Semantic notation system

CATER will generate a common semantic notation description, which can be understood and used by the various experts in a concurrent engineering team, based on customers expression of needs. The semantic database in a sense is the "driver" and gelling agent of the various CATER databases.

Customer needs and citarasa engineering

Citarasa is formed by the Malay words Cita, that denotes intent, hope, aspiration and expectation, and rasa, indicating taste and feel that is related to affect & emotion.
CATER will develop a methodology for elicitation of customer expertise and citarasa in vehicle purchase, including an explicit method for mapping the customer citarasa to vehicle design for use by a concurrent engineering team. The citarasa database will be implemented online to support customer demand management as well as vehicle configuration tasks.

Do-it-Yourself Design system for vehicle design

CATER will develop a web user interface for mass customization, powered by citarasa technology, to support the customer in vehicle configuration tasks, taking into account emotional and functional criteria. A low-cost Virtual Reality interface for vehicle mass customization will also be developed.

Automotive customisation and teardown systems

CATER will develop a tear-down database to support vehicle product development and benchmarks for use by vehicle designers, OEM manufacturers and their suppliers. The images in the teardown system will be in multimedia format including 3D.

Networked solutions in the automotive sector

CATER will address the need for an inter-linked database structure and software architecture based on the above components, which supports the n-business paradigm, taking into account the needs of all stakeholders in the automotive n-business processes.

CATER Integrated System

CATER will extend the traditional single-contract negotiation to a group negotiation decision making, where multiple contracts are simultaneously negotiated to solve a batch of material requirement specifications. To support agility of response the supply chain will be connected directly to the customer interface and to logistics-related performances, such as inventory and capital.

CATER Pilot Plans

CATER will conduct pilot evaluations of all its products in terms of usability (cost efficiency, effectiveness, usefulness, customer satisfaction). Iterative evaluation of all concepts produced during the project will also be carried out to ensure quality in the final outcome, and the acceptance by the end users. A specific usability evaluation will be performed encompassing qualitative and quantitative evaluation with viable data. The various CATER system user interfaces will be examined to ensure they meet intuitiveness and effectiveness criteria.

Market Research

CATER will generate a document detailing the market status and trends of automotive reverse engineering and mass customisation, to be made available in February 2008. It will be an important tool in the Project, both to ensure that planned developments are in line with the market environment and have the greatest exploitation potential (and if necessary to adapt these developments), and to support the dissemination activities of the project, underlining the strategic importance of project activities.

Video Trailers

Video trailers will be prepared, showcasing CATER concept and developments.

CATER Dissemination Workshops

CATER will organise two important workshops in order to spread the Project results towards the relevant user groups in Europe, Asia and worldwide, and to reach a consensus on a roadmap to further research in the field. In order to make the events valuable both for representatives of the CATER consortium and attendees; all players involved in the automotive field are cordially invited to participate in those workshops. Jump to the CATER Workshops section for more information.

CATER eNewsletter

eNewsletter will be issued by the CATER Consortium every six months, aiming at spreading the project results towards the whole automotive field. To stay tuned, subscribe to the CATER sNewsletters.

CATER User Forum

In order to ensure that CATER developments remain well oriented to the industry and market evolution, a CATER User Forum, consisting in experts from key stakeholders in the automotive industry in Europe and Asia, is being implemented by the CATER Consortium. In this purpose, the User Forum members will be requested to review and provide their feedback about some relevant CATER project achievements and perspectives. In addition, the User Forum members will receive the bi-annual CATER eNewsletter and will be invited to the various dissemination events organised by the CATER Consortium.
If you are interested in joining the CATER User Forum, please feel in the dedicated online form.