Volvo Group has inaugurated its new Vehicle TechLab in Bangalore to expand its R&D setup in the country. The facility was opened by Jan Gurander, Deputy CEO, Volvo Group, who was accompanied by Kamal Bali, President & MD, Volvo Group, India and CR Vishwanath, Vice President, Volvo Group Trucks Technology, India.
The all-new Vehicle TechLab can house complete trucks, chassis and aggregates. It has various supporting equipment for engineers to test, innovate, validate and experiment their ongoing work – through a set up equipped with driving simulators, test benches, 3D scanners among various other tools and systems.
In an exclusive interaction with Motorindia, CR Vishwanath, Vice President, Volvo Group Trucks Technology, India shared, “With the complexity and the changes that are coming in, in terms of product development, we constantly try to see how we can develop products faster, with low costs and in better quality. So TechLab is a place where can achieve all these things. This will help take the competence and the capabilities of the Bangalore R&D team a step higher.”
The new facility is designed as a collaborative virtual workspace – creating a simulated workshop environment – using technologies like virtual reality, human body motion tracking & realistic digital rendering of vehicles that allows Volvo Engineers across the globe to connect & collaborate virtually. This facility will significantly reduce the development times, improve problem solving and offer better insights & speed in building innovative solutions.
What’s in the Vehicle TechLab:
- XR space: A collaborative extended reality (XR) arena for engineers in Volvo Group India. The arena will enable teams to visualise and simulate a complete vehicle virtually while opening the option to collaborate with engineers across Volvo Group – globally.
- XR Ergonomic Buck.
- Master Chassis and harness board.
- Engine cooling test rig and brake board.
- Trucks bays to accommodate two trucks.
- 3D printer.
- Provision of charging Battery Electric Vehicle.
Addressing the gathering at the inauguration, Vishwanath said, “Being the largest R&D site outside of Sweden, with 1600+ engineers, it becomes imperative that we have the infrastructure in place to support global collaboration within Volvo Group and outside. The TechLab adds to the infrastructure we already have in place to support our engineers to enhance their knowledge and contribute in developing sustainable products using advanced technology.”
Today, Volvo Group’s R&D operations in India is the largest development site outside Sweden. Volvo Group Trucks Technology in India employs more than 1600 engineers, and this number will significantly increase in the coming years. The current set up includes a host of facilities such as vehicle garages, electrical & electronics lab, AR/VR Lab, and access to proving grounds.
