24/7 Electric Pit Stops: LeMans Feeling in the City
Most car enthusiasts are familiar with the images of a pit stop at the legendary 24-hour race in Le Mans, France. There, mechanics change the tires, wipe the windows and check the racing cars in a much-rehearsed choreographed way: it is a pit stop ballet conducted under extreme time pressure. One of our visions at Porsche is Le Mans for everyone!
What if Porsche customers could drive their cars to a Porsche Center and a robot checked their vehicle as quickly as a professional pit crew? In the future, will it be possible for a fully programmed robot to autonomously check a Porsche Taycan while it is standing at a charging station and the driver is relaxing with an espresso and the daily newspaper?
An autonomous service robot as a pilot project
For some time now, we at Porsche have been working on the idea of an autonomous service robot. At the Expo-Day of this year’s STARTUP AUTOBAHN, an innovation platform in Stuttgart, we presented a pilot project together with the Polish start-up InMotion Labs that demonstrates our vision of the future.
A small robot circles and undercuts the car autonomously. It measures the vehicle with a laser scanner and a camera, and the data is analyzed in the cloud using an artificial neural network — for example, the service robot can detect brake pad wear or the remaining tire tread. This takes place in a matter of seconds, is fully autonomous and completely digitalized. It documents these securely with the help of Blockchain technology.
InMotion Lab is currently developing the first prototype and is teaching the machine to learn the various damage patterns. We are working as a project team on the technical feasibility of the e-pit stop in order to develop the best possible solution for our customers and the Porsche Center.
Transparent and safe thanks to blockchain technology
InMotion Labs is a young start-up from Krakow, which was founded in 2017. Through the simple scan of a vehicle, the company’s technology offers potential for new digital mobility and service offerings at Porsche, such as rental and used cars or subscription models for Porsche vehicles. Customers expect the greatest possible flexibility and freedom in the choice of their products. In the future, an autonomous service robot, for example, could ensure the acceleration of the return of rental vehicles, saving valuable time for customers.
Due to InMotion Labs technology, which features data in the cloud and Blockchain technology as a transparently encrypted model, the condition of a vehicle is transparent and traceable at all times. Our descendants will be able to drive up, have their car checked and drive on. Like a pit stop at Le Mans — but in the future.
Christoph Westheider works in After Sales at Porsche AG.
Lars Kraemer is Innovation Manager at Porsche AG.
About this publication: Where innovation meets tradition. There’s more to Porsche than sports cars — we’re tackling new challenges, develop digital products and think digital with a focus on the customer. On our Medium blog, we tell these stories. It´s about our #nextvisions, smart technologies and the people that drive our digital journey. Please follow us on Twitter (Porsche Digital, Next Visions), Instagram (Porsche Digital, Next Visions, Porsche Newsroom) and LinkedIn (Porsche AG, Porsche Digital) for more.
