Tag: #automotive

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How retrofit brings automotive and sustainability together

Whether it’s raw materials or energy, cars consume large amounts of resources. Additionally, passenger cars and light commercial vehicles are responsible for about 15% of CO2 emissions in the EU. The EU has long responded to this with the “European Green Deal,” setting all signals towards electrification.

Achieving climate goals requires more than just a transition in propulsion. Even though lawmakers currently focus on a vehicle’s CO2 emissions, these are only part of the problem. Emissions are produced throughout the entire production cycle, from raw material extraction to manufacturing. To achieve the mobility transition and the climate goals set by lawmakers, product lifespan can and must be extended in addition to recycling.

Using vehicles longer is active climate protection

According to forecasts, there will be around 354 million vehicles in the EU by 2030, most of them with gasoline or diesel engines. But what should be done with all these combustion vehicles when laws and air quality measures significantly restrict their use?

The most resource-efficient approach is to retrofit the existing fleet of combustion vehicles to electric drive. This gives vehicles a second, emission-free life, extending their lifecycle. Otherwise, they would have to be disposed of and replaced with newly produced electric vehicles. That would be anything but sustainable and hardly in the interest of consumers. After all, not everyone can afford a new electric vehicle just like that.

European parliament
The European Council has set the EU the goal of reducing its net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55% by 2030 compared to 1990 levels and becoming climate-neutral by 2050. 

Retrofit gives vehicles a second, emission-free life

The process of conversion is called “retrofitting.” Retrofit means transforming vehicles with combustion engines into electric vehicles. This includes replacing analog instruments with digital ones to display necessary information like state of charge (SoC), range, etc., while modernizing the driving experience.

In the classic car scene, this type of “upcycling” has already become a trend: More and more people are converting their classic cars into electric vehicles. The car retains its classic charm and iconic exterior, and the retrofit classic car is welcome in every environmental zone in Europe.

What works for classic cars is also possible for newer combustion vehicles. With the right solutions, retrofitting can be used in many areas of mobility: on the road, on water, and even in the air.

In collaboration with R-FIT, an initiative by the MCC AUTOMOTIVE association in France, our retrofit solutions already helped retrofit iconic cars. © R-Fit

 

The market needs “green” and economical solutions

The catch is that so far, conversion has been costly and not easy to accomplish. The software in digital cockpits, a key component in retrofitting, presents significant challenges for companies. This is where Incari makes the change and has developed solutions to make retrofitting more cost-efficient and straightforward.

Make retrofitting easy and cost efficient!

  • Simple HMI development for digital cockpits: Our HMI development platform “Incari Studio” is an all-in-one tool that enables the quick and easy development of digital cockpits for retrofitted vehicles. This allows modern software to be seamlessly integrated into existing vehicles.
  • Incari Retrobox as plug & play solution: With our Retrobox, we offer a perfect hardware solution for retrofitting digital cockpits. The Retrobox is a compact device that captures analog signals from vehicles and converts them into digital displays. This innovation facilitates the retrofitting of vehicles, especially in the context of electrification, and provides drivers with access to modern features, customizable screens, infotainment, and more.
Incari´s Retrobox captures analog signals from vehicles and converts them into digital displays. © Incari GmbH

Why retrofit?

Retrofit offers a great opportunity to bridge the gap between climate goals and the needs of the automotive industry. Utilizing existing resources will help the automotive sector become truly greener, instead of merely engaging in greenwashing, as often accused.

With Incari´s cost-effective and user-friendly solutions, we make retrofitting practical for both classic and modern vehicles.

You can reach us at:

Tel. +49 30 695 35 73 0
…or use the contact form. 

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Incari Player for automotive interfaces: Bridging design and real-time drive

The Human-Machine Interface is the backbone of a good user experience. Bridging the gap between humans and machines, systems, or devices through an effective HMI ensures smooth interactions. With Incari Studio, the creation of this seamless experience has been simplified, courtesy of its visual coding capabilities, 3D first approach, and steep learning curve. But post-development, the pivotal step is choosing the right player to bring your HMI designs to life.

What is Incari Player, and what does it do?

An HMI player serves as software that interprets and presents your designs and functionalities in real-time on the designated device or system. It functions as the runtime environment, providing the platform for the HMI to operate seamlessly. While it comprehends and renders the designed layout, its handling of logic diverges from traditional reading practices.

Incari Player processes the design and thanks to the compilation process, the logic is capable of direct execution. By aligning these aspects, the Player bridges the gap between design and real-time execution while capitalizing on streamlined performance.

The benefits of Incari Player

Incari Player presents a robust solution for seamlessly transforming your Incari Studio-crafted HMI from the conceptual stage to real-world application. Tailored to accommodate a spectrum of automotive requirements – encompassing intuitive in-car entertainment systems, digital instrument clusters, and futuristic head-up displays – Incari Player ensures precise translation of your designs into fully functional interfaces.

Key advantages:

  • Seamless integration: Impeccably assimilates into the in-car embedded system environment.
  • Third-party modules: Facilitates the integration and customization of third-party software modules, catering to corporate needs and harnessing the full potential of a complex HMI system, drawing from a range of external hardware and software suppliers.
  • Compatibility: Compatible with various automotive hardware platforms, benefiting from cross-compilation to target and thereby optimizing performance for each specific platform.
  • Real-time engine: Operates autonomously and, when necessary, as a redundant thread within the operating system. It taps into the full performance capacity of its designated platform, allowing seamless integration with required peripherals.
  • Real-time logic: Exposes predefined logic, widgets, and other functions from Incari Studio to the player, all of which are interpreted and rendered in real-time.
  • Robust infrastructure: Offers a comprehensive suite of services ensuring streamlined functionality, consistent updates, regular maintenance, and smooth upgrade processes.

Incorporating these enhancements, Incari Player stands as the ideal conduit for translating your visionary designs into tangible and advanced automotive interfaces. Whether your focus is on entertainment, instrumentation, or visionary displays, Incari Player guarantees the synchronization of creativity and functionality, opening doors to a new dimension of user experiences.

In the dynamic landscape of the automotive industry, innovation waits for no one. Stay ahead of the curve with the best in HMI display and functionality. If redefining automotive interfaces is your goal, it’s time to explore the Incari way. Experience the myriad benefits of Incari Player or connect with our expert sales team for tailored solutions.

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