- Rivian does most of its {hardware} and software program work in-house, that means it is extraordinarily vertically built-in.
- The automaker’s second-generation R1T and R1S fashions are far easier beneath the hood. The long run fashions may even be extra simplified.
- That is what the discount in wiring and the variety of computer systems seems to be like in actual life.
Rivian raised eyebrows final yr with the debut of its second-generation electrical truck and SUV. The R1T and the R1S usually are not solely extra superior than their earlier variations but additionally radically extra streamlined beneath the hood.
The California-based startup ripped out 1.6 miles of inner wiring harnesses from the previous fashions, slashed the variety of onboard computer systems that handle numerous automobile features and made the automobiles simpler to restore. Now we’re attending to see what that appears like in actual life, thanks Kyle Conner of YouTube channel Out Of Spec Evaluationswho not too long ago toured Rivian’s engineering headquarters in Palo Alto, California.
Photograph by: Rivian
Electrical automobiles have traditionally been dearer than their gas-powered counterparts. They’re additionally heavier as a result of high-voltage batteries. Now automakers are on the lookout for methods to cut back prices, offset the heavy weight of the battery in different areas and make them simpler to restore and replace over time. Tesla began this obsession with effectivity and start-ups like Rivian are additionally getting actually good at it.
Within the video, Rivian’s Senior Vice President of Electrical {Hardware} Vidya Rajagopalan defined how the automaker shifted from its first-generation automobiles to the a lot easier second-generation fashions in simply two years.
On the second-gen R1T and R1S, Rivian diminished the variety of digital management items (ECUs)—or mainly the brains of the automotive—from 17 to only seven. ECUs management every little thing from the drivetrain and infotainment to energy home windows and driver help methods.
Fewer ECUs additionally imply much less wiring. Because the picture beneath reveals, 1.6 miles of wiring is a large quantity of fabric by way of sheer quantity. By eradicating it, Rivian shaved off 44 kilos of weight. Slicing down the variety of computer systems seemingly saved the corporate 1000’s of {dollars} per automobile and freed up helpful house contained in the cabin and beneath the pores and skin. This theoretically additionally makes it simpler to restore, which wasn’t essentially the case earlier than.
One Rivian proprietor beforehand instructed InsideEVs that his first-generation R1T was out for restore for almost a yr. That’s as a result of the facet digicam received broken in a minor crash, and to exchange that, the service middle needed to yank out the whole wiring harness. It additionally needed to dismantle the dashboard and take away the seats. All this, to exchange one small facet digicam.
That form of engineering complexity is strictly what Rivian got down to repair with its transfer to a “zonal structure.” As an alternative of counting on dozens of separate computer systems for particular features, Rivian now makes use of a handful of highly effective processors positioned in several zones of the automobile. These zones talk over a high-speed community linked to a central pc, drastically decreasing the quantity of wiring required. If one thing breaks, the prognosis is much extra native—no must take away the whole wiring harness.
Rivian diminished 1.6 miles of wiring on the second technology R1 and a pair of.3 miles of wiring on the R2. That is what that appears like in actual life.
Photograph by: Rivian
When requested how the corporate constructed a full zonal structure in simply two years—a feat that may take a standard automaker a few years—Rajagopalan credited three issues: being primarily based in Silicon Valley, prioritizing vertical integration and inspiring shut collaboration between {hardware} and software program groups.
“In a legacy OEM, if you wish to make a change, you begin with a gathering. Then product managers write up a scope-of-work doc, adopted by authorized contracts—and all of that takes time,” she mentioned.
At Rivian, it’s totally different. “The {hardware} and software program groups sit in the identical constructing,” Rajagopalan added. If you wish to make a change, you simply stroll over to the engineers, discuss it out in a gathering room and get to work.
At Rivian’s engineering HQ, check rigs that resemble life-sized automobile skeletons are outfitted with the corporate’s newest ECUs, wiring harnesses, sensors and cameras. These stripped-down frames simulate real-world failures and make sure the system is strong by the point it goes into an precise automobile.
Rivian can also be utilizing a liquid-cooled pc for its superior driver help system (ADAS) to handle the warmth generated by the huge quantities of knowledge it processes. It’s similar to a high-end gaming pc, however the ADAS computer systems are much more highly effective than your common gaming PCs. In some unspecified time in the future in future, in addition they goal to assist increased ranges of autonomous driving options within the automobiles.
Apparently, Rivian’s ADAS and infotainment computer systems are bundled collectively for seamless communication between the 2. For infotainment and ADAS, there’s quite a lot of info overlap—they each want GPS and navigation entry, for instance. So it is smart to bundle them collectively.
“The great thing about the zonal controller is that it’s geography-based,” Rajagopalan mentioned. “The older area controllers had been function-based.”
Rivian’s autonomy and infotainment computer systems sit on high of one another.
Photograph by: Out of Spec Evaluations (YouTube)
Rivian additionally does the entire software program and electrical structure work in-house, as a substitute of assembling elements made by a whole bunch of various suppliers. That’s probably Rivian’s largest benefit, although it nonetheless has lots to show as a carmaker. Nevertheless, Rivian’s experience in software program and electrical structure is why Volkswagen agreed to take a position over $5 billion of their three way partnership for future VW and Rivian fashions.
“You can’t be a know-how chief when you’re an integrator,” Rajagopalan mentioned. “You’ll want to carry worth and differentiate. We imagine know-how is our differentiation. And by getting items off the cabinets from different folks, you lose that differentiation.”
Have a tip? Contact the creator: suvratkothari@insideevs.com
