At the forefront of technology
In all our research projects, we collaborate with our customers and leading players to create concepts and prototypes that use the latest technology. We are proud to be at the forefront of technology development. We believe that this is a key to finding the best ways forward for our customers. The research projects are open-minded environments, where ideas can flow freely so that new innovations can take form.
Green Technology for sustainable development
All our research is driven by sustainable development. Even if we focus on all aspects of sustainability (social, economic, and ecological sustainability), we have a particular focus on green technology to optimize already existing products. But also to challenge old truths.
Greentech Project – Electric aircraft
By integrating new electronic components into a plane’s power conversion, we were able to reduce the system’s weight by 90%. A radical improvement, especially in an industry where you usually chase fractions of a percent. This has a major impact on fuel consumption for all transports – and can enable full-scale electrification of all modes of transportation, including planes.
Greentech Project – Simulated test drives of autonomous cars
What can be done to reduce waste in the development phase? Several things! As a tool for ourselves – and as a service for our customers – we conduct research in virtual testing and verification of autonomous cars. This eliminates tedious and resource-heavy physical tests. By implementing simulation to test your new software for autonomous drive, continuous integration and distribution are enabled. We can test 3 000 000 km of driving overnight, which otherwise would amount to approximately 550 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions. And that is not the only effect. With virtual simulation, you can test necessary critical scenarios without all the driving in between, which further eliminates resource-heavy driving.
Artificial Intelligence – Safety cage
Making AI safe is one of our biggest challenges. We invest in AI combined with one of our core competencies: safety. This challenge concerns cars as well as autonomous cars and health tech for automated decision support with image analysis.
In many research projects, we have developed methods and tools to assess and increase the reliability and readiness for AI-based systems. The reliability is increased by detecting when AI tries to make decisions about things it is not trained for. We call this concept a Safety Cage. By visualizing how AI makes decisions, we increase its reliability so that nurses, doctors, and drivers can trust the systems. The readiness increases through close collaboration with our customers and by understanding the specific needs of their organization. This way, we can provide tailored solutions for each customer.
Artificial intelligence – Predictable maintenance
In an ongoing research project, we merge AI and power electronics. In iREAL 4.0, a research project funded by the ECSEL program, we investigate how to increase the reliability of an electric drivetrain by analyzing the health of the electrical components in real-time. This is not possible using regular statistical methods, but is possible by training AI to discover small anomalies in the behavior of the components in an inverter.
Power electronics – SiC
QRTECH has focused on exploring the possibilities with new materials, such as silicon carbide and other broadband materials. The new components based on these materials allow for better system solutions – both in terms of efficiency and optimization of weight and volume for the systems we build. We have used silicon carbide for several of our power electronics applications, for example in DC/DC power conversion for onboard charging of electric cars and AC/DC conversion for aerospace applications.
IoT – Connectivity and cybersecurity
In our research projects, we expand our knowledge in an increasingly important area: cybersecurity.
By using a set of cybersecurity tests, we can perform penetration tests of embedded devices to mitigate security flaws in the development stage, rather than in the field. These tests cover several areas, such as wifi, LTE, and IoT protocols. The tests are performed to increase the security of the systems and to prevent harmful attacks and misuse of the products.
Our knowledge of cybersecurity is aimed specifically towards the products we develop, such as embedded devices for connected cars, heavy machinery, and connected health devices.
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