CES 2025: Can Universal Car Connector Revolutionize Automotive Design?
TUC.Technology aims to provide standard interfaces for the main car interior components.TUC.Technology
The automotive industry has been going through widespread disruption. Not only has electrification overturned the internal combustion tradition of over a century, but software integration has also promised to unify the thousand-odd control systems in a modern car. On show at CES, representing Italy in its pavilion, another part of the future automotive puzzle could be falling into place, making cars even more like modular computer devices. I talked to Ludovico Campana, CEO of TUC.Technology, about how his company hopes to revolutionize automaking.
“To develop the cars, you need an industrial plant and all these complexities on top of the product,” says Campana. His vision, which started in 2013 and developed into a company 2018, was to make this process easier by providing a standard interface for many of the major components in the car. Right now, the steering wheel assembly from one car probably won’t fit into another, the dashboard and infotainment screen will be platform or even model specific, and you probably won’t be able to transfer a seat and make all the electronic adjustments operate without some major reworking.
Campana sees this being a major impediment as the development of new models or updates to existing ones needs to be more rapid in a competitive market. “This is the reason why cars have not changed much since their invention and is also the reason for current troubles,” he says. “They can change nothing, because if they change something, they need to rebuild industries, plants, and suppliers. The challenge of the European market, for example, is we have some beautiful brands, we have beautiful historic cars, but you have a world that is now looking for something new. This is the reason why TUC.Technology was born.”
There are currently three sizes of TUC.Technology connector for different component types.TUC.Technology
The idea was to create “one connector to rule them all”, although in the end the result was three connectors using a shared architecture. “It's like the USB concept, but for structural and industrial devices,” says Campana. “It’s homologated for different regulations in cars and opens the possibility of something like the App Store in the physical world. If you want a bigger screen, you can buy a bigger screen because the modularity is enabled by the carmakers.”
The three types of connector TUC.Technology has designed are called the .pro, .mini and .tiny, aimed at different applications within the car. The .pro is for seats and other heavy devices in the car. It’s designed to comply with the ECE R17 regulation, which means it can withstand a force of 20G. The .mini is for dashboards, steering by wire and other control systems, or exterior lighting and smart devices. The recently launched .tiny is for attaching infotainment screens, controls for features such as air conditioning, head-up displays, instrument clusters, and sundry other operational or informational widgets.
All three connector types share technical capabilities, including support for 9V to 48V electricity supply (like the Tesla Cybertruck), delivering up to 400W of power to an attached device. Ethernet T1 is the data connectivity standard, delivering up to 1Gbits/sec throughput. Data transmission employs a standard Internet Protocol, like that used by Web browsers, smartphones, or Internet of Things devices. This can interface with existing automotive systems like CAN bus. However, while data is daisy-chained around a vehicle from device to device, Campana says that only automakers can provide access, so this won’t be a potential security weakness for car systems.
The wiring loom is greatly simplified.TUC.Technology
While interfacing with vehicle high voltage powertrain systems is possible, this will only be at the control level. The focus is on car interior design. “The idea is to create beautiful empty vehicles with a technological layer that is our technology,” says Campana. A vehicle with TUC.Technology can theoretically be upgraded with new components, including the latest sensors. “Interfaces can be connected using a single cable to create the cabin of the future. The most important benefits are cost saving and customization.” This comes from massive simplification of a car’s wiring loom. “With traditional wiring, the same model can have 20 different cables, harness projects and typologies. This means there is a lot to consider just to change a screen.”
Simplifying this will be one benefit of connector standardization. “Another is enabling new business models like an App Store,” says Campana. Just as you personalize your smartphone with different applications, having standard connectors could mean you can more easily change interior elements in your car, such as the seats, steering wheel, and infotainment interfaces. Want more or fewer physical buttons than your car came with? An upgrade could be available, and it won’t necessarily need to be designed for your specific car brand or model.The car interior presents different types of connectors.TUC.Technology
Campana also sees his company’s technology streamlining and lowering the cost of developing new models. Standard components could be more easily brought across to a new car design, or upgraded components added to an existing one. “We are telling automakers that they need to shift their ideas, especially in the mass market, because with this system, they can have a cheaper development process. Without different fragmented architectures and a single interface, they can smooth the chain of development. They can save around 20% on their model development costs. Then they can open new component business on top of this.”Features like infotainment screens of different sizes can easily be installed.TUC.Technology
TUC.Technology can be viewed as a supplement to the Software Defined Vehicle trend that arguably was popularized by Tesla alongside electrification. “We are like the second wave of the trend Tesla started,” says Campana. “But they are focused on screens. We are building the physical experience, not only a touch screen and interfaces. This is what makes it special because application functionalities and screen customization is cool but is not the complete answer for vehicles because they are objects that you need to live inside.”
You can see where these developments are headed by looking towards the Chinese automotive market, which is increasingly focused on emerging technology rather than brand loyalty. When car buyers want the latest gadgets as quickly as possible like this, automakers need to be able to deliver with the shortest development cycle. “We can extend Tesla’s vision because they have already made the car architecture simpler,” says Campana. “We can help automakers do what Tesla is doing.”The connectors provide physical attachment, data and power in one.TUC.Technology
“We focused our technology on the cabin of the future, but it could also be applied to some exterior modularity, such as cameras and sensors,” says Campana. “You could swap a conventional powered mirror for a camera-based system. The great potential of this technology is for mass markets. We spent six years making this happen. The lack of standardization is the problem, and we have the solution.”
The TUC.Technology concept, available to view at the TUC.hub Technology Atelier at CES in the Venetian Expo, Hall G, Booth 62801, is already finding interest in the market. “We now collaborate with three of the top five automakers,” says Campana. “One we can mention is Hyundai Motor Group, which is looking at our open innovation platform. We are just a step before production and development.” This still means vehicles beyond concepts are a few years away, heralding a new approach to automaking. “In 2027 we should see the first models on the road.”
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