05/2023

ITCA Advanced Engineering Members Received First Place for IEEE Paper

In May 2023, ITCA Advanced Engineering team members Mingyuan Tao, Peng Zhang, and Meng Xu received First Place for their paper “Experimental Validation of Event-Triggered Model Predictive Control for Autonomous Vehicle Path Tracking”, which was presented at the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Electro Information Technology in Chicago. First Place was awarded for the following:

• Novel event-triggered control framework that has potential to significantly reduce autonomous vehicle cost while improving control performance
• Efficient implementation and demonstration of model predictive control (MPC) for AV path tracking that can run in real-time

The developed autonomous driving control algorithm has demonstrable capability for integration into commercial vehicles.

04/2022

Production Started for New Class 3 & 4 Isuzu N-Series Gas Truck

In April 2022, production of the 23 Model Year N-Series Gas Truck commenced at Builtmore’s manufacturing facility in Charlotte, Michigan. Powered by a 6.6-liter V8, the new N-Series Gas Truck continues to deliver an impressive 350 horsepower and 425 lb.-ft. of torque while meeting Federal emissions standards. The 2023 model also features a freshened interior with new seat fabric, providing a new look with enhanced durability. The exterior is updated with a standard matte silver grille along with the introduction of bi-LED headlamps which deliver more light and less heat than the previous halogen bulbs.

Isuzu Commercial Truck Website for more information

[You are now leaving ITCA’s website and are going to a website that we do not operate or control. ITCA is not responsible for the content of linked websites and makes no representations or warranty regarding the accuracy of the information contained in the linked sites. Also, please be aware that these linked sites may have security and privacy policies different than ours.]

11/2021

PRODUCTION STARTED FOR NEW ISUZU F-SERIES TRUCK WITH CUMMINS B6.7 ENGINE

In October of 2019, Cummins Inc. and Isuzu Motors Limited signed a Letter of Intent to evaluate potential areas to work together. Just two short years later, the new 22MY F-series vehicle went into production on October 4, 2021. This 22MY project was the first project completed under the Isuzu Cummins Powertrain Partnership. For both the Isuzu and Cummins brands, each having long histories, this is a new historic moment!

The new vehicle features the most powerful engine of the Cummins B6.7 Efficiency Series — with 260 horsepower and 660 lb.-ft. of torque. It is available in both 25,950 and 33,000 lbs. GVWs and continues to offer eight wheelbases. The new vehicle content is positioned to allow the F-Series vehicle to increase sales volume and expand to a wider customer base.

Development work was led by Isuzu Technical Center of America, and there was a great combined effort of the Engineering, Testing, and Production/Purchasing teams to bring the product to market at a fast pace. New subsystem designs were necessary including the cooling system, exhaust, engine mounting, air induction, DEF system, accessory drive, new electric harnesses, piping, etc. Nine prototype vehicles were built and vigorously tested. Pre-production vehicles were also built, and it was a great team effort to resolve all issues and go into production.

The introduction of the new 22MY F-Series vehicle is a great victory for the ITCA team as well as the Isuzu brand overall. The upcoming years will continue to have a competitive market with more challenging regulations. We look forward to more continued success in the future.

– Matthew Andrews, Senior Manager; CV Product Planning and Vehicle Engineering

04/2021

Isuzu and Gatik Collaborate to Develop Fully Autonomous MD Trucks

Isuzu North America Corporation and Gatik have formed a strategic collaboration to develop and evaluate fully autonomous medium-duty trucks.

The collaboration will integrate Gatik’s autonomous driving technology into several Isuzu N-Series trucks to produce SAE Level 4 delivery vehicles with redundant systems. The first vehicles will be deployed this year thanks to the cooperative efforts of Gatik’s and Isuzu’s engineering teams.

Rapidly increasing e-commerce sales and a well-documented driver shortage have caused businesses to struggle to meet the expectations of on-demand goods movement. This effort will combine Gatik’s autonomous driving software and operational expertise with Isuzu’s award-winning truck platform to address these critical industry pain points, ensuring retailers can maintain capacity, lower operating costs, and keep delivery times short.

This collaboration is an industry first in the medium-duty category and will accelerate the commercialization of autonomous delivery fleets while contributing to a safer and more sustainable logistics community in the future.

www.autonews.com

[You are now leaving ITCA’s website and are going to a website that we do not operate or control. ITCA is not responsible for the content of linked websites and makes no representations or warranty regarding the accuracy of the information contained in the linked sites. Also, please be aware that these linked sites may have security and privacy policies different than ours.]

03/2021

ITCA Associates Publish Paper on Artificial Intelligence in Isuzu Technical Journal

Yong Sun, Wenbo Yu, and Xuejiao Li published a paper on the potential of AI to improve the efficiency and quality of automotive development activities. Specifically, the authors examined how AI can serve as an essential part of predictive maintenance (i.e. to predict engine stall failure and piston cracking) as well as autonomous driving systems (i.e. to predict vehicle trajectory when changing lanes). The authors also detailed a process of uncertainty analysis using deep learning methods for both variations in existing scenarios and adaptation to new scenarios. By developing a mathematical model using Recurrent Neural Adaptive Processes (RNAP), the authors demonstrate improved Diagnostic Trouble Code classification for existing scenarios. Furthermore, to make the existing models adaptive to new scenarios, they developed an online transfer learning algorithm based on the Monte Carlo method. The results show promising potential for the use of AI methodologies in vehicle engineering.

The paper was titled “AI Driven Revolution in Methodology Developments for Predictive Maintenance and Autonomous Driving” and appeared in Issue 132 of the Isuzu Technical Journal.

Images: Graphical model of proposed Recurrent Neural Adaptive Processes (RNAP), and RNAP application for DTC code classification.

02/2021

Isuzu Launches New Class 5 N-Series Gas Truck

On February 9, Isuzu started production of the first ever Class 5 N-Series gas truck in Charlotte, Michigan. This 22MY vehicle represents for Isuzu an expansion of its current North American portfolio into the rapidly growing Class 5 Medium Duty segment.

The Class 5 N-Series truck comes equipped with a 6.0L gas engine supplied by PSI-TQS along with a six-speed Allison 1000 RDS transmission with power takeoff. The adoption of front and rear disc brakes paired with the ZF ABS system ensures excellent braking performance and stability on all terrains. The overall lighter vehicle weight allows for an additional 1000-pound payload vs. its diesel-powered equivalent.

As with the Class 3/4 N-Series gas truck, ITCA led the development program for this Class 5 truck. Its success is due to the strong cooperation between the Engineering and Validation teams in U.S. and Japan along with the Production team and a solid supplier network.

During this program, we had to work quickly to address many special design requirements resulting from a significant number of design constraints. One such requirement involved redesigning the tailpipe at an advanced stage of the program in order to improve pass-by noise performance. Through an enthusiastic team effort, our global engineering team was able to redesign the tailpipe and confirm the improvement in performance to meet program requirements.

We are excited to bring this new offering into our product lineup, and we look forward to presenting more Class 5 Gas trucks in the years to come!

— Paolo Di Martino, Sr. Manager, CV Product Planning and Vehicle Engineering

Isuzu Commercial Truck Website for More Information

[You are now leaving ITCA’s website and are going to a website that we do not operate or control. ITCA is not responsible for the content of linked websites and makes no representations or warranty regarding the accuracy of the information contained in the linked sites. Also, please be aware that these linked sites may have security and privacy policies different than ours.]

11/2020

Virtual Halloween Contest

Isuzu North America held its first virtual Halloween Costume & Pumpkin Carving Contest for which Isuzu associates from around the United States submitted photos of themselves, their family, and their pets dressed in ghoulish garb and adorable attire. ITCA members successfully placed in each of the costume categories as shown below. Thank you all for sharing your creativity and holiday spirit!

10/2020

Employee Milestone Anniversaries

Congratulations to the following employees as they celebrated a milestone anniversary during the last fiscal year (4/1/2019-3/31/2020). Thank you for your talent and dedication to deliver successfully on our mission and our goals!

• Jerry Bergsieker, PT and Vehicle R&D – 30 years
• Bob Brancato, PT and Vehicle R&D – 30 years
• Bruce Vernham, PT and Vehicle R&D – 25 years
• Yasuo Fukai, PT and Vehicle R&D – 5 years
• Yasuo Tamai, Corporate Executive – 5 years
• Lauren Westbrook, CV Product Planning & Engineering – 5 years
• Rand Burzese, CV Product Planning & Engineering – 5 years
• Scott Manuel, CV Product Planning & Engineering – 5 years
• Phillip Ray, CV Product Planning & Engineering – 5 years

Bob Brancato

Phillip Ray

09/2020

Isuzu Launches New Class 3/4 N-Series Gas Truck

On August 26, Isuzu started production of the 20iMY Class 3/4 N-Series Gas Truck in Charlotte, Michigan. This ITCA-led project represents the culmination of four years of combined effort by our engineering, validation, and production teams. With each product update, we are working to balance regulatory requirements with customer needs and advances in technology. The 20iMY introduces the new GM 6.6L V8 Gas Engine, which offers improved emissions capability and increased HP/torque. We also took this opportunity to increase steering angles for improved turning radius and to implement a larger fuel tank for increased driving range. While the new engine enables this vehicle to meet the greenhouse gas engine emissions standards, integration into the Isuzu vehicle came with many challenges related to packaging, controls, diagnostics, and cooling performance. Our engineering team worked through these challenges while maintaining product quality, cost, and timing. As this model year launches, we are already off and running on the 21-24MY projects, so stay tuned for more to come!
— Nicolette Gagne, Sr. Manager, CV Product Planning and Vehicle Engineering

Isuzu Commercial Truck Website for More Information

[You are now leaving ITCA’s website and are going to a website that we do not operate or control. ITCA is not responsible for the content of linked websites and makes no representations or warranty regarding the accuracy of the information contained in the linked sites. Also, please be aware that these linked sites may have security and privacy policies different than ours.]

08/2020

2020 Internship Program

At ITCA, we are always looking for fresh ideas and diverse perspectives to help us develop the best products for our customers. Through our Internship Program, not only are we able to tap into such ideas and perspectives, but we are also able to provide students with an opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom to real-world experiences in the automotive industry. Through the program, each intern is able to explore their areas of interest while helping the team reach its goals.

“It was a great pleasure for me to work as a PVRD intern at ITCA. Being a Computer Science student, I had a limited understanding regarding vehicles and their complex functionalities. However, my mentor and other teammates helped me to get familiar with the basics of vehicle operation. Using this information, I explored and implemented the concepts of AI, cloud computing, and IOT to create a data pipeline for an AI-based predictive maintenance project. I also got an opportunity to publish two research articles on vehicle predictive maintenance, as a co-author with my mentor and teammates.”  — Aishwarya Kadam

Aishwarya Kadam

02/2020

ITCA Intern Presents Self-Exploration of Automated System Under Dynamic Environment at SAE

In a paper published in SAE, ITCA intern Weiyang Zhang introduced a unique algorithmic approach to vehicle mapping of the surrounding environment in order to achieve collision-free motion with timely responsivitiy, critical for the development of autonomous vehicles. The developed platform leverages a RRT (Rapidly-exploring Random Trees) global planner module and a DWA (Dynamic Window Approach) local planner module to generate the path and avoid static obstacles, respectively. The approach was validated by integrating the planning modules with SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) and control models on a small-scale robotic vehicle.

Results of this approach demonstrate successful and efficient path planning as well as collision-less execution. Future work will expand the environmental conditions into complex terrains and dynamic obstacles while implementing/validating the algorithms in full-size vehicles to perform autonomous tasks such as parking and sweeping.

12/2019

ITCA Engineers Present Electric Vehicle Modeling at JSAE/SAE

At the North American GT conference – Plymouth Michigan  & JSAE’s Powertrains, Fuels, and Lubricants International Conference – Kyoto Japan, ITCA engineers Santhosh Pasupathi and Aishwarya Shetty presented the advantages of adopting a model-based approach for developing electric vehicles. Through map-based modeling, they demonstrated the potential for strategic prediction of control logic, i.e. to blend friction and regenerative braking, system performance optimization, and prediction of the merit of new EV configurations while minimizing development time.

Aishwarya Shetty and Santhosh Pasupathi

10/2019

ITCA Employee Presents AI-Based Predictive System at SAE World Congress

At the 2019 SAE World Congress, ITCA employee Yong Sun presented a unique methodology for machine-learning using a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). This approach demonstrates the potential for populating the neural network with learning data for the purpose of automatic root cause analysis. The onboard AI will also be further refined by feedback from expert engineers.

05/2019

ITCA Employee Presents AV Validation Platform at SAE World Congress

At the 2019 SAE World Congress, ITCA employee Yong Sun presented an autonomous vehicle validation platform that combines virtual simulation, vehicle-in-the-loop (VIL) testing, MCity proving ground testing, and final field testing in order to improve algorithm robustness under various traffic scenarios, environments, road conditions, and driving behaviors.

During the implementation of the platform, his team overcame various challenges involving data transmission, commuting time, sensor system consistency, and vehicle dynamic model consistency. The paper outlined case studies in perception, control, path planning, and existing data usage in order to demonstrate the proposed validation procedures.

04/2019

ITCA Employees Publish Paper in SAE International on 1D Predictive Models in Engine Calibration

On April 2, 2019, ITCA Employees Lakshmidhar Reddy Uppalapati, Bruce Vernham, and Yifan Wei published a paper in SAE International describing a new Model-Based Calibration (MBC) approach that leverages physics-based 1D predictive models to perform engine calibration development and validation.

Using GT-Suite, the team developed phenomenological combustion and emission models along with air path dynamics to predict engine performance under various conditions, such as high altitude and high temperature. Calibration effort was significantly reduced, including a 70% reduction in engine testing, as the team was able to use results from this approach to determine the de-rating required to protect the engine without costly physical testing in environment conditions. This approach also contributes to better statistical models as it reduces the potential for errors resulting from engine aging, test cell variation, and engine-to-engine variation.

Going foward, this MBC approach demonstrates potential for improving friction modeling, PM modeling, tail-pipe emissions optimization, and transient/cycle-based emissions optimization.