Foresight Vehicle Technology Roadmap - Institute for Manufacturing

4.4 Structures and MaterialsScopeThe structures and materials (FASMAT) technology theme includes the following vehicle systems andfunctions: Supporting structure (body), which is an integral part of many other systems and features of thevehicle, such as style, glazing, heating and airflow systems. Structural components, including suspension, hard and soft trim.Market and industry trends and drivers that are particularly relevant to this technology theme include:SocialEconomicEnvironmentalTechnologicalPoliticalInfrastructuralDemands for improved safety, greater vehicle configurability and reduced fuelconsumption.Competitive pressure to reduce development and manufacturing cycle times and costs, andto improve responsiveness, agility, flexibility, durability, efficiency and quality, in order toachieve greater profitability and return on capital.Requirement to reduce material waste, energy consumption and emissions of CO 2 andother harmful substances, during manufacture and use of vehicles.Developments in new materials, such as composites, polymers, lightweight alloys, smartmaterials, and associated design and processing methods, together with competition todevelop innovative structures and materials to improve vehicle performance in terms ofweight, stiffness, safety, responsiveness, fuel efficiency, configurability and environmentalimpact.UK Government, European and international policy, regulation and legislation concerningtransport, energy, CO 2 , safety and waste management.Developments in infrastructure that affect safety (telematics and physical infrastructure).Development of structures and materials technologies, together with associated research challenges,have been explored in an expert workshop that identified and considered the following themes,summarised below and detailed in Appendix C:SafetyProduct configurability / flexibilityEconomicsEnvironmentTechnology directionsSafetyThe UK government is committed to reducing deaths and serious injuries from road traffic accidents bybetween 40 and 50% over the next ten years. Increasing safety needs to be achieved in parallel to theintroduction of new materials and structural solutions to reduce vehicle weight, together with new engineconfigurations and fuel types (such as hydrogen and liquefied or compressed gas). Developments in materialsand structures intended to improve safety under collision and accident conditions need to be considered inconjunction with measures that can be taken to reduce the likelihood and severity of accidents, such asadvanced software, sensors, electronics and telematics (see ASSET technology theme) and improvements toinfrastructure, such as traffic calming and segregation of traffic types (by weight and speed). A combinationof passive and active safety systems are required, taking into account forecasts of future mobility requirementsand vehicles types.31