Bendix parent company Knorr-Bremse is has acquired Wülfrath, Germany-based tedrive Steering Systems GmbH, a manufacturer of rack-and-pinion and recirculating ball steering gear systems.
“For us as a manufacturer of braking systems, entering the steering market is the logical next step in expanding our systems expertise,” says Dr. Peter Laier, Member of the Executive Board of Knorr-Bremse AG responsible for the Commercial Vehicle Systems division. “Through the smart connection of systems and subsystems we will be able to generate added value for our customers, be they commercial vehicle manufacturers or operators, in the development, production and operation of their vehicles.
“This is particularly important against the backdrop of increasingly widespread driver assistance systems and the automation of driving functions – developments that not only offer greater safety but also reduce total vehicle operating costs. Coming from the global market leader in electronic brake control systems, our new generation of Global Scalable Brake Control products is designed to support the complex control procedures required for autonomous driving,” he adds. “Together with the steering expertise of tedrive, this core competency of KnorrBremse opens up additional opportunities to supply our customers with highly integrated and efficient system solutions.”
Autonomous driving predicates control of longitudinal and lateral vehicle dynamics independent of driver input. Today, Knorr-Bremse’s electronic brake control systems already control longitudinal motion and at the same time ensure the dynamic stability of the vehicle. In combination with iHSA, in the future Knorr-Bremse will be able to offer extended automated driving functionalities that were previously restricted to the passenger car sector, such as active lane-keeping on motorways/freeways, as well as functionalities specific to commercial vehicles, such as platooning – automated driving in convoys with short distances between vehicles – or autonomous yard maneuvering.