Women in Technology: Simulating Sensors to Advance Autonomous Automobiles

The demand for increased autonomy is perhaps the most powerful force impacting the global automotive market today. While autonomy represents an incredibly complex engineering challenge spanning multiple functions, perception systems play a foundational role. Automotive autonomy is only possible if the sensors mounted on the car accurately gather information about the surrounding environment and transmit that data to other systems — such as steering and braking — to trigger an appropriate, safe response.

“Before a sensor can be launched on a vehicle, it is absolutely critical that its performance has been virtually validated under every operating condition ― and thermal effects can have an enormous effect on the sensor’s ultimate performance,” Cristina explains. “My role is to simulate the real thermal conditions that sensors will be exposed to, including summer and winter temperatures, but also more subtle physical forces that can create thermal changes. For example, an exposed exterior sensor will be affected by wind or car speed, while an internal sensor will be impacted by the car’s HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning) system.”

In her analysis, Cristina is looking at electrothermal stresses that can interfere with the sensor’s long-term durability and its signal integrity over time. The Continental engineering team owns summer test equipment that can reproduce some car environment physical testing. Still, Cristina points out: “When we have compared our Ansys results to physical testing outcomes using the thermal chamber for validation conditions or a the summer test equipment for a moving car in a road test, Ansys Icepak delivers accurate results.”

Because time is of the essence in delivering new autonomous solutions to the market, Cristina notes that Ansys helps her maximize her contributions at Continental. “I can complete the thermal simulation tasks and also be confident in Ansys Icepak results,” she says.

Cristina holds four patents, has published multiple papers and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences. Recently she developed a Six Sigma methodology for thermal behavior optimization that can be applied across the worldwide automotive industry. She enjoys translating complex knowledge into best practices, which she does as one of the trainers within the thermal knowledge exchange community at Continental that seeks to standardize learnings and methodologies across the business.

Gender Equality Begins with Equal Access

Cristina estimates that the Romanian mechanical engineering faculty is about 90% male, but she has never felt discouraged or held back because she is a woman. “I have four brothers, so I am used to being surrounded by men,” she says with a laugh. “I have always felt like my perspective mattered and that there was a place for me.”

She was guided by her female and male professors at Polytechnic as a young student. “I feel that diversity is very important, and we all have something unique to contribute, regardless of our gender,” she points out. “Both my male and female professors helped to shape me.”

Because Continental also values diversity, Cristina reports that the company’s overall engineering team is far above industry averages in terms of employing women, and the one in her local department is 35%. “The percentage of women in engineering is increasing all the time, and I think it is because younger women can actually see themselves as engineers now,” notes Cristina. “Companies like Continental are giving women important opportunities, which only improves visibility — and allows younger women to imagine themselves in the engineering field.”

Cristina emphasizes that gender equality should never be a bottleneck either for future employees, either for an employer. Just as women should not be discouraged from pursuing math or science, they should not feel forced to follow that path if they are not attracted by it.

“Every person should be encouraged to pursue a career that brings them joy, whether or not that is a ‘traditional’ field for their gender. We cannot force women into scientific or engineering careers if that is not their passion. But we can expose them to every opportunity and let them decide for themselves. We can give them equal access and encourage them to pursue their dream, whatever that means,” Cristina concludes. “I am grateful that I always felt I could be whatever I wanted to be.”