Luce participates in ESAUTOMATIX and the dawn of a new era in industrial automotive manufacturing
At Luce IT, we are pleased to announce that we have already set the ESAUTOMATIX machinery in motion. Following the grant award, the work teams are now operational, and we have kicked off one of the most ambitious R&D projects we have ever participated in.
Together with our partners, Renault Group and AIR Institute, we are beginning to draw what will be the future of mobility within production plants. We are not talking about science fiction, but about applied engineering: the goal is that, in the near future, newly manufactured vehicles will move by themselves inside the factory.
The Challenge: One vehicle, two behaviors
The heart of this project, which we are already researching, is the development of a dual architecture.
Imagine a car that has just been assembled. Currently, an operator must drive it to the storage or shipping area. With ESAUTOMATIX, we are working so that the car has a “double personality”:
- Factory Mode (Autonomous): The car obeys the factory infrastructure. It moves alone, safely and efficiently, from the assembly line to its destination in the storage yard.
- Customer Mode (Manual): The moment the car leaves the facilities, that autonomous capability is completely and irreversibly deactivated, ensuring that the end user receives a safe conventional vehicle.
Getting to work: What are we building at Luce IT?
Now that the project has started, the Luce IT team faces the invisible but vital part of the iceberg: data management and sovereignty.
For a car to “talk” to the factory and receive orders, a massive and critical flow of information is needed. Our technical work in this initial phase focuses on three pillars:
1. The brain in the shadows: Communication Middleware
We are designing the middleware, a software layer that acts as a translator and bridge between the factory infrastructure (cameras, sensors, servers) and the vehicle. This component is vital because it allows abstracting the communication. What does this mean? That our solution will not serve just one car model or one specific factory, but will be scalable and adaptable. We are building the digital rails along which movement orders will travel.
2. Data Sovereignty
One of the biggest risks in Industry 4.0 is depending on third parties to operate your own technology. At Luce IT, we are defining the architecture to ensure Digital Sovereignty. We are creating mechanisms so that Renault has absolute control over the generated data. This implies designing storage and governance structures that avoid vendor lock-in (supplier dependency), ensuring that industrial knowledge stays in-house and not on uncontrolled third-party servers.
3. Security by design
Together with AIR Institute, we are working to ensure every byte of information is secure. Moving a car remotely implies risks, so we are integrating cybersecurity protocols from the first line of code, ensuring that communications between the car and our middleware are shielded.
A technological boost for Castilla y León
The start of ESAUTOMATIX is not only good news for the consortium but for the industrial fabric of our region. We are developing cutting-edge technology in Castilla y León, applying Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, and Cybersecurity to a sector as traditional and vital as automotive.
This joint effort is possible thanks to institutional backing:
This project has been co-financed by the Institute for Business Competitiveness of Castilla y León (ICE) and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with the aim of promoting technological development, innovation, and quality research.
The road is long and the challenge is great, but at Luce IT we are already “at the wheel” of innovation. We will continue sharing our technical advances as we overcome stages.
At Luce IT, we have extensive experience developing complex integration architectures (Operational Grid Layer) and Data Governance strategies that ensure the efficiency and technological independence of our clients. If you want to know how we can apply this innovation to your business, contact us.
FAQ
What does the ESAUTOMATIX project that has just started consist of?
It is an R&D project in collaboration between Renault Group, AIR Institute, and Luce IT. Its goal is to develop technology that allows vehicles to move autonomously inside the factory (controlled environment) and manually outside of it.
What is the function of the “middleware” that Luce IT is developing?
The middleware is the software that connects the factory infrastructure with the vehicle. It allows fluid and secure communication and is designed to be scalable to different car models and production plants.
Why is Data Sovereignty important in this project?
Data Sovereignty ensures that the manufacturer (Renault) maintains full control over the information generated by its vehicles and processes. Luce IT works to avoid third-party dependence (vendor lock-in) and guarantee that industrial know-how remains protected.
What key technologies are being used in ESAUTOMATIX?
The project combines autonomous and connected vehicle technologies, Cybersecurity, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and advanced software architectures for real-time data management.
Who funds the ESAUTOMATIX project?
The project is co-financed by the Institute for Business Competitiveness of Castilla y León (ICE) and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
