Beamm – Saint-Gobain · SUGAR project 2020/21

The project · from brief to prototype

What happened, step by step.

01

Challenge

Driver-assistance cameras must be recalibrated after every windshield replacement. Current tools are tedious, error-prone and too bulky to bring to the customer. Saint-Gobain asked for a faster service without losing mobility.

02

What the team learned

Technicians find the calibration process tedious, time-consuming and prone to errors, and today's heavy, cumbersome tools restrict glass repairers' work.

03

What they built

Designed with technicians, beamm is a lightweight, retractable frame with self-centring tyre targets and a 3-axis laser. It deploys in under a minute; the laser feeds positions to software that guides the technician to place the calibration panel.

04

Results

Developed and tested with glass replacement technicians; stated to be twice as fast as other tools.
Promises ADAS calibration anywhere in less than 10 minutes.

05

Impact

Technicians can serve more customers per day and widen their working range, since beamm fits in a van. Drivers wait less for their vehicle.

In their words

It simplifies the calibration in repair centers and opens up new possibilities.

Deputy CEO, France Pare-Brise

Full project text

The team’s original texts from the project page.

A transportable tool empowering technicians to efficiently calibrate automotive smart cameras (ADAS) in a playful and precise manner.

Challenge

By 2022, almost all company vehicles will be equipped with advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to comply with EU road safety guidelines. Those smart safety features rely on a windshield-attached camera, which therefore must mandatorily be calibrated after each windshield replacement by positioning a calibration panel at a specific distance.
However, current tools often have tedious processes and are too bulky to be transported close to the customer, wasting precious time for both automotive glass replacement technicians and drivers.
This led us to our challenge: how could we improve the calibration tool for a faster service without compromising on mobility?

Solution

Designed with technicians, beamm improves the calibration equipment and simplifies the calibration procedure.

Thanks to self-centering tyre-targets and a slide-and-lock aluminium structure, deployment is now a child’s play. Within minutes, beamm is ready to calibrate, with only two easy steps to perform.

Firstly, the technician simply aims our laser rangefinder at targets, capturing positioning data in the blink of an eye. Secondly, clear instructions are provided thanks to our software, allowing the technician to swiftly place the calibration panel to its correct position.

Now only the car’s ADAS algorithm has to be launched for a successful calibration!

Impact

In comparison with other ADAS calibration tools, beamm is twice as fast, without compromising on precision. Moreover, thanks to its foldable, lightweight and sturdy design, beamm can easily be fitted inside a van and moved to another workshop, closer to the customer.
For drivers, this ensures a faster and more reliable calibration service, minimising the time without a vehicle and improving road safety.
For technicians and our sponsor, this empowers them to serve more customers per day, but also widens their working range. In addition, our ergonomic and playful process limits physical and mental stress.

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