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Space Drive
Outside normal business hours you can reach our Space Drive telephone service on weekdays from 16:00 - 22:00 and on weekends and public holidays from 08:00 - 22:00 by calling the following number:
+49 (0) 151 / 188 17 982 Our support is ready for you
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Outside normal business hours, you can reach our vehicle telephone service on weekdays from 16:00 - 22:00 and on weekends and public holidays from 08:00 - 22:00 by calling the following number:
+49 (0) 151 / 188 17 981 We will help you as soon as possible
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Outside normal business hours, you can reach our wheelchair telephone service on weekdays from 16:00 - 22:00 and on weekends and public holidays from 08:00 - 22:00 by calling the following number:
+49 (0) 175 / 578 83 14 Quick help for you and your wheelchair
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Drive-by-Wire Technologie im Motorsport
SPACE DRIVE in motorsports
From Track to Road

Premiere: Mr. Space Drive drives Space Drive at the GTC Race at the Lausitzring

  • Roland Arnold: "Experiencing steer-by-wire technology on the racetrack itself is a logical and important step, enabling us to accompany future development steps even more efficiently."
  • Dialog between development drivers and engineers is extremely important for the future development of Space Drive
  • Big Data as the basis for accelerated development of autonomous driving functions.

Roland Arnold, the developer of Space Drive and CEO of PARAVAN GmbH and Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co.KG, will be sitting in the Space Drive cockpit of his PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG GT3 himself as a development driver from next weekend.

It's not just the first Space Drive race for the black-and-chrome PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG with start number #65, but also for its driver: When Roland Arnold takes to the track for the first time as a Space Drive development driver at the GTC race weekend at the Lausitzring (July 16/17, 2022), he will definitely be accompanied by a fair amount of respect: "At the age of 56, I'm no longer planning to become a racing driver," explains the developer of the only road-legal drive-by-wire system. "But before my first race with Space Drive, I'm naturally a bit nervous. And that's just as well."  Technically, everything is perfectly prepared for this weekend's start: The Space Drive system installed in his PARAVAN Mercedes-AMG with starting number #65, which does not require any mechanical connection at all between the steering unit and the steering gear, is prepared and supported by the team of experienced Space Drive technicians who have been integrating the technology into the vehicles of PARAVAN customers and automotive projects for many years....

Paravan Engagement im Motorsport
Drive- und Steer-by-Wire im Motorsport
Paravan Gründer Roland Arnold im Motorsport
Paravan Rennauto

Three steer-by-wire cars in the DTM 2021

Space Drive technology anchored in the official DTM regulations and approved by the DMSB.

The ROWE Racing, Mücke Motorsport and ABT Sportsline teams will be relying on the Space Drive steer-by-wire technology from Schaeffler Paravan in the 2021 DTM season. The technology, which has already been used by PARAVAN for a good 20 years to make people with the most severe physical disabilities independently mobile, has been officially approved by the German Motorsport Association DMSB as well as by the DTM regulations. This means that for the first time in the history of Germany's highest touring car class, three vehicles without a mechanical connection between the steering wheel and steering gear are represented in the high-class starting field. Motorsport is both a technology platform and a development laboratory for Schaeffler Paravan. Testing under extreme conditions on various tracks and with different drivers provides important impulses for further system development.

 

Roland Arnold als Testfahrer beim GTC Race 2022
Roland Arnold im Rennauto beim GTC Race 2022
Cockpit Rennwagen beim GTC Race 2022
RACING PROJECT WITH JANIS MCDAVID

A man without arms and legs fulfils his childhood dream

Our client, brand ambassador and motivator Janis McDavid is working with us on a very special project. The aim is to drive full throttle on a race track in a converted steer-by-wire racing car with joystick steering. Not only does this fulfil Janis' childhood dream, but it also encourages other people with physical disabilities. If a man without arms and legs can drive at top speed on a race track in a racing car and still have full control of the vehicle, then people with other physical disabilities can also take courage to put themselves behind the wheel. On the other hand, the application also demonstrates the robustness and at the same time the performance of the existing steer-by-wire technology, which has been used for years to enable people with severe physical disabilities to drive a car. 

With 200 km/h and joystick steering over the race track

The dream of driving a car has always played a major role in Janis McDavid's life. For him, it means freedom to decide for himself where he wants to go and when. But there is much more behind this freedom: "that I am just as equal on the road as everyone else. My disability doesn't matter, it's a great feeling. A good ten years ago, he was able to make this dream come true with a Mercedes Sprinter that was individually adapted for him, and since then he has been on the road 320,000 kilometres without an accident, using only a 4-way joystick and the Space Drive driving and steering system. "As a child, my dream of driving always had something to do with cool sports cars," he says. And it has now come true. Now Janis McDavid could take a seat in a BMW M3, professionally dressed - as prescribed - in a fireproof racing suit and helmet. He mastered a first test at the Hockenheimring with flying colours. Now he is eagerly awaiting his first race, which had to be postponed to spring due to the corona. Then he will hopefully - before the safety car - be able to drive the formation lap in his BMW in a really big race.

Rennprojekt mit Janis McDavid Hockenheimring
Space Drive BMW mit Janis McDavid
Rennwagen von Janis McDavid

Freedom for me is that I am as equal on the street as everyone else. My disability doesn't matter, it's a great feeling.

Janis McDavid

Our commitment to motor sports

Space Drive put to the test on the race track

Why is our drive-by-wire technology, which we have been using for over 15 years to enable people with physical disabilities to drive, being used on the race track? For the continuous further development of Space Drive it is important to gain experience at the limit. This is why our joint venture Schaeffler Paravan Technologie GmbH & Co.KG has equipped various racing vehicles with the innovative digital drive-by-wire system in order to optimize the system step by step together with experienced racing drivers. It is a challenge to go to the limit with digital steering without a mechanical steering column in a racing car on the track. A challenge that the Schaeffler-Paravan team, including all technicians, engineers and programmers, is taking on in order to establish Space Drive as the technology of the future in the steering sector.

This knowledge and experience gained from racing is in turn incorporated into the evolution and continuous improvement of drive-by-wire technology and therefore benefits our customers. As part of the GTC Race Series and various other races such as the GT Masters or the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, the modified Schaeffler Paravan cars will compete on the race track to gain new experience for use on the road.

Drive-by-Wire im Motorsport: Datenlieferant für die Automobilindustrie und Behindertenmobilität
Paravan Gründer Roland Arnold im Motorsport
Drive-by-Wire als Datenlieferant für die Automobilindustrie
Paravan Drive-by-Wire Rennwagen
 
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