Background

Modern commercial and industrial vehicles require increasingly complex wiring harness architectures. To manage this complexity, standardized data formats such as KBL (KabelBaumListe) are used to describe wiring harnesses in a structured, XML-based format. However, this representation is not directly suitable for advanced computational analyses, such as topological reasoning, structure comparison, or algorithmic optimization—for example, in the context of transforming from domain-based wiring architectures to zone-based ones.

Graph-based data structures offer a more suitable foundation for these analyses, as they allow an intuitive and formal representation of connectivity, components, and spatial or logical relationships.

Objective of the Thesis
The objective of this thesis is to convert KBL wiring harness data into a graph representation. This includes:

• Understanding and analyzing the KBL XML schema

• Identifying key entities (e.g., wires, connectors, terminals, devices) and their relationships

• Mapping these entities and relationships to nodes and edges in a graph structure

• Designing a systematic and robust conversion process

• Addressing edge cases and inconsistencies in real-world KBL data

• (Optional) Providing visualization and sample queries on the resulting graph

The result should be a well-structured method and a reusable software tool or library that can process KBL files and output graph data (e.g., in formats such as NetworkX, Neo4j, or GraphML).

Scope of Work

1. Literature and format review on KBL and graph modeling for wiring systems

2. Development of a conceptual mapping model from KBL entities to graph structures

3. Implementation of a conversion pipeline in Python (preferred) or another suitable language

4. Testing with multiple KBL datasets and systematic handling of edge cases

5. Documentation of methodology and results

Requirements

• Basic programming experience (Python preferred)

• Interest in data structures, graph theory, or automotive electrical systems

• Ability to work independently and systematically.

• Prior knowledge of XML is helpful, but not mandatory

What We Offer

• Access to real-world industrial wiring harness datasets

• Close supervision and regular feedback

• Integration into an active research group working on future wiring architectures

• Opportunity to contribute to ongoing research on zone-based vehicle E/E architectures

How to apply

Please send an email with your current grades and your CV as attachments. Furthermore, describe in the email in roughly 10 sentences why you are qualified for this topic and how you would structure your first steps when starting the thesis.

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