Bosch has always been known for its cutting-edge technology, including in the mobility sector. The company completed 100 years in India this year and has also come up with a new smart campus called Spark.NXT, which was launched in July this year in Bengaluru, India. Spark.NXT has several parts to it, along with sustainability and mobility being a prominent focus.

Bosch, a leading supplier of technology and services, has been bringing together comprehensive expertise in vehicle technology with hardware, software and services to offer complete mobility solutions. The Bosch mobility solutions web portal presents highlights from the areas of connected mobility, automated mobility and powertrain systems and electrified mobility. In fact, Bosch is present in all of the mobility segments in India – from passenger vehicles to heavy commercial vehicles and light commercial vehicles to three-wheelers and two-wheelers.

Adding another feather to its cap will be one of the latest steps of the company – expanding its artificial intelligence of things (AIoT) activities in India by transforming its headquarters in Adugodi, Bengaluru, into a new smart campus called Spark.NXT. The inauguration of the same took place in Bengaluru, India, in July this year, also with the company celebrating 100 years of Bosch in India.

Throwing light on Bosch completing 100 years on Indian soil, Soumitra Bhattacharya, Managing Director at Bosch Limited and President of the Bosch Group, India, averred, “In terms of automotives, we have moved from an automotive components manufacturer to a systems manufacturer to a solutions manufacturer.”

Over the last five years, Bosch has invested INR 8 billion in developing the campus, which has the capacity to potentially house 10,000 associates. The 76-acre site is Bosch’s first smart campus in India and features multiple smart solutions based on sustainability, security and user experience for associates, visitors and facility management. It is designed to adapt to the needs of the users, and the smart solutions are innovated on the foundation of Bosch’s technological know-how.

In truth, in the construction phase, a strong emphasis was placed on recyclable materials and the transplanting of trees, ensuring an increase in green cover. 

As an AIoT company, Bosch India leveraged its world-class artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), automation and digitalisation capabilities to develop its smart campus in pursuit of its vision for a sustainable, self-reliant and future-ready India. To further enhance its R&D capabilities for the new way of working, the company has also trained over 10,000 associates through a comprehensive reskilling initiative over the past two years.

Spark.NXT – what is it?
Bhattacharya explained that Spark. NXT is a curiosity to transition and transform, and to meet the business expectations of not only grabbing the opportunities but co-creating the opportunities of the future.

Filiz Albrecht, Member of the Board of Management and Director of Industrial Relations at Robert Bosch GmbH, who officially took responsibility for Bosch India from 1 July 2022, talked about Spark. NXT and asserted, “Spark.NXT demonstrates our commitment to both sustainability and the well-being of our associates. It features a variety of smart IoT and machine learning (ML) solutions, which are expected to cut energy consumption on the campus by nearly 30 percent. The new campus will be an inspiring environment for our associates that will help them unleash their creativity and spark future innovations.”

In his inaugural speech, the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, said that the Bosch Spark.NXT campus will certainly take the lead in developing futuristic products and solutions for India and the world. “I am happy that Bosch India has worked not only on innovation but also in giving it scale,” he said and added, “A key pillar in this will be sustainability. I was told that Bosch has achieved carbon neutrality both in India and outside of the country, which is very inspiring. Bosch came to India 100 years ago as a German company, and now it is as much Indian as German. This is a great example of German engineering and Indian energy.”

Spark.NXT has been broken into six parts – Spark.Mobility, Spark.Living, Spark.Industry, Spark.Software, Spark.Sustainability and Spark. Culture.

Spark.Mobility
“In mobility, we are talking of green mobility under four core factors – personalised, automated, connected and electrified,” Bhattacharya enlightened and continued, “For the last 12 years, we have worked on safety and reducing road accidents very closely with the Government of India.”

Spark.NXT and collaboration
Bhattacharya further put across that they are trying to do obsessive collaboration, not just with their customers or start-ups but for their group companies. “Many of these legal entities are currently, and will be further, housed inside the campus. We work together with software and hardware engineers, look at what the customers need and co-create the solutions,” he elucidated and continued, “Today, it’s all about where people get together and co-create through collaboration and also create opportunities.”

Giving a concrete example, Bhattacharya said, “Let’s take the example of driver drowsiness in some vehicles. So the emergency brakes, the cockpits, the connectivity and the various aspects that we will further announce in the areas of hydrogen electrification are all simple but clear examples of what we are trying to do.”

“So this campus, with this environment, allows us to get not just internal collaboration but external collaboration as well,” he stated.

Bosch’s sustainable practices
Albrecht further stated that the Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. “We have 128 locations across the globe and the company generated a sale of EUR 78.7 billion in 2021,” she shared and went on, “Bosch is a value-driven company and our commitment to sustainability is an integral part of the corporate culture. The key for us is technology, and as an innovation leader, we develop products and solutions of outstanding quality that help conserve natural resources and improve the quality of life.”

Albrecht went on to mention that as a company, Bosch has a long history of sustainable practices. She asserted, “Sustainability is no longer just a ‘nice to have’. Today, sustainability is our core mission, and we are working hard to live up to our responsibility here. By acting in an economically, environmentally and socially responsible manner, we want to improve the quality of life of the present and future generations as well. The Bosch Group has been carbon neutral since 2020.”

Focusing on carbon neutrality
“While making our own operations carbon neutral was in itself a big step, we are now focusing our efforts on reducing emissions outside of our direct sphere of influence,” Albrecht asserted and continued, “We are aiming to reduce our annual upstream and downstream emissions by 15 percent by 2030. To achieve this, we are, firstly, pursuing a circular economy strategy that involves keeping materials and products into usability for as long as possible. Secondly, we are striving to optimise energy efficiency in our existing products. And thirdly, we are shifting our product portfolio towards carbon neutrality.”

Coming to Bosch India, Albrecht cited that it is playing a key role in carbon neutrality, water management and energy efficiency, and that the people at Bosch India are doing some inspiring work in sustainability. While sustainability is central to a company’s corporate strategy, its success depends on the people. Bosch India wants to create an environment that enables its associates to develop their full potential and contribute to the company’s long-term success. It is preparing its associates for the transformation and helping them to develop personally and acquire new skills.

Investment in electromobility, digitalisation and more
“One more area of focus is reskilling associates and preparing them for the technologies of the future,” Albrecht informed and continued, “Over the past five years, Bosch has invested EUR one billion in this and plans to invest another billion in artificial intelligence, electromobility, software, digitalisation and Industry 4.0, to name just a few, over the next five years. Here as well, India is playing a key role for both our company and the global arena. The country has an advantage of demography and the availability of talent that can power global solutions.”

The importance of diversity
She went on to aver that when it comes to their workforce, they are convinced that their tremendous diversity is one of their most important factors of success. As a global player, Bosch has associates from some 150 different countries, and diversity is one of the core values of the company. The company is working hard at all levels of the Bosch Group to increase its diversity further by also bringing in women in leadership roles.

Coming to India, Albrecht said, “India is a highly diverse country, with a variety of cultures and languages. We believe that India’s diversity is key to its engine of innovation, and we’ll continue to invest in our local workforce in the years to come."

Bosch’s presence in Karnataka
Bhattacharya spoke of the company’s presence in Karnataka and mentioned that Bosch has the largest R&D centre in the world (outside of Germany) in Karnataka and that Bosch Global Software Solutions is headquartered in Koramangala. “Our collaboration with the Government of Karnataka has been there for a very long period,” he mentioned.

He further highlighted, “We transitioned the country from BSIV to BSVI in a record time of three years, where Europe and other countries took eight years. We have also worked very closely with the Government of India for Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat.”

The Chief Minister of Karnataka, Basavaraj Bommai, who was the Chief Guest at the ceremony, applauded the work done by Bosch India, especially in Karnataka. He asserted, “It is a pleasure to be part of the inauguration of the Spark. NXT Campus of Bosch India. The company has had its presence in the state for several decades now, and it is heartening to host India’s largest smart campus here. Karnataka, primarily Bengaluru, has been a technology hub and houses the largest number of R&D centres across the globe. This campus is another feather to its cap.”

The chief minister further added, “This campus showcases R&D capabilities for both automotive and non-automotive products and services, and I hope that this will elevate the city’s leadership in the field of technology to a greater level.”

Campus walkthrough
The media was even given a walkthrough of the new smart campus, taking them through three of the solutions – Bosch Air Quality Management, Smart Working Solution and Visitor Management System.

Bosch Air Quality Management – Bosch India has already taken a lot of measures inside the new campus to reduce the impact of air pollution. Some of the measures include increased green cover (by 30 percent) and increased green energy – the company has made its entire campus a non-motorised zone. Plus, it has some new initiatives, like paperless work culture, planned.

However, in order to understand the effect of the emissions surrounding the campus (traffic, construction etc.) on the campus, the company has deployed its air quality monitors inside the campus and regularly monitors the data. This data is provided to the associates and is available as real-time information. The data is also made available to visitors on a big screen in the lobby etc.

Smart Working Solution – With the hybrid working model becoming the new norm, this opens up opportunities to reduce some real estate costs by decreasing the number of desks available. Naturally, it becomes important for the associates to know if there are desks available before they go to the office. Therefore, in order to facilitate this kind of flexible working model, Bosch India has come up with a smart solution, ‘Flexi Booking App’. Through this application, associates can check the availability of the desks and book the same from the comfort of their homes.

Another smart solution that Bosch India has come up with is ‘Automated Comfort Assistant’ application. Through this application, associates can provide feedback on how they feel about the office temperature (too hot, too cold etc.), and the system automatically adjusts the temperature based on this feedback so that everyone feels comfortable.

The combination of these two solutions gives real-time usage for facility management to optimise the workplace. This eventually helps in a considerable reduction in the cost of the real estate.

Visitor Management System – The Smart Visitor Management Solution scans a visitor’s face and gives automatic access. Plus, this solution also has a smart locker that works on a QR-based system – when an employee sends an invite to a visitor, the visitor gets a QR code on their mobile. The visitor just has to show the QR code as smart locker and a locker is assigned to them. There is no manual intervention involved; it's all automated.

The benefit of this solution is that it gives the visitor a seamless experience – there is zero dependency and enhanced security.

In order to make the solution much smarter, the company also wants to implement geo fencing (so that visitors do not go into any areas of the campus where they are not supposed to go), go cardless and include a robot to assist visitors around the campus.

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AutoVRse, a Bengaluru-based enterprise VR platform, has secured USD 2.4 million in a funding round co-led by Singularity AMC’s Large Value Fund III and Early Opportunities Fund, with continued participation from Lumikai. The investment arrives as automotive manufacturers face pressure from the EV transition, complex assembly, supply chain disruptions, labour shortage, and production line defects. Many of the world’s largest auto makers have already turned to AutoVRse’s technology.

The company provides VR simulation and smart-glasses-enabled field guidance for manufacturing, heavy industry and energy. It serves over 500,000 users across 50 enterprise clients in North America, Europe the GCC, and India, including Bosch, TVS Motors, Ashok Leyland, Tata Autocomp, Panasonic, KPIT and Godrej.

Three forces are driving Indian automotive interest in AI-driven training. The EV shift has made legacy internal combustion engine training obsolete, forcing manufacturers to rebuild training libraries. A shortage of skilled labour has made faster onboarding a necessity. AI-powered smart glasses now enable real-time guidance for line workers. Use cases include assembly training for new vehicle launches, EV battery safety, quality inspection and technician training for ADAS-equipped vehicles.

With the new capital, AutoVRse plans to expand its smart-glasses-based guidance product, which it believes will become standard on assembly lines within two years. It also aims to scale its North American presence, where deployments are running at several Fortune 500 firms, while strengthening its dominance in India and the GCC.

Ashwin Jaishanker, Co-Founder and CEO, AutoVRse, said, “AutoVRse moves safety and training culture from documentation to evidence. Our training products meet workers where they are – e-learning modules, dynamic SOPs, VR simulations – so they're certified before they ever go on-site. Our AI products replace tedious safety busywork like form-filling and performative inspections with real intelligence: helping workers make better decisions in dangerous situations or catch unsafe conditions before they arise. We're grateful to Singularity AMC for backing this vision, and to Lumikai, who've believed in this bet for years.”

Vikram Jaish, Head – HSE, WCL Pipes Anjar, Welspun Corp, said, “Pipe coating operations involve multiple high-risk touchpoints where early hazard recognition is critical. With AutoVRse’s VR training, our teams can experience and identify these hazards in a realistic, controlled environment before stepping onto the shop floor. This has significantly improved awareness, preparedness and safe decision-making compared to traditional training methods.”

Yash Kela, Founder & Chief Investment Officer, Singularity AMC, said, “Most people think of AI in the context of consumer apps. AutoVRse is creating real impact with AI on the assembly line, and that is what our investment thesis is built on. The company operates at the intersection of AI and India's manufacturing revolution. We believe this is how the world will train and operate its industrial workforce over the next 10 years. AutoVRse sits at the edge of a massive, largely untapped market, and we believe the growth from here will be extraordinary.”

Aditya Deshpande, Principal, Lumikai, said, “We're thrilled to deepen our partnership with AutoVRse as they build out cutting-edge AI and VR infrastructure for Fortune 500 enterprises. With VRseBuilder, AutoVRse has demonstrated how immersion, participation and personalisation are finding consequential real-world applications across industrial training in warehouses, labs, plants and field operations of high-precision industries such as pharma, life sciences, manufacturing and petrochemicals, globally. We're excited to back Ashwin, Adarsh and the team as they make immersive AI the operating layer for global industry.”

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European auto major Stellantis and American technology company Factorial Inc. have integrated solid-state battery technology into a Dodge Charger Daytona development vehicle and launched a road-testing programme. The initiative represents the first integration of solid-state cells into a Stellantis vehicle and the first automotive application of the technology in North America.

The development vehicle utilises Factorial's Factorial Electrolyte System Technology (FEST), which combines a lithium-metal anode with a solid polymer separator. In validation testing, the cells demonstrated a specific energy density of 375 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) and achieved a charging transition from 15 percent to 90 percent state-of-charge in 18 minutes. The cells also verified thermal stability across an operational temperature envelope spanning minus 30 degrees to 45 degrees Celsius.

Integrating the solid-state cells into a production-based car required a modification of the vehicle's battery enclosure. Stellantis designed and implemented a patented mechanical architecture to house the cells within the existing pack layout. Engineers also modified the electronic control systems and pack management software to optimise current distribution while satisfying automotive durability and crash safety regulations.

The newly initiated tracking and calibration programme on public roads will evaluate the performance, structural durability and overall safety of the modified pack under real-world driving and charging cycles. The project is a phase within a multi-stage development agreement between the two entities. Factorial, which recently listed on the Nasdaq exchange following a business combination, develops scalable battery technologies and counts Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Kia among its strategic investors.

Ned Curic, Chief Engineering and Technology Officer, Stellantis, said, "Battery development is a balancing act. It’s not enough to optimise a single metric. We need a system that delivers real benefits in a real vehicle. This milestone shows we are bringing solid-state batteries closer to our customers with the potential for longer range, faster charging and lower costs. Just as important, FEST’s strong compatibility with lithium-ion manufacturing processes gives us a critical path to scale this technology.”

Siyu Huang, CEO, Factorial, said, "We are deeply honoured to work alongside Stellantis, one of the world's great mass-market automakers, on this STLA Large-based development car. What we have built together, from cell chemistry to pack architecture to enable real-world road testing, is exactly the kind of deep, full-stack collaboration that solid-state has always required. This milestone doesn't just validate FEST; it sets a new bar for what automotive-grade solid-state batteries can deliver and supports the development of future vehicles designed to meet the evolving needs of drivers."

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German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has officially launched large-scale series production of its new high-performance electric axial flux motor at its Berlin-Marienfelde facility.

Founded in 1902, the company’s oldest active manufacturing site is being transformed into a global centre of excellence for high-performance electric motor fabrication.

The compact, high-power-density drive system is making its commercial production debut on the front and rear axles of the new all-electric Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe.

Bringing axial flux technology to automotive mass production required overcoming steep engineering barriers. The manufacturing footprint spans approximately 30,000 square meters across three production halls, utilising seven highly automated assembly lines.

The production workflow comprises 98 distinct process steps, including 65 deployed for the first time by Mercedes-Benz and 35 entirely new to the global manufacturing sector. These industrial innovations have generated more than 30 patent applications.

The axial flux motor, rather than using traditional round wire, uses rectangular copper wire to pack more conductive material into a tight space, boosting power density. Mercedes-Benz co-developed a high-speed bending process to shape the wire at tight radii without pinching, wrinkling or breaking the insulation coating.

The coil ends are connected to adjacent wires via ultra-precise laser welding. This delivers minimal, highly localised thermal input to prevent heat damage to surrounding plastic components.

Furthermore, drivetrain plastic parts undergo simultaneous laser transmission welding. To prevent geometric inaccuracies, an AI-driven optical system tracks component placement in real time, locks virtual protection zones over sensitive areas and verifies seal integrity instantly.

During final assembly, the stator is structurally integrated between two heavy, magnet-loaded rotor discs. The line manages massive magnetic pull forces of up to 9 kN (approx. 900 kg), keeping the stator perfectly balanced within the magnetic centre plane under a tight tolerance of less than 0.1 millimetres using micro-frequency control pulses.

The current motor design builds on early prototype architectures from British electric motor specialist YASA, which became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz in 2021.

Michael Schiebe, Member of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG (Production, Quality & Supply Chain), said, “With the start of large‑scale series production of the axial flux motor in Berlin‑Marienfelde, we are bringing a pioneering innovation for electromobility into industrial reality. In doing so, we are sending a strong signal of technological leadership, operational excellence and the transformation of the automotive industry in Germany."

Patrick Schnieder, German Federal Minister of Transport, noted, “Mastering the demanding axial flux technology is a major opportunity for the German and European automotive industry. This innovative electric motor helps establish a strong foothold in the premium segment. The start of production of the axial flux motor in Berlin-Marienfelde sends a powerful signal about Germany’s strength as an industrial location. With Mercedes-Benz’s axial flux motor, electromobility gains additional momentum. A decisive factor in the continued success of e-mobility is the availability of charging infrastructure. Through our Charging Infrastructure Master Plan 2030, we support both the considerable commitment of the charging infrastructure industry and the efforts of the automotive industry.”

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NXP Semiconductors has introduced the SAF8444, an automotive radar system-on-chip designed to enable advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) processing on the sensor itself.

Manufactured using 28-nanometre RFCMOS technology, the single-chip solution operates across the 76–81 GHz automotive radar band to support short-, medium- and long-range sensing. The chip is intended for vehicle platforms, including electric vehicles, where it reduces system costs by simplifying thermal management and vehicle integration.

The system addresses entry-level and economy vehicle lines by integrating hardware components to lower overall bill-of-materials costs. It combines an Arm Cortex-A53 applications processor, an Arm Cortex-M7 real-time core, and NXP’s proprietary Signal Processing Toolbox radar accelerator with digital signal processor support. This architecture allows perception-level processing to occur directly on the radar sensor, reducing the data-load reliance on centralised vehicle compute resources.

The technology is optimised for standard automated safety functions, including adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot detection and park assist. To meet safety criteria such as the Euro NCAP 2030 requirements, which include low-light pedestrian detection, the chip fuses camera and radar data.

Additionally, it features a dual-threaded accelerator to run anti-jamming algorithms and mitigate radio frequency interference in congested environments.

NXP supports the device with an enablement ecosystem that includes radar software development kits, safety frameworks, security components, power management integrated circuits, and networking solutions.

Meindert van den Beld, Senior Vice-President and General Manager, Radar & ADAS, NXP Semiconductors, said, “SAF8444 strengthens our one-chip radar portfolio with a solution that balances performance, power efficiency, and cost. It allows customers to meet tightening safety requirements while reducing system cost—an essential step toward democratizing ADAS adoption.”

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