94 In many ways, cable harnesses are a microcosm of the autonomous vehicle world. As uncrewed systems become bigger, more complex and with more and more electronics and functions, so harnesses are becoming larger, more complex and more diverse in their constituent parts. It therefore pays to pack as much power and data capability into each harness as possible. Our past features on connectors (issue 12, February/March 2017; issue 24, February/March 2019; and issue 44, June/July 2022) have shown the growing popularity of ‘hybrid’ arrangements that achieve this very purpose. This carries through to how harnesses are being designed and produced these days, using combinations of different wiring gauges and materials. At the same time though, demand for such products is at odds with mounting EMI issues and heat build-ups inside vehicle bodies, owing to a greater number of subsystems and the cables connecting them being squeezed inside the hull sections for a range of functions, and for compliance with regulations on transponders, GNSS, data links and other RF-centric componentry. The right harness for the job Vehicle OEMs need to work closely with cable harness manufacturers to establish the key requirements and constraints of a harness. Critical parameters such as lengths, voltages, local temperature ranges, flexibility requirements, strength requirements, and the systems to be connected at either end should be Harness designs depend on the material and engineering requirements of the wiring in them, writes Rory Jackson Design by wire October/November 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology An increasingly wide range of power, signal and hybrid cable harness designs are in demand across the uncrewed vehicle sector (Courtesy of Omnetics)
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