Czech Republic

The establishment of the Prague office is closely linked to the Czech Technical University (CTU) in Prague, with whom it has been collaborating since 1996. The connection of industry with academic research and education has resulted in a fruitful and mutually beneficial exchange that continues to this day.

In 2018 Porsche Engineering Services, s.r.o., expanded its operations within the Czech Republic by establishing an office in Ostrava. The site specializes in the development of innovative software for the automotive sector. With the new site in Ostrava, Porsche Engineering continues to invest in the technically demanding field of future mobility.

The department of function and software development handles activities in the areas of model-based function development, control engineering, hand-coded software, and functional safety and software quality. Projects in model-based function development focus on software for battery management systems, active chassis systems, and electric and hybrid powertrains using tools like MATLAB, Simulink, Stateflow. Control engineering addresses such topics as “classic” PID control schemes and “modern” control methods (e.g., MPC, LQG, and neural networks). There are also several activities involving big data acquisition and processing (i.e, data mining). Hand-coded software uses C/C++ and Python and covers a wide range of projects—from low-level software to major software development projects on charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Functional safety and software quality teams ensure that software meets the automotive industry’s stringent requirements and complies with standards like ISO26262 and ASPICE.

The department of electronics design covers all activities related to the entire development life cycle of electronics, featuring circuit design, embedded software development, testing, and consultation. The electronic hardware design comprises concept studies, mixed signal and power electronics, simulations, complex PCB layout, and DFM. System safety and security topics are taken into account where required. The embedded-software team focuses on MCU and FPGA platforms, ranging from bare-metal to complex operating systems. Automotive projects demand functional safety and therefore the development principles of ASIL (ISO26262) are followed. A particular focus on security and cryptography supports contemporary trends toward connected systems. Frequently, the project delivery includes performance testing, legislative and normative standards application, tolerance calculations, pre-compliance EMC, FMEA support, reliability and calculations, and worldwide certification support.

Validation of automotive software on electronics hardware, so-called hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) testing, is the most important focus of the electronics integration department. Currently, HiL involves areas of powertrain and active chassis systems, car connect services, electric vehicle charging systems, advanced driver assistance systems, and interior vehicle systems. Furthermore, additional activities are gaining momentum, including in-vehicle validation of advanced driver assistance systems (e.g., adaptive cruise control) and the development of software tools and simulation models for testing (e.g., in CANoe or MATLAB, Simulink). The latest activity added to our portfolio of competencies includes modeling and real-time simulation of vehicle network architectures.

Our complete vehicle department combines a wide range of disciplines for innovative product development. Our focus on high-voltage systems covers development of battery modules, cooling systems, power electronics, packaging in the vehicle, and development of fast-charge infrastructure. HVAC activities consist of complete life cycle development of HVAC components and systems with integration into the vehicle, either for standard or using lightweight materials for motorsport, among other applications. Cooling-circuit development, including e-mobility, is part of thermo-management activities that take physical measurements and perform CFD simulations of internal flow and heat transfer to achieve numerical model validations and virtual testing. Aerodynamic performance development entails the design of wind tunnel models, CFD simulations, and numerical optimization. The NVH portfolio handles the evaluation of global modes and dynamic stiffness, or interior and powertrain acoustics simulations on trimmed body levels.

The body department’s expertise in design and simulation spans the entire car development cycle—from concept to series. The design group covers the entire development range—from a single module to a complete derivate in body-in-white, closures, and battery-pack frame design—and can support series production as well. Projects are handled using innovative material combinations and special production technologies, with a focus on lightweight design, ergonomics, and dimension concepts, while also taking tolerance and weight management into account. The simulation group uses modern tools to ensure adherence to required parameters and safety measures for individual parts, systems, or complete cars. Complex structural simulations (e.g., stiffness and strength, fatigue, and misuse) as well as passive safety simulations (e.g., pedestrian protection, FMH, and crashworthiness) are carried out by our team using supercomputers. Digital prototype activities, which are prepared for all kinds of simulations, are included in our projects as well.

Design, simulation, and testing of cutting-edge chassis technology are the main focus of the chassis department. It consists of chassis design, chassis testing and optimization, braking system and wheel rim optimization, and systems and driving-dynamics testing. The chassis design team is responsible for design concepts, parts and assemblies, kinematics and elastokinematics, and drawings, package examinations, and CAD data management. The team for chassis testing and optimization performs multi-body simulation for driving dynamics and develops FEM solutions, such as transfer path analysis, mounting analysis, and the evaluation of strength, stiffness, and durability. The optimization team is concerned with brakes (e.g., NVH, thermo-mechanical analyses, and strength and deformation analyses), wheel rims in FEM areas of strength, stiffness, durability, and NVH. And finally, the team for systems and driving-dynamics testing is responsible for system integration tests, ride and handling tests, and application.