Intelligent electronic automotive systems repair support tool for auto repair technicians

Project Information

WireVision

Grant agreement ID: 887243

DOI

10.3030/887243

Project closed

EC signature date 4 December 2019

Start date 1 January 2020

End date 31 August 2020

Funded under

• INDUSTRIAL LEADERSHIP - Innovation In SMEs

Total cost

€ 71 429,00

EU contribution

€ 50 000,00

Coordinated by

WIRETRONIC AB
Sweden

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - WireVision (Intelligent electronic automotive systems repair support tool for auto repair technicians)

Reporting period: 2020-01-01 to 2020-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Wiretronic AB develop and produce bespoke wire-harnesses, cables, electronics, and mechatronics products for the automotive, aviation- and general industry. Combining AI and Machine Learning with vast knowledge and experience of the Automotive industry, Wiretronic came up with the WireVision app; an AI tool for identifying vehicle component parts number through visual recognition.

Today, money and time goes to waste in workshops due to inefficient processes for identification and ordering of repair components, often resulting in wrong parts being ordered. With WireVision, the part number of any component is automatically identified by taking a picture of it, greatly facilitating a potential ordering process as well as providing professional instructions for repair.

The objective of the SME-1 project was to develop a comprehensive understanding of the market, its needs, and the needed route to bring WireVision to the market. The ambition was to confirm the technical feasibility of WireVision and validate the presented business opportunity. In particular, the mapping of needs and demands of identified stakeholders was targeted, as well as the development of the most suitable business model to exploit the technology.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The approach taken for the completion of the phase-1 project can be divided into three activity areas:
1 Prototype development: A solid application prototype has been developed and validated for dataset generation, data-cleansing and annotation, and ML-training. The result is a prototype tool with functionality for component identification and repair-instruction generation.
2 Market analysis and stakeholder feedback collection: The WireVision prototype has been presented and demonstrated to several stakeholder from different business sectors. The interview results have been analysed to identify client requirements, demand drivers, willingness to pay and further development need.
3 Business plan development: The business plan for WireVision has been validated and the strategy developed to prepare for rapid commercialization, with needed development activities identified as next steps.

With the results from the SME phase 1 project, it was possible to confirm that:
• The market potential is large for a tool like WireVision. Addressing a current gap in the auto maintenance and repair value chain and with big potential to transfer the concept to additional industry segments.
• There is high interest among stakeholders for the WireVision tool. The WireVision app remains extremely simple and easy to understand, manipulate and use, requiring no training for the user.
• The timing is right. The automotive transformation is underway with more and more electronics components, increasingly making the electrical harness integrity a prioritized safety and security element.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

With the results from the project, the business idea is not abandoned. Wiretronic will look for opportunities to develop the WireVision business opportunity through further product development and pilot demonstrations as well as dissemination and marketing.
A successful project development and commercialization is, amongst others, expected to create an array of new direct and indirect job opportunities (+15 by 2025) within EU.