Aldo Sorniotti

The transition to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) necessitates a paradigm shift in both control strategies and vehicle architecture. The EU-funded SmartCorners project addresses this challenge by developing integrated smart corner systems (SCS), which combine in-wheel motor (IWM) propulsion, brake-by-wire, active suspension actuator, and steer-by-wire functionality in a single module. These SCS are embedded within a highly adaptable skateboard chassis architecture, enabling scalable deployment across diverse vehicle platforms. The SmartCorners project targets to demonstrate significant advancements, including improvement in real-world driving range, reduction of component and system costs, an increasement in interior volume, and a development time drop of the EV systems enabled by digital-twin-based design methodologies. Beyond these performance gains, SmartCorners establishes the foundational principles of modularity, adaptability, and software integration that underpin the evolution toward SDVs. These achievements highlight a critical bridge between electrified component innovation and the holistic software-defined mobility systems of the future.

1. In recent years, automated vehicles have attracted increasing attention due to their potential to improve road safety and efficiency in transportation systems. Since human errors account for mos...

Upcoming V2X technologies and on-board perception systems will provide real-time information from multiple sources, such as other vehicles and the surrounding environment, and thus enable the implementation of innovative active safety control functions. This paper investigates the benefit of the preview on the road irregularities on the tire slip control performance of a traction control system for electric vehicles. To this purpose, a nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC) for traction control is presented, which concurrently uses the information on the tire-road friction factor and upcoming road profile. The simulation results across multiple road scenarios – including comparisons with state-of-the-art benchmarking controllers – highlight the significant improvements brought by the proposed preview-based NMPC, including its robustness with respect to model uncertainties and inaccuracies in the preview information. Preliminary proof-of-concept experiments on an electric vehicle prototype with an on-board powertrain demonstrate the real-time implementability of the algorithm, and confirm the potential of the proposed control solution.

The transition to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) necessitates a paradigm shift in both control strategies and vehicle architecture. The EU-funded R&D project SmartCorners addresses this challenge by developing integrated, modular, and scalable smart corner systems (SCS) that combine in-wheel motor (IWM)-based propulsion, brake blending, active suspension system, and steer-by-wire functionality in one module. These SCS can be retrofit or smoothly integrated into the highly adaptable skateboard chassis architecture of modern electric vehicles (EVs), enabling scalable deployment across diverse vehicle types. The central approach of this paper is the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to implement multi-layer, data-driven control strategies, facilitating real-time actuation, fault mitigation, and user-centric EV architecture. The SmartCorners project strives to demonstrate significant enhancements, including improved real-world driving range due to enhanced energy-efficiency, reduced component and system costs, and a cut-down in development time of EVs, enabled by digital-twin-based design methodologies. Beyond these performance gains, SmartCorners establishes the foundational principles of modularity, adaptability, and software integration that underpin the evolution toward SDVs. The role of thermal and cabin comfort control is completely different for EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles, with the latter using waste heat from the combustion of fossil fuels for cabin heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC). In EVs the required energy is directly taken from the traction battery and precise thermal and cabin comfort control affecting essential components of the vehicle but also the user-perceived driving experience. These project achievements highlight a critical bridge between innovation and electrification on component-level, and the holistic software-defined mobility systems of the future.