Delphi R&D Engineers Lead SAE World Congress On Safety Critical System Activities

    TROY, Mich., March 5 Delphi Automotive Systems
plays an important role during the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE)
World Congress in Detroit this week in the discussion of Time Triggered
Architecture (TTA), widely recognized as the emerging standard for safe and
fault tolerant real-time systems used in drive-by-wire applications.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001019/DELPHIAS )
    As part of SAE, Delphi, together with TTTech Computertechnik AG, has
organized a session on Safety Critical Systems where discussions will be held
on safety systems and time triggered architecture (room D0-03, Cobo Center,
Tuesday, March 6, at 9 a.m.).  Dr. Nady Boules, Delphi's director of research
and development, will chair the session.
    Delphi and TTTech are also partnering on the 5th Annual TTPforum, an event
that gathers the pacesetters in the field of Time Triggered Technology.  The
5th Annual TTPforum takes place during SAE on Wednesday, March 7, 6:30-10 p.m.
across from Cobo Hall at the Pontchartrain Hotel.  Leading automotive,
aerospace, and semiconductor companies, including new TTPforum partners like
Audi, Honeywell, NEC and Volkswagen, will present and exchange their visions
and plans to implement next generation embedded systems based on Time
Triggered Protocol (TTP(R)), an enabling protocol or platform for TTA.  The
TTPforum will also focus on the gainful cross-impact of aerospace industry and
fly-by-wire experience on drive-by-wire systems in the automotive industry.
    The automotive industry is currently moving towards the implementation of
integrated vehicle control systems and drive-by-wire systems.  These new
systems will radically change the electronic and electric architecture of
cars.  These advanced control systems will most likely use TTA as its standard
architecture and will increase overall traffic safety, driving convenience,
and functionality significantly.
    Delphi is very focused on developing safety critical system architecture
for automotive applications -- specifically, drive-by-wire.  As a sponsoring
partner of the TTPforum, Delphi's Dr. Joseph G. D'Ambrosio, staff research
engineer, will be presenting on "Automotive System Safety and Time Triggered
Architecture" which will relate architectures based on TTP to safety
requirements as determined by Delphi's comprehensive hazard analysis approach.
    Delphi drive-by-wire activity builds off its experience with E*STEER(TM)
Electric Power Steering System which debuted on a 2000 Fiat Punto in the fall
of 1999.  E*STEER(TM)?technologies -- motors, sensors, microcontrollers,
elements of serial communication and electro-mechanical feedback -- are the
fundamentals of drive-by-wire.  SAE recently acknowledged Delphi's expertise
in this field by awarding project engineers Sanket Amberkar, Farhad Bolourchi,
Kirt Eschtruth and Mark Kushion, for "Excellence in Oral Presentation" in
presenting a paper entitled "Diagnostic Development for an Electric Power
Steering System."  The paper discussed vehicle level requirements for an
Electric Power Steering System to ensure fail-safe operation of the vehicle.
    "Safety is the overriding priority of Delphi in the development of a
drive-by-wire system," stated Nady Boules, director of research and
development at Delphi Automotive Systems' steering division.  "Our technical
and integration expertise in steering, including electric power steering,
braking and embedded controllers gives us the ability to develop appropriate
and affordable architectures required for these safety-critical by-wire
technologies."
    For more information about Delphi Automotive Systems, visit Delphi's
Virtual Press Room at http://www.delphiauto.com/vpr .