By Huned Contractor
The company has also announced a tie-up with Livio for in-vehicle apps
KPIT Cummins, a leading product engineering and IT consulting partner to manufacturing, automotive and energy & utilities companies, announced that it has won the prestigious Mahesh Modi Environmental Excellence Award for its revolutionary plug-in parallel hybrid solution Revolo. The award, given by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) with the objective of fostering technological innovation based on innovative science, is in recognition of the company’s commitment towards building sustainable automotive solutions of tomorrow. The Revolo converts gasoline-powered vehicles into a hybrid within four to six hours, thereby claiming to enhance fuel efficiency by 35 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 30 per cent.
The solution comprises an electric motor, electronic motor controller, a battery pack, software for controlling the motor and batteries and a battery management system. Commenting on winning the award, Ravi Pandit, Chairman and Group CEO, KPIT Cummins, said, “We are honoured by the recognition bestowed on us with the award.
It is a reinforcement of the relevance of solutions like Revolo that not only enhance fuel efficiency and reduce emissions, but can be implemented in the existing automobiles and are affordable to the common man.”
The Mahesh Modi Environmental Technology Award is presented during the biennial Symposium on International Automotive Technology (SIAT) at ARAI in Pune to recognise scientific discoveries and technological innovations by individuals or groups in meeting the challenges posed by environmental conservation requirements.
In a joint venture, Revolo will be manufactured and marketed through a joint venture (JV) between KPIT Cummins and Bharat Forge, the world’s largest forging company. While KPIT Cummins has licensed the technology to the JV, Bharat Forge will bring in the essential manufacturing know-how, assembly capabilities and integration expertise. In September last year, the Revolo was showcased to Praful Patel, Union Minister for Heavy Industries on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA). This was considered significant in view of the government’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan 2020 to promote electric and hybrid vehicles in the country that will be run under the aegis of the Ministry of Heavy Industries.
The Revolo kit can be installed in vehicles ranging from 800 cc to 3,000 cc. For the purpose of the demonstration, a Maruti Alto and a Tata 207 were fitted with the Revolo system. The cost of the hybrid engines will be about Rs 1,00,000 to Rs 1,50,000. Further, in view of the fact that KPIT Cummins has been working as a product engineering partner to global automotive OEMs in the areas of powertrain, body electronics, safety & security, infotainment & telematics, it has now tied up with Livio, provider of in-vehicle mobile apps to cars, in a strategic partnership to enable seamless connectivity between multiple consumer devices, mobile apps and the infotainment head unit.
The partnership will allow consumers to bring Livio-enabled apps easily to the head unit as well as on the smartphones, and will eliminate the need for constant support and one-on-one integration between individual apps and head units. Under this partnership, the Livio Connect API will be integrated into KPIT’s production-ready infotainment software framework ‘KIVI’ (KPIT In-Vehicle Infotainment). “With this integration, Livio-enabled apps can be accessed through the vehicle’s voice and touch controls in a safe manner,” a press release states. Commenting on this, Anup Sable, senior vice president and head of the automotive & allied engineering segment, said, “KIVI is designed to future-proof IVI systems by bringing in new features and cutting-edge technologies, like Livio, even to existing IVI systems rapidly.”
KIVI is an architected software framework that enables car makers to embrace changes faster. KIVI allows bringing in native and third party downloadable apps or features quickly and securely through unique software updates and app deployment framework, making the car an integral part of the digital social life of consumers. KIVI also enables integration of safety and driver assistance systems, vehicle tracking and remote diagnostics services.
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