Aumovio expands ADAS manufacturing and supports Aurora Innovation

The expansion includes an additional 6,040 sq.m of manufacturing space to meet demand for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), as well as a state-of-the-art automated warehouse. The expanded production and logistics space is expected to be fully operational by August 2027, according to the company. 

The New Braunfels facility opened in 2022 and is Aumovio’s first greenfield plant manufacturing technology for drive assist in the US. Since it opened it has produced approximately 13 million radar sensors, mainly for the passenger car market. The expansion is primarily driven by the growing global demand for advanced ADAS technology, according to Aumovio. In May this year the company announced that it had so far produced 200 million radar sensors globally and currently maintained a market share of more than 20% in safety technology components for the automotive sector. 

Since opening our original facility in 2022, we’ve employed nearly 500 people and produced around 13 million radars. That’s a huge impact not just to our local community but to the global automotive industry. We’re ready to continue that momentum” - Brandon Lane, New Braunfels plant manager, Aumovio

Aumovio also announced a major series order for radar sensors from North American customers earlier this year, with a combined value of approximately $1.5 billion. The New Braunfels location will be a key contributor to supporting this new business, according to the company. The company did not disclose the customers in question. 

Aurora Driver

As well as ADAS radar technology for passenger vehicles, the company said the plant is expected to play a leading role in the future Aurora Driver hardware and fallback system, part of a partnership with Aurora Innovation, which provides commercially scalable autonomous driving systems for commercial vehicle makers. The Aurora Driver technology enables trucks to drive autonomously and is designed to promote road safety supply chain efficiency. Aumovio said the partnership has introduced the world’s first serviceable automotive-grade autonomous system at scale. 

Read more: Insights from Aumovio and more at ALSC ASEAN

Rahul Singh, global head of software, autonomous mobile robots at Aumovio, was one of several industry experts who shared their insights at the inaugural ALSC ASEAN conference in Singapore.

“Introducing new hardware to the market is complex and time-intensive, often taking years from initial design to the start of production,” said a spokesperson for Aumovio. “Recognising this challenge early on, Aurora teamed up with Aumovio to jointly develop reliable, serviceable, cost-efficient, autonomous hardware kits for mass production.” 

 Aurora is able to deploy autonomous trucks at scale, thanks to the partnership, and supported by Aumovio’s automotive development and manufacturing expertise, the tier supplier said Aurora Driver will be able to deliver customer value for 1 million miles.  

The industrialised fallback system being developed enables autonomous vehicles to operate safely without a human driver through the provision of built-in systems to compensate component or sensor failures. 

“The fallback system is a specialised secondary computer that can take over operation if a failure occurs in the primary system,” said Aumovio’s spokesperson. “This innovative dual engineering approach is intended to reduce the exposure of the main and fallback system to single points of failure.” 

While it is too early to discuss the details of its automated warehouse that is supporting the expanded production, Aumovio said that automation will play a key role in driving efficiency, accuracy, and scalability across logistics operations, complementing current processes with technology that positions the company for long-term success.