Powering Smart Steering Systems for Heavy Trucks

A leading European commercial vehicle manufacturer partnered with T&S to support the electronic development of an electrohydraulic power-steering system for heavy trucks. The program combined system engineering, software development, validation and quality assurance in a demanding automotive environment governed by ASPICE (level 2) and ISO 26262, requiring a scalable delivery organisation coordinating multiple engineering disciplines across several international locations while maintaining strong quality and safety standards.

Client context

The client needed to develop a steering system operating under ASIL-B functional-safety constraints while managing more than 1,500 technical requirements, with rigorous traceability between specifications, implementation, testing and validation. The electronic architecture involved multiple low-level components - communication protocols, bootloader integration and hardware-related functions - meeting strict automotive reliability requirements, with distributed teams across several countries over an 18-month project.

Business challenges

• Develop a steering system under ASIL-B functional-safety constraints with 1,500+ technical requirements
• Maintain bidirectional traceability between specifications, implementation, testing and validation
• Deliver multiple low-level components (communication protocols, bootloader, hardware-related functions) to strict automotive reliability
• Ensure delivery consistency, quality governance and coordination across distributed teams over 18 months

The T&S solution

T&S delivered an end-to-end engineering approach across the full electronic development lifecycle - system engineering, low-level software development, validation, project coordination and quality assurance - mobilising delivery centres in Strasbourg (software, safety, project leadership), Cairo (qualification and unit testing) and Stuttgart (AUTOSAR expertise). The teams developed low-level electronic and software components including PMSM motor-control improvement and integration, CAN and SPI communication integration, Vector bootloader implementation and hardware driver development for safety-related functions, and established bidirectional traceability between requirements, development and validation. Throughout, T&S performed unit, integration and requirements-based testing to secure production readiness and industrial qualification.

Technologies & expertise

• Embedded C
• CAN and SPI
• Vector bootloader
• Hardware Security Module (HSM)
• ASPICE
• ISO 26262 ASIL-B
• MISRA
• Green Hills compiler
• Unit & integration testing

Results & business value

• Delivery of production-ready electronic systems for the steering platform on schedule
• Reinforced software reliability and improved validation coverage
• Compliance with automotive quality and functional-safety requirements
• Demonstrated capability to manage complex automotive electronic programs through coordinated international teams (France, Germany, Egypt)

Conclusion

The project demonstrates T&S's capability to manage complex automotive electronic development through coordinated international delivery, combining system engineering, embedded software and functional-safety expertise to deliver production-ready, ASIL-B-compliant steering systems.