Altia Creates Design Efficiencies for Major Asian Auto OEM and Tier 1 Supplier, TYW
The Customer
As one of the several HMI (Human Machine Interface) platform providers invited to compete in an RFP from an Asian automotive OEM, one of the world’s largest, Altia knew it had the ability to support the design requirements, create design and development efficiencies and reduce cost. Furthermore, Altia’s team was confident that its solution would open new avenues for product innovation among the OEM’s design team and TYW.
The Challenge
Automaker lacked design control
The OEM wanted to maintain an edge in instrument design, including the 4.2-inch clusters found in many of its vehicles. Its traditional design process involved putting ideas on paper, then handing those ideas off to build the design.
According to Dennis Robinson, Vice President of Global Sales for Altia, what the OEM would sometimes get back was not what was expected. “The many steps in the engagement between the manufacturer and its suppliers allowed for significant room for variation and interpretation,” Robinson noted. “This process often produced only an approximation of the original design.”
With these design challenges in mind, the automaker began looking for ways to streamline and strengthen its cluster design process. Its team leaders planned to focus their efforts by collaborating with TYW who could execute its ideas accurately and efficiently. First, however, the OEM needed to find and install a new software design platform that would unleash the creativity and ingenuity of its internal design teams.
The Solution
Altia lets OEM build functional specs
The automaker considered several companies in its software platform search. After a thorough evaluation of ease and efficiency of use, on-target performance, and overall capability, it selected Altia.
Jeff Stewart, Altia Director of Field Application Engineering, noted the appeal of Altia’s software solutions to remedy the “lost in translation” errors that prevented the automaker’s unique cluster designs from being fully realized in its vehicles. “DeepScreen converts models and prototypes from Altia Design into deployable C code with complete fidelity,” continued Stewart. “It supports all of the most popular semiconductor targets with compact, compliant and efficient code.”
Altia and TYW were well-positioned to tackle the challenge. While TYW has a long history of releasing products, the company relied on its engineers to code each design solution by hand—a situation that the OEM wished to change with Altia’s solutions.
TYW was both excited and challenged by the request. “Vehicles from China are known for the aggressive design, impressive graphics and extensive features in their displays. But those displays must be manufactured at some of the lowest cost points in the world. Altia has given manufacturers the fast development environment that makes all these imperatives possible,” stated Robinson. Altia’s personnel quickly helped TYW become fully proficient in Altia tools and best practices. They also helped with language requirements by showing TYW’s developers how to optimize memory, accommodate complex character sets and more. “For both the OEM and TYW, it’s been a game-changer.”
“Overall, Altia is a great company across all of the functions,” stated David Qiu, Vice President of Sales at TYW. “The Altia team has wonderful teamwork spirit. Altia’s software capabilities are very impressive – cost saving, quick responses, and easy modifications plus saving tremendous resources and time. I believe Altia has a great future in emerging markets, like China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam.”
