Suspension Controls from Concept to Production 

The Challenge 

Semi-active suspension systems are expected to become standard equipment for the majority of passenger vehicles over the next 20 years. Whether these systems are installed to high margin specialty or low profit mass market vehicles, they'll need to be optimized for cost and function including control system design, functional safety, serviceability, and best practice manufacturing.

Result 

At each stage along the development path, Pilot provided our customer with expert and targeted development services to move effectively toward production while multiplying systems engineering capabilities.

Pilot followed the industry standard "Systems-V" approach when helping our customer move from concept to customer. We helped develop SMART requirements, especially around control systems and diagnostics, and we implemented and validated MATLAB Simulink-based control algorithms to meet those requirements using our dSPACE HIL expertise. We evaluated the effectiveness of algorithms in a CarSim vehicle co-simulation. We studied and recommended optimized sensor architectures for desired function, and we even helped design a manufacturing process for the dampers themselves. Our comprehensive services enabled our customer to travel from early concept to mass production, assisted in their re-engineering as a full-service mechatronics supplier, and helped bring capable semi-active suspension systems to worldwide vehicle OEMs.

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