news
16.-17.07.2007 Final Review in Papenburg, Germany
July, 2007
On 16.07.07 the halls of the unique test area in Papenburg opened their doors for the Final Review / Event of the EU-Project SPARC.
Besides spectacular driving demonstrations the partners of the project represented their technique used in SPARC.
16.07.2007 SPARC successful completed
July, 2007
The overall result of the review of the project is:
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
Several years of development and assessments have now borne fruit: the first vehicles equipped with innovative technology for accident-free driving are now available as drivable prototypes. We all are sure that the consortium has build up the best technical vehicles currently available to show solutions realizing the EU-white book initiative.
In the large-scale SPARC project, Contract No. IST-507589, which is headed by DaimlerChrysler and sponsored by the EU (www.sparc-eu.net), a total of 26 partner companies have spent several years developing new technologies and an innovative, groundbreaking vehicle architecture based on x-by-wire: the Safety Decision Control System. The open systems architecture is suitable for vehicles from heavy trucks to compact cars, as has been demonstrated using the examples of a Mercedes-Benz Actros truck and a smart car by DaimlerChrysler.
Human error is almost always the reason for road accidents, therefore it is the aim of the European Commission to effect a drastic reduction in the number of serious accidents on European roads.
12. Quarterly meeting held on 07-08 of February 2007 at Haldex in Heidelberg, Germany
February, 2007
The twelfth Quarterly Meeting of SPARC was held in Heidelberg. It was hosted by Haldex Brake Products. The meeting was used to review the status of all vehicles and to set-up a schedule for the final integration steps and testing. A substantial part of the meeting was dedicated to the preparation of the public final event in July. The time schedule and demonstrations for the event were discussed in order to best communicate the achievements of SPARC.
11. Quarterly meeting held on 02-03 of November 2006 in Schwarzenfeld, Germany
December, 2006
The eleventh Quarterly Meeting of the SPARC was held in Schwarzenfeld near Regensburg. It was hosted by Siemens VDO Automotive. In addition to the technical review, first ideas and scenarios for the SPARC final event were presented and discussed. As a result, it is planned to organise a high-visibility event in July 2007 where all SPARC vehicles and functions will be demonstrated to a large group of high-level visitors.
10. Quarterly meeting held on 19-20 of July 2006 in Braunschweig, Germany
July, 2006
The tenth Quarterly Meeting of SPARC was successfully held in Braunschweig. It was jointly hosted by German Aerospace Center and SIMTEC. The meeting concentrated on integration issues and corresponding scheduling. One of the highlights was the opportunity for all SPARC partners to do a first by-wire-driving test with one of the SPARC Smarts.
Picture taken during the first by-wire-driving tests with the Smart
SW Integration meeting in Konstanz on 11-12 of May in Konstanz, Germany
June, 2006
In order to speed-up and to co-ordinate the software integration process a dedicated meeting was organised in Konstanz by Irion Management Consulting. Very fruitful discussions of the working groups took place in a relaxed but efficient atmosphere at the Konstanz airstrip.
The SPARC software integration team.
9. Quarterly meeting held on 26-27 of April 2006 at Knorr Bremse in Budapest, Hungary
May, 2006
The ninth Quarterly Meeting of the SPARC was successfully held in Budapest and hosted by Knorr Bremse R&D Center Budapest (KBR). At the meetings the project progress was reviewed. The status of the subsystems and their integration into the vehicle platforms was discussed. Also the schedule for the work during the project extension period was elaborated
Second SPARC review on 4th of April 2006 at the European Commission in Brussels
April, 2006
The second project review by the Commission Services and external experts took place on 04.04.06 in Brussels. It was successfully executed as evidenced by the consensus report of the reviewers. The work of the consortium was commended and intermediate SPARC results, deliverables and project reports were accepted.
As a result of the discussions at the review the project will be extended by one-half year. This allows the fine tuning of the SPARC functions and to choose a suitable better date for the final event. The likelihood of sun-shine in July is higher than in January.
8. Quarterly meeting held on 1.- 3rd of February 2006 in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland
March, 2006
The eighth Quarterly Meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held in Lausanne and organized by École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). EPFL presented the consortium their SPARC algorithms for sensor data fusion by using a SMART. Laser, Camera and GPS sensors are used for sensing the environment. The SMART demonstrated successfully the capability of autonomous obstacle avoidance. Several presentations were also discussed in order to prepare the Second Review in Brussels, which will take place on 4th of April 2006.
SPARC's truck exposition in the Launching event of the Intelligent Car Initiative held on 23 of February 2006 in Brussels, Belgium
February, 2006
The Launching event of the Intelligent Car Initiative had taken place in the Autoworld Museum and received around 300 visitors, among them were m embers of the European Parliament and members of the press. One goal of this great event was support the researches and development in the area of smarter, cleaner and safer vehicles . There we had the opportunity to expose our Drive-by-wire technology , the key which enables the realization of SPARC concept: the next generation of assistant-systems.
7. Quarterly meeting held on 8.- 10th of November 2005 in Turin, Italy
November, 2005
The seventh quarterly meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held in Turin and organised by CRF and SKF (Italy). The two days workshop offered the possibility to present the latest results of the project.
SPARC at the first automotive future conference in Luzern, Switzerland
Friday, 21st October 2005
We have proudly demonstrated the SPARC project activities and solutions at the first automotive future conference (1. Zukunftspodium Automobil: "Katherina und die Folgen") in Luzern, Switzerland to a very interested audience.
For more details, please visit www.verkehrshaus.ch >>
Interview with Dr. Armin Sulzmann on Automanger.tv >>
Three new partners have joined the SPARC project: ITT, IZVW, BPW
September, 2005
We would like to welcome our new partners ITT Industries – Cannon, IZVW (University of Würzburg) and BPW (Bergische Achsen KG) to the SPARC consortium. Surely, the SPARC project will be enriched by their competences. We look forward to a successful co-operation with our new partners.
PEIT successful completed
August, 2005
The PEIT consortium received in mid August the information from the European Commission that the final paper review of the project PEIT which took place at the end of May 2005 has come to a conclusion:
The overall result of the review of the project is:
SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION
With this information the consortium received from the commission, the project is officially completed.
The European Commission wishes the partners of the project a successful continuation of their projects.
PEIT Website >>
6. Quarterly meeting held on 2.- 3rd of August 2005 in Steyr (ECS Magna Power Train), Austria
August, 2005
The sixth quarterly meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held in Steyr and organised by ECS Magna Power Train. Several new issues were discussed and the results had been implemented into the further project process.
5. Quarterly meeting held on 20.- 21st of July 2005 in Toulouse, France
July, 2005
The fifth quarterly meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held in Toulouse and organised by Siemens VDO (France). The two days workshop gave the opportunity to expose and discuss the current development and new impacts.
Happy Easter!
March, 2005
4. Quarterly meeting held on 26th of January 2005 in Munich, Germany
January, 2005
The fourth quarterly meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held in Munich and organised by Motorola (Germany). Several new issues had been discussed and the results had been implemented into the further project process.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
2004/2005
SPARC always keeps your vehicle on track >>
3. Quarterly meeting held on 27.- 29th September 2004 in Stuttgart, Germany
September, 2004
The third quarterly meeting in the year 2004 within the project SPARC was successfully held in Stuttgart and organised by DCA (Germany). The technical experts, sent by the different partners, had the possibility to discuss, present and exchange their current development and ideas during the different sessions.
Final review of the predecessor project PEIT
Monday, 27. September 2004
Test area Boxberg - Presentaion of PEIT technologies:
- ESP steering control,
- Friction coefficient potential determination,
- Vehicle independent friction coefficient standardisation,
- Homologation / Type-Approval,
- Redundant centralized architecture for the coordination of drive-by-wire components,
- Standardized interface for the next generation of assistant
system.
Tuesday, 28th September 2004
Final conference with the EU and PEIT project partners in Stuttgart Untertürkheim.
2. Quarterly Meeting successfuly held on 07.- 08. July 2004 in Landskrona, Sweden
July, 2004
The second quarterly meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held in Landskrona and organised by Haldex Brake Products AB (Sweden). The two days workshop was focusing on the system architecture using a redundant bus system (flexray) and the interaction of the different modules. Different sessions gave the partners the opportunity to expose and discuss their current development and ideas and to identify important steps within the project.
1. Quarterly Meeting held on 21.- 22. April 2004 in Stuttgart, Germany
May, 2004
The first quarterly meeting within the project SPARC was successfully held during the two days workshop. The partners have send more then 35 technical experts to discuss, present and interact during the different sessions to give other partners their current development and ideas. The workshop was hosted by DaimlerChrysler AG.
Two new partners joined SPARC project: SKF and eSTOP
March, 2004
The companies SKF (Drive-by-Wire Unit) and eSTOP GmbH &Co KG joined the SPARC consortium. SKF will work on a Steer-by-wire unit for small passenger cars, while eSTOP brings in its competence in electro-motorical brake systems for small passenger cars.
Approval of SPARC-Website
Thursday, 4th March 2004
SPARC-Website has been launched!
SPARC Kick off
Wednesday, 28 Jan. - Thursday, 29 Jan. 2004 (Möhringen)
The project SPARC was successfully started during the two days workshop. The partners have send more then 70 experts to the different sessions to support the project with the technical expertise.