Press Release
ZF fuses the virtual and real worlds to put Steer-by-Wire on the road
- ZF Group leads the way in steer-by-wire industrialization with multiple OEM awards in all major regions and production starting this year, part of the industry’s most holistic chassis offering
- Steer-by-Wire simulator brings real-world hardware into a virtual racing environment, illustrates technology
- Dynamic steering feel enhances the virtual experience and gathers data for real-world implementation
Pleasanton, California. By-wire technologies are being widely recognized as key enablers of chassis systems for future electrified, automated, and software-controlled vehicles. ZF is at the forefront of developing and industrializing these chassis systems with the industry’s most comprehensive offering of by-wire technologies with steer-by-wire as a primary example. Advanced development of this groundbreaking technology continues including a racing demonstrator that makes a virtual loop around the track a more realistic experience than ever before.
Introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year, the ZF racing demonstrator brings real automotive technology into a racing simulation environment and illustrates the capability of the technology.
“This is more than just fun and games,” says Martin Fischer, ZF Board of Management member and President of the Americas region. “It enriches the experience for gaming enthusiasts who experience real-world steering and road handling feel with a technology that will soon be in their vehicles for real and will also capture data that can be used in the further development of the technology.”
And that’s important as ZF prepares to launch its steer-by-wire system in 2023 and continue to bring these solutions to the market with major manufacturers in all major regions over the next several years with volumes in the millions of units. This establishes ZF as a leader in the Steer-by-Wire technology field and the Group intends to make the industry’s most comprehensive array of chassis technologies by-wire in the near future. Thanks to its complete portfolio, ZF is very well positioned to capture further significant market share in the growing by-wire chassis systems field and expects a significant share of the steer-by-wire market by 2030.
“There is no doubt that by-wire control enabled by sophisticated software will be an important part of the transformation to the clean and autonomous future of mobility,” according to Manfred Meyer, Senior Vice President for ZF Group’s Active Safety Division. “By-wire systems eliminate mechanical connections and the need for steering or brake fluids and so are more environmentally friendly. And ZF’s cubiX vehicle motion control software solution coupled with high-performance computing platforms help complete the picture and together create a new level of system performance.”
Advanced development of vehicle control software systems and their role in new E/E architectures will continue to be enhanced by virtual applications like the driving simulator.
