Momentum - September 2020 - 15

TODAY'S

ENGINEERING

COMVEC 2020 PREVIEW
The coronavirus pandemic has forced
people and organizations alike to
adapt to a world of social distancing
and economic disruption. For SAE
International, that's included shifting
its premier engineering events - first
WCX and now COMVEC - to virtual
platforms. But Jayanthi (Jay) Iyengar,
chief technology officer (CTO) at CNH
Industrial and the executive chairperson
of this year's COMVEC Digital Summit
slated for Sept. 15-17, views this
challenging environment as a time for
opportunities, as well.
"It is more important than ever not to
lose focus on our mission of advancing
technology to continue to deliver value
for our customers. In my experience,
challenging environments often lend
themselves to new, innovative ideas, and
I feel that this virtual-event format to
support the COVID safety protocols is
also one of those," Iyengar said.
For example, a virtual event can
significantly increase engagement and
provide an opportunity for a broader
spectrum of people to listen, learn and
contribute. "Historically, this has been a
predominantly North American event,"
she said. "Now, being virtual, it will
allow more global participation, thereby
enhancing the quality of the technical
sessions with global perspectives."
Iyengar does acknowledge that the
inability to do in-person networking, one
of the key benefits of such an event, is a
shortcoming of the format. Curated oneon-one sessions could help fulfill this role,
she noted.
The CTO applies the same optimistic
approach to her company's ongoing
technology development programs.
"R&D and product development
are the lifeblood of a company. The
current situation is no different," she
asserted. "We have been focusing on
safety, while ensuring progress on our
development and launch projects. Most
of our development teams have shifted
to remote 'smart working' as the new
normal and are continuing progress on
key technical developments.
"We must be cognizant that this
pandemic has impacted our partners
MOMENTUM

2009_TE_15_16.indd 1

The Iveco S-Way heavy-duty truck serves as the platform for Nikola's European battery-electric and
fuel-cell-electric Tre models.
and suppliers globally, but I see that
eve-ryone is pulling together in the
same direction," Iyengar continued. "We
are all using advanced collaboration
tools, following the discipline of product
development. I am very optimistic that
while this is a significant change, it will
not impact development and launch
significantly. With the social-distancing
guidelines, we are also finding innovative
ways to meet with customers to
demonstrate new features."
Regarding the technical program at
the virtual COMVEC event (www.sae.
org/attend/comvec/program), Iyengar
personally is interested in the sessions
around UX/UI (user experience and user
interface). "As the products become
complex, the most important aspect is to
make it intuitive for a user with a humanmachine interface that is seamless,
helping create an emotional connection
to the product."
She's also eager to learn more about
disruptive technologies from startup companies: "We at CNH Industrial
believe in open innovation, building an
innovation ecosystem with technology
partners." Taking a $250 million stake
in Nikola earlier this year as the lead

Series D investor illustrates this strategy.
CNH Industrial's Iveco and FPT Industrial
brands will manufacture the Nikola Tre
battery-electric and fuel-cell electric
heavy-duty truck models at the Iveco
facility in Ulm, Germany.
COMVEC's technical program,
revolving around the show's central
theme of "New Technologies Driving
Industry Transformation," will cover
a range of topics - from internalcombustion engines and autonomous
vehicles to aerodynamics and
cybersecurity. More than 20 hours of
content will be offered, more than 5 of
which will be in the form of on-demand
presentations.
The COMVEC Digital Summit platform
is designed to be interactive and easy
to use. Network and collaborate with
colleagues in the summit lounge with
1 on 1 conversations, engage in group
chats, as well as convene with speakers/
panelists in each individual session.
SAE Members receive a discount on the
conference registration fee.

This article is based largely on reporting by
Ryan Gehm, editor-in-chief of SAE's Truck &
Off-Highway Engineering magazine

September 2020 15

8/19/20 9:26 AM

https://www.sae.org/attend/virtual-events/comvec-digital-summit/program https://www.sae.org/attend/virtual-events/comvec-digital-summit/program

Momentum - September 2020

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