Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has unveiled a state-of-the-art mechatronics lab at its manufacturing site in Oragadam, Chennai, aimed at revolutionizing its product development and innovation processes. This new facility is designed to expedite the creation of new software architectures and enhance vehicle functionalities.

The new lab is expected to slash testing and verification times by 70-80%, significantly lowering costs while boosting the accuracy and validation of software features. It will also facilitate the evaluation of emerging technologies before they are integrated into commercial vehicles.

Pradeep Kumar Thimmaiyan, President of Product Engineering & Chief Technology Officer at DICV, remarked, "The launch of our Mechatronics Lab represents a significant advancement in our R&D activities. It serves as a center for innovation and validation, reinforcing our competitive edge on the global stage".

The lab is equipped with a flashing station for pre-production checks of electronic control units (ECUs), ensuring compatibility between hardware and software before manufacturing. Its Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) setup replicates on-road data for initial software tweaks, and the Driver State Monitoring (DSM) system provides a secure environment for testing without in-vehicle trials.

Dilip Shrivastava, Head of Mechatronics and Software Technology, added, "Our lab is capable of validating approximately 300 features and over a thousand signals within 10 days, and can detect 600 fault codes in developing products within weeks, leading to significant reductions in development costs".