Vehicle Architectures and Lightweight Design Concepts

Safe Light Regional Vehicle

Climate, resources, prices - how will everything become easier in the future?

How can we consume fewer resources in the future, even though cars are currently becoming heavier and heavier? How do we build vehicles that protect all people and road users in traffic as good as possible? And how can we develop vehicles efficiently and cost-effectively in all of this? To answer these questions, we are thinking a little further ahead in terms of vehicle architectures and lightweight construction concepts - and are already working on the concepts of the generation after next.

Conserving resources, reducing emissions and ensuring greater safety: we develop vehicles that are ready for the future - from the structure to "vehicle intelligence". Our focus is on particularly lightweight and safe designs for lower energy consumption and for greater climate protection and traffic safety. And we go as far as practical questions regarding the realisation of structures and components, such as the "correct" assembly of bodywork, car body, chassis or interior.

From concept to prototype

The Vehicle Architectures and Lightweight Construction Concepts department links conceptualisation, design and simulation. It also offers the opportunity to test these in demonstrators and test platforms and to integrate them into vehicles. We research and develop sustainable construction methods and their application - including in the body shell, in individual chassis components and in safety-relevant vehicle structures. Applications can be found along the entire development chain through to prototypes, whether in rail or road vehicle construction. This enables us to offer our partners and customers innovative technological solutions.

Topics we are working on

  • Methods for innovative vehicle architectures in the road and rail sector
  • Concept development in the area of body and chassis
  • Car body concepts and construction methods (static, dynamic, crash)
  • Chassis concepts and structures
  • Analysis, optimisation and systematic evaluation of innovative construction methods
  • Hybrid designs and fibre composite structures
  • Highly functional and functionally integrated structures
  • Additive manufacturing processes and generic part design
  • Tools and methods for structural optimisation
  • Digital development and optimisation processes along the entire value chain
  • Concepts for integral safety
  • Tools and digital design methods in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning
  • Verification and validation of prototypes

Interested? Contact us now

Are you interested in how innovative vehicle architectures and intelligent lightweight design concepts can make vehicles safer and more sustainable? Then contact us.

Contact

Dr.-Ing. Gerhard Kopp

Head of Research Area
German Aerospace Center (DLR)
Institute of Vehicle Concepts
Vehicle Architectures and Lightweight Design Concepts
Pfaffenwaldring 38-40, 70569 Stuttgart