Who we are
VIVES SmartMobility
VIVES SmartMobility is part of Smart technologies | VIVES University of Applied Sciences.
The smartmobility group conducts research into technologies that practice smart mobility. In order to create a unique expertise, a focus is placed on two sub-pillars. Mobile automation and alternative propulsion technologies (Hybrid, electric, hydrogen vehicles).
Mobile Automation
The mobile automation department has been around for about ten years now.
In the early years, the focus was on electronic communication protocols (CAN protocol) between the control units in vehicles. This is due to the increasing number of computer boxes in a vehicle.
This resulted in sufficient knowledge to create our own automated vehicles.
See the videos below.
Automatic parking between 2 cars – YouTube
Because automatic vehicles also have their limitations, the step towards autonomous mobility is being taken.
But what do we understand by autonomous mobility?
Autonomous mobility
Where the vehicle in automatic mobility is driven by hardcoded rules (for example, a platform that follows a line, or a vehicle that first drives straight ahead for ten meters and then turns 90° to the left to then drive straight again for ten meters), an autonomous vehicle will be able to participate independently by a perception of it’s environment.
The vehicle understands what it has to do, and how it does it is no longer programmed by software using rules. The device has taught itself how to do this.
This on the basis of Artificial Intelligence with Reinforcement Learning algorithms trained in a digital environment.
Our focus is not so much on passenger cars, but rather on niche mobility. And this on land, at sea and in the air.
So in short, forklift trucks, freight transport, flying drones, defense drones, shipping, diving drones, … .
