A System in Transformation - From Track to Road

Racing DNA for digital steering

Autonomous vehicles have to steer, brake and accelerate. Professional racing drivers are pretty good at this. Big Data and the "Space Drive" technology from Schaeffler Paravan implement the know-how of motorsport professionals in the control algorithms of autonomous vehicles.

This may not ensure fast lap times in everyday life - but it does provide a clear plus in safety. That is the DNA of Space Drive 2 Plus. A transformation process from the race track directly to the road. Sensor data from tyres, chassis, vehicle and steering flow into a data pool with one goal: to optimise the steering feel of Space Drive 2 Plus and improve driving dynamics.

We use motorsport with its extreme requirements as a test laboratory that generates an enormous pool of data for the use of Space Drive in autonomous vehicles. After all, autonomous vehicles first have to learn how to steer, brake and accelerate. And who better to teach them than a pool of professional racing drivers?

Roland Arnold, CEO Schaeffler Paravan Technologie

Digitalising the feeling for the steering

When endurance champion Tim Scheerbarth races his Mercedes-AMG GT3 towards the Aremberg bend of the Nürburgring, brakes from over 250 km/h to well below 100 km/h, turns in, and briefly takes his foot off the gas when accelerating out into the Fuchsröhre to prevent the rear from swerving, he has a spy on board.

Highly sensitive measuring devices register the steering angle, lateral acceleration, accelerator pedal position, speed and the driver's braking force. Over 200 parameters are constantly recorded and transferred to the Schaeffler Paravan data pool.

When used in motorsport, many new, data-driven development approaches arise in terms of steering parameters. It is a matter of recording and analysing road conditions and feeding them back to the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) systems. An important and central feature of data generation lies in increasing the driving safety and reliability of future autonomous driving systems. The data generated in the force feedback steering unit can not only provide the steering angle, but also, for example, information on the condition of the road surface (grip level) to the control unit.

Our commitment on the race track

Racing is the ultimate accelerator for vehicle development. It relentlessly reveals limits, pushes technology to the limits of its capabilities and promotes important insights for road use.

Application example E-Competition

A good example of the track-to-road approach: participation in the ADAC 24h-E-Competition 2022

Transformation into a road vehicle

The engineers at Schaeffler Paravan analyse the collected data from the race track and continuously optimise the individual system components of Space Drive 2 Plus, such as hardware, software and force feedback unit. The optimised components go directly into the extensive fleet of road vehicles. This creates a powerful add-on package for small series manufacturers, special vehicles and high-performance racing cars.