Concept development of steering column Accommodating business commuters in a level four autonomous car Konceptframtagning av styrkolonn En styrkolonn anpassad för pendlare i en klass fyra autonom bil Victor Wetterlind Faculty of Health, Science and Technology Degree Project for Bachelor of Science in Innovation and Design Engineering 22.5 ECTS Supervisor: Jakob Trischler Examiner: Leo de Vin Gothenburg 2018-06-18 MSGC12 Page is intentionally left blank Abstract This thesis reports on a collaborative concept development with Volvo Car Corporation. The problem underlying the concept development was to innovate a steering device for a level-four autonomous car. Specifically: How can the steering wheel and its mount be designed to give the driver more room when the car can drive itself? The product development process was combined with a hybrid strategy view, both an in-side-out and outside-in approach. The thesis is written by the project leader Victor Wetterlind for his bachelor’s thesis in Innovation and design engineering at Karlstad University. This with supervision from postdoctoral researcher within innovation, Jakob Trischler and examiner, professor in manufacturing engineering, Leo de Vin. The thesis corresponds to 22.5 hp and belongs to the faculty of health, science and technology. Along the project, analysis of field tests, research on related subjects, discussions with experts and lead-users were held. Concepts were created with both individual and group-based methods. The project has used computer aided design as a tool to test concepts along the evaluation phase. 2-D and 3-D models were used to perceived size, proportion and design as well as for digitally verifying kinematics and function. After several evaluation iterations and concept refinement, a concept recommendation was done to the company in the shape of a presentation and 3D- model. Sammanfattning Denna rapport behandlar ett konceptutvecklingsprojekt gjort i samarbete med Volvo Car Corporation. Examensarbetet går ut på att lösa ett problem åt uppdragsgivaren; hur kan ratten och dess ingående delar konstrueras för att ge föraren mer plats när bilen kör sig själv och på så sätt ge föraren mer plats. Konceptet är anpassat för att passa ett fordon klassat som en nivå 4 (av 5) autonom bil av Society of Automotive Engineers. Vilket innebär att bilen kan köra autonomt med under särskilda förutsättningar. Koncepten togs fram med produktutvecklingsprocessen och en hybrid-approach, delvis outside-in och delvis inside-out. Examensarbetet är skrivit av projektledaren Victor Wetterlind som är student på Karlstads universitet och läser högskoleingenjörsprogrammet innovationsteknik och design. Programmet tillhör fakulteten för hälsa, natur- och teknikvetenskap. Projektledaren har fått vägledning av postdoktorala forskaren inom service-design och innovation, Jakob Trischler. Examinator i kursen är Leo de Vin, professor i tillverkningsteknik. Kursen är på 22.5 HP. Utmed projektet har analyser av användarstudier gjorts, påläsning av relaterade ämnen, diskussioner med experter samt lead-users. Koncept togs fram med både individuella- samt gruppmetoder. Utvecklingen har till stor del varit datorstödd. Test av funktion och kinematik gjordes både i 2-D och 3-D. Datorstödd design användes även för att få insyn i storlek, design och proportioner av komponenter. Efter konceptutvärderingen rekommenderades ett koncept till företaget via en presentation och en 3D-model. Table of Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 6 1.1 Background ............................................................................................... 6 1.2 Preliminary problem statement ............................................................... 7 1.3 Delimitation .............................................................................................. 8 1.4 Purpose .................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Goal .......................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Project structure ....................................................................................... 9 2 Method ..................................................................................................... 11 2.1 Project plan ............................................................................................ 11 2.2 Feasibility study ...................................................................................... 13 2.3 User study .............................................................................................. 13 2.4 Product specification .............................................................................. 15 2.5 Concept generation ................................................................................ 16 2.6 Concept evaluation ................................................................................ 20 2.7 Layout construction ................................................................................ 23 2.8 Concept recommendation ...................................................................... 24 3 Result ....................................................................................................... 26 3.1 Project plan ............................................................................................ 26 3.2 Feasibility study ...................................................................................... 26 3.3 User study .............................................................................................. 34 3.4 Product specification .............................................................................. 35 3.5 Concept generation ................................................................................ 37 3.6 Concept evaluation ................................................................................ 41 3.7 Layout Construction ............................................................................... 48 3.8 Concept recommendation ...................................................................... 56 4 Discussion ................................................................................................. 59 5 Conclusions ............................................................................................... 62 6 Acknowledgment ...................................................................................... 63 7 References ................................................................................................ 64 Appendix Appendix 1: Project plan pg. I Appendix 2: Individual brainsketches pg. XII Appendix 3: Morphological analysis of steering wheel pg. XIV Appendix 4: Group brainstorming results pg. XV Appendix 5: Brainstorming with new restrictions pg. XVI Appendix 6: Result from 6-5-3 method pg. XVIII 1 Introduction This project aims to develop concepts and evaluate them for Volvo Car Corporation on behalf of the steering department and with guidance from Johan Svensson and Daniel Krstic. The project is done as a bachelor’s thesis (course name MSGC12) for the programme of innovation and design engineering at Karlstads University at the faculty of technology and science. The project’s extent is 22.5 ETSC. The supervisor is Jakob Trischler and examiner Leo de Vin. 1.1 Background This chapter will introduce the reader to the thesis and its background. This to have the reader understand how, why and under what circumstances the thesis were written. The company the thesis is done for is also presented. Volvo Cars are Sweden’s leading car manufacturer and a very established and well- known company in the car business. Their product portfolio contains premium segment cars in three categories – Sedan (S90 and S60), estate (V90, V60 and V40) and SUV (XC90, XC60 and XC40). Volvo has its roots in Sweden but are now established in about 100 countries around the globe. It is a truly international company with an employee number of around 31 000. With a global market share of 1-2% they are a relatively small automotive company. Their leading market (in % of total sales) are China (17%) followed by USA (15%) and Sweden (13%). (Volvo Car Corporation, 2017) It is a time of change in the transport industry as car and truck manufacturers are releasing more and more electrified and smart vehicles. Volvo are of the belief in continuously increased electrification and smartification of vehicles; autonomous cars (independent/self-governing) are not very far away. If autonomous or partly-autonomous cars become the norm, the existing steering wheel will be in excess in terms of its size and central position in the drivers’ seat. Thus, Volvo is looking in to how the future may play out. Specifically, Volvo among other car manufactures are investigating a technology called Steer-By-Wire (SbW). SbW allows for an electrical connection (non-mechanical) between the steering wheel and steering gear, thus allowing for new design and construction opportunities. 6 The level of autonomy is usually talked about in terms of SAE definitions (from their international standard J3016). This thesis will focus on a steering aid that suits the needs of a level 4 automated vehicle. Wired UK (Burgees, 2017) posted a report about automation and wrote the following about level 4 automated vehicles: “SAE describes this as having "driving mode-specific performance by an automated driving system of all aspects