Technology


London company Monolith brings artifi cial intelligence to automotive development


London-based AI soſt ware company Monolith uses artifi cial intelligence (AI) to substantially cut new vehicle development and testing costs. Monolith’s soſt ware uses self-learning models


to instantly predict the results of complex vehicle dynamics systems, reducing the need for physical tests and simulations. T e company claims this approach dramatically accelerates every stage of the automotive development process – from initial design, design iterations and validation to production, which currently require repetitive, time-intensive and costly tests and simulations. Monolith claims that with its AI platform, fewer physical prototypes and less on-road testing are required, making product validation safer and more sustainable. “Optimising a system, or fi nding a new


solution based on a decade of historical data, is like instantly off ering an engineer a decade of experience. T at’s the power of AI – it supercharges an individual’s subject matter expertise by unlocking the expertise stored within a company’s data,” said Dr Joel Henry, Principal Engineer at Monolith. Typically, during vehicle development,


automotive companies use a combination of lifelike virtual simulations and physical testing. For each design iteration, a simulation solves the physics that underpins the system’s modelling – a notoriously diffi cult and computationally- intensive process. Virtual simulations help reduce the number of physical tests required, but the accuracy and fi delity of the results can be limited.


Caption


Monolith software outputs detailed test graphs, as seen in this example


Numerous physical tests are therefore still needed to calibrate and validate the virtual results, as well as to understand performance in operating conditions that can’t be simulated. “Today, automotive companies are spending


billions developing electrical architectures and soſt ware capabilities as they strive to win the race for electric, shared and autonomous mobility. T is squeezes R&D budgets and product timelines in other areas, creating enormous pressure on the engineering teams working to develop higher-quality vehicle hardware systems in less time and with fewer resources,” said Richard Ahlfi eld, Monolith’s CEO and Founder. Monolith spent six years developing its


platform, which merges data from virtual and physical tests to train highly-accurate AI self-


learning models. T e models then predict the performance of systems by understanding their behaviour, instead of solving the complex physics of the system or performing a physical test. “Monolith was founded to empower engineers


with AI to instantly solve even their most intractable physics problems. We know this resonates especially with automotive engineers, who struggle to optimise hundreds of oſt en confl icting criteria with hundreds of complex simulations. T ese require hours or days to solve, and engineers have grown frustrated by the considerable amount of physical testing still required to make up for the limitations of the virtual tests. At the same time, the data that is created in the process represents an enormous opportunity when used with AI,” said Ahlfi eld.


Satellite technology used to speed up millimeter-wave 5G rollout


Smart antenna company Alcan Systems is applying its liquid crystal (LC) solutions to a range of telecom antennas to speed up the rollout of millimeter-wave 5G technology. Liquid crystal is known for its use in


television and smartphone screens, in addition to satellite applications, specifi cally as a low- cost option for satellite ground terminals. Now, Alcan is also using it in low-profi le antennas. “Liquid crystal allows for a passive


phased-array antenna in comparison to the active phased-array antennas that silicon- based solutions use. So, the antenna itself does not make use of power amplifi ers. T is circumstance also leads to the antenna’s


lower cost,” said an Alcan spokesperson. “T e similarities between satellite and 5G frequencies, combined with the convergence between telecoms and satellite over the past 12 months, make it a natural evolution for Alcan’s solutions.” Alcan’s antennas can be integrated into


diff erent equipment, including customer premises equipment (CPE), repeaters, reconfi gurable intelligent surface-based antennas and land mobile solutions. Additionally, the nature of liquid crystal makes for an effi cient and streamlined manufacturing process, so operators can cost-eff ectively roll out millimeter-wave


5G equipment at the scale needed to meet demand. “To deliver millimeter-wave 5G at scale


remains a huge challenge, and we cannot realise the benefi ts of the next generation of mobile connectivity without widespread coverage. At Alcan we’ve recognised the pain-points of mmWave 5G delivery and developed smart antennas to address them. We’re excited to see our unique technology evolve for the telecoms market, and we look forward to working with new and existing partners to see 5G deliver on its promised vision,” said Onur Hamza Karabey, CEO of Alcan Systems.


www.electronicsworld.co.uk May 2022 05


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