Six presidents and general managers of the CAC 40 side by side to present what foreshadows the technological advances of tomorrow’s mobility. Renault Group, Orange, Dassault Systèmes, Atos, STMicroelectronics and Thales unveil on Wednesday a “concept car” called “H1st Vision”, which embeds more than twenty breakthrough technological innovations, resulting from the pooling of their know-how in different fields. .
The six major French groups joined forces two years ago to create the “Software Republic”, an open ecosystem of innovations, with the objective of “creating a European ecosystem of sustainable, sovereign and safe mobility”. The “H1st Vision” project is intended as a first technological demonstration. With the idea of transferring and adapting innovations from other sectors (security, military, aeronautics, etc.) to mobility. A real “computer on wheels” with some 100 million lines of code on board, “H1st Vision » makes it possible to show the general public, industrial players and local authorities part of the universe of possibilities in terms of mobility. Developed by a team of one hundred people in a record time of six months, this concept car also included other players including seven start-ups (Arkamys, Compredict, Epicnpoc, Eyelights, Kardome, Stern Tech) and JCDecaux. “The user experience has been made a priority in the innovation process,” we explain within the project teams. From entering the vehicle, which is done by gait and face recognition, to communicating with the city’s connected systems, to charging the vehicle which can be transformed into an energy supplier, the H1st vision is in constant dialogue with other digital and physical ecosystems.
The physical vehicle in fact doubles as a digital twin, that is to say an exact replica in a virtual world. Interest? The vehicle evolves in a universe where today independent systems (road infrastructures, energy, public services, etc.) communicate and interact with each other. A bicycle arrives on a perpendicular street and is not in the driver’s field of vision? The vehicle and its driver will be alerted in real time by a detection, thanks to a signal emitted by all other road users (via the signal emitted by a cellphone, a sensor on a scooter, etc.). The aim is to improve safety on board and around the vehicle, in particular thanks to predictive systems. The vehicle also has an on-board payment interface and an intelligent parking or charging assistance function. In other words: the car tells you where it is possible to park or find a charging station, for what cost, if other means of transport are available to complete a trip, and to book or pay all in one click. Physical and virtual sensors monitor the driver’s health (heart rate variability, electrocardiogram, respiratory rate, etc.) and, in the event of an incident, H1st Vision can make a cellular or satellite call to alert the emergency services. The wear status of key vehicle components like the battery or tires is also tracked, and the vehicle can generate a “secure health certificate in a non-fungible token (NFT) via blockchain.
Innovation is also strong in terms of electrical energy management. H1st vision is equipped with V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) technology allowing charging via a so-called “bidirectional” terminal (developed by the Renault subsidiary Mobilize PowerBox): from the electrical network to the car or from the car to the house, or even to the network during peak electricity consumption. “The car recharges when energy is cheapest, and can offload – for a fee – energy to the grid when needed. We estimate that 50% of the cost of recharging can be saved in this way,” explains Ziad Dagher, energy solutions manager at Mobilize. With its 100 million lines of code and its permanent interconnection, H1st vision is a very complex system to secure. Absolutely critical, vehicle cybersecurity – and data protection in the broadest sense – also concentrates several innovations. Based on artificial intelligence and “machine learning”, the solution developed by Orange Cyberdefense, Thales and Renault Group makes it possible to detect and analyze attempted cyberattacks, in order to respond to them quickly. Not all of these innovations will appear in the cars tomorrow. Behind the technological challenge and the show of force, the hope is also to develop new economic models. “The objective is to develop a range of sustainable and safe services that can benefit the whole mode,” insists Aliette Mousnier Lompré, CEO of Orange Business. “The H1st vision concept car demonstrates both a robust method of collaboration between the partners and a complementarity of technologies to build the mobility of tomorrow. concludes Éric Feunteun, Director of Operations at Software République.