Automotive & Heavy Vehicles
Taking autonomous
driving further ZF is a German technology company and a specialist in the development of intelligent drive systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The company is at the cutting edge of artificial intelligence research (AI) in digital connectivity, full automation and software, as Philip Yorke reports.
T
he ZF Group was founded by Ferdinand von Zeppelin in 1915 and began by trading as Zahnradfabrik Friedrichschafen, later abbreviated to ZF. The company has evolved from a supplier specialising in aviation technology to a global technology company focused on research and advanced manufacturing technologies in the automotive and avionics industries. Today ZF continually enhances its systems in digital connectivity automation and sophisticated software that allows vehicles to see, think and act independently. In 2018, ZF achieved sales of around 40 billion euros. The group has a global workforce of more than 150,000 with 230 facilities located in over 40 countries worldwide.
Putting safety and comfort first Fully automated and autonomous driving are important technologies in helping make the traffic of the future safer, more efficient and more comfortable. Depending on the application, the market demands different solutions. For the time being, intelligent assistance functions, so-called Level 2+ systems, have the greatest potential for passenger cars. In contrast, fully automated systems of level 4 and higher will likely become established in commercial vehicles and urban passenger transport. This is proven by new orders which ZF has received from car and commercial vehicle manufacturer, the company told Industry Europe. Industry Europe 29
