The project: From the idea to a blueprint for the future
The success story of the Car Repair 4.0 project continues. In September 2018, a consortium of companies and scientists led by eco – Association of the Internet Industry set out to shape the future of car repair shops. Initially funded by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the European Union, the first step of the project was to develop a demonstrator system that enables machine learning-supported control chain diagnostics.
With the continuation of CarRepair 4.0, digitization in automotive workshops will be further advanced since the beginning of 2022. The background to the research approach is that fault diagnosis in vehicles today still mostly takes place via proprietary diagnostic systems using the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) interface. However, error codes, so-called Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC), do not refer to the cause of an error but only to the parts recommended by the system for replacement.
CarRepair 4.0 aims to use oscilloscopes to record data in the engine compartment to realize more differentiated and better diagnoses, avoid unnecessary repairs and thus conserve resources in the interests of sustainable maintenance. The data-based diagnostic system is also to be made available for older vehicles and will be easy to integrate into the everyday work of car repair shops. Industry-specific data and AI models will be provided on a platform for trusted exchange.
The ecosystem of car repair shops, diagnostic system providers and AI startups is networked through GAIA-X. Federated services anchored in the Gaia-X infrastructure are intended to enable the heterogeneous participants in the vehicle service market to compete fairly with new digital business models. CarRepair 4.0 counteracts the shortage of skilled workers in Germany and strengthens German SMEs in the long term.