based in Switzerland and owns all the rights to the joysteer® product. Having been approved for road use, joysteer® has been marketed throughout Europe and in the USA since the end of 2009. Bozzio is active in two different business sectors: as a system supplier in the market for vehicle conversions for people with physical disabilities and a provider of industrial applications for autonomous and teleoperated vehicles. Further information is available at www.bozzio.ch