General Motors was the first automaker to bring the first connected car features to market with OnStar in 1996 in Cadillac DeVille, Seville and Eldorado. OnStar was created by GM working with Motorola Automotive.

Today while everyone is talking about latest automotive technologies, in India the Automotive and IT industry is also preparing for the next big thing – Vehicle Telematics or specifically the dawn of Connected Vehicles.

Connected Vehicles 2017 conference – the first-of-its kind conference cum exhibition in India, was organized by Telematics Wire on 18th JAN 2017 at Hotel Hilton, Chennai, that brings together the experts practitioners and policy makers.

Satven was a sponsor at this prestigious event and the team has setup a stall to connect with the prospective customers and to showcase Satven capabilities.

“It is amazing what can be accomplished when nobody cares about who gets the credit” – Robert Yates

“…while extraordinary products and services are key differentiators for competitive advantage, the one critical differentiator that stands the test of time…is ‘people’ and the best way to appreciate them is to recognize their contribution”.

The ‘Team of the Quarter’ award is presented to the team that displays high level of camaraderie and collaboration. This award category is scrutinized by a Cross Functional Jury to select the winner.

In the Team of the Quarter celebration 39 teams across Hyderabad & Chennai were felicitated. The occasion was graced by the Top Management and Business Development Managers from across the globe.

The teams rejoiced and celebrated this achievement together.

Congratulations to the winning teams!

“Team Satven-Japan” had their Company Picnic on the 13th of November 2016 in Kasaoka City and Shiraishi-jima Island. Associates & their families 86 in number, actively participated in this outing. The weather was pleasant all through the day and this helped the team to enjoy the get-together, unwinding in the company of family and friends.

A big surprise for the team who started from Hiroshima was the warm welcome extended by the Mayor of Kasaoka city, Mr. Kobayashi and his team. After the initial reception, all took a ferry to a remote but serene island, Shiraishi-jima Island, which is one of the 31 islands in the center of the Seto Inland Sea.

We were welcomed into this island of picturesque scenery. Led by the guide, 4 groups headed to the mountains on a hiking course. Alongside beautiful landscape and unique rock formations and the hillock nearby where a “Bussharito” Buddhist tower (Busshari Stupa) was built in 1970 in a calm and colourful locale which enshrines the image of the historical Buddha.

An Indian Lunch was followed by a Fusion of Shiraishi Dance & Flamenco Dance – Very Mystical – performed by the folk group in a traditional manner with a variety of formations and creating rings.

On the return trip, we had an award ceremony (POBs & TOQs were handed out to worthy associates) inside the ferry itself!!

All in all it was a very memorable event for all the associates and their happy families, one that will be cherished for a long time.

Satven made an indelible impression on the large audience that was part of CII’s 2nd edition of the “Conference on the Future of Automotive Design” held at the Grand Chola in Chennai on the 19thof August 2016. Our stall saw a lot of footfall throughout this day-long event that was attended by over 200 senior management and auto industry personnel from India & abroad.

Added to this, Sridhar Lakshminarayanan, VP & Simulation Delivery Head, enthralled the dignitaries with his short but yet highly informative talk on “Upcoming Crashworthiness & Safety Regulations”. His talk was supplemented by videos and more info on upcoming regulations such as:

• Oblique crash, which is quite severe when it comes to meeting Brain Risk Injury Criteria (BRIC)
• Mobile Offset Progreesive Deformable Barrier (MPDB) test which is meant to better reproduce the energy balance of a vehicle-to-vehicle crash and the possible influence of the mass ratio on crash severity for the assessed vehicle & to minimize intrusions in the partner/mating vehicle.

Details related to the Small Overlap Rigid Barrier (SORB) test as well as trend-setting advances in rear-seat occupant protection & “Bag in Roof” technologies were also shared.

Satven was a special invitee to the Altair Technology conference – 2016, that was held at Hotel Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre towards the end of July 2016. This forum brought together several technical experts & engineering leaders from abroad range of industry verticals including aerospace, automotive, energy (O&G), consumer products, and heavy equipment, to share advancements & next practices in simulation technology.

The conference provided users a forum to present their work and discuss the practical challenges and solutions in various aspects of Virtual Prototyping and Simulation.

Joel Aranha, Project Manager – CAE, enthralled the dignitaries with his presentation titled, “Model robustness and productivity enhancements in airbag simulations using Altair’s HyperWorks tools”.

Joel’spresentation focused on the challenges faced by simulation engineers while producing stable &numerically accurate models of airbags as well as automation of certain manual tasks to enhance productivity.

Satven was the prime sponsor of the 10th Annual Automotive Seating Innovators Summit held from July 25 to 27 2016 in Novi, Michigan. Senior representatives from some of the top automotive companies from NA & Europe, consultants, and several other key stakeholders were an integral part of this event. Satven garnered much attention & mileage during this 3-day event.

Sreedhar Thippireddy, AVP – Sales & Marketing and Venkat Yenduri, AVP – OEM Simulation, spoke in depth on Satven’s overall capabilities and our rich experience & expertise in Seating Systems engineering.

Pam Pothen, AGM – HR, enthralled the dignitaries with her comments & humor as the Chairperson of the final day’s proceedings.

Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences, Pilani (BITS – Pilani), Hyderabad campus invited us to be part of their workshop on ‘Analysis of Engineering Systems using FEM’ which was held between the 14th & 16thof July, 2016. One of our project managers from CAE, Janardhan T, represented Satven in this workshop on the 15th of July 2016.

Jana made a presentation on the evolution & role of CAE in automotive engineering & the challenges faced by the auto industry in view of statutory requirements related to passenger safety and GHG emissions. The focus of his presentation was on the evolution of CAE from being an uncertain companion to a front runner when it comes to problem-solving and innovation.

The factors that are driving the automotive industry’s research and innovation initiatives and related topics were covered. This included:

• Strict safety &emission regulations
• Need for lighter and quieter vehicles (as the new norms on noise levels are expected to commence very soon)
• Development of frontal crash protection systems
• Role of CAE in bringing innovation to often-overlooked domains of the vehicle (innovative tires from Michelin and Goodyear)
• Quest for new materials and novel structures to build light-weight vehicles

Jana’s presentation was intently followed by a large number of students and the faculty of Mechanical Engineering at BITS – Hyderabad as well as pupils from other colleges.