Darmstadt, Germany, December 7th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the 2023 edition of its popular Virtual Formula competition.
For over ten years, VI-grade has promoted this competition to encourage SAE and Formula Student teams to learn how to use professional vehicle dynamics simulation tools. Thanks to a new regulatory change, more engineering students from around the world are eligible to participate in the 2023 Virtual Formula. Prestigious technical sponsors Automobili Lamborghini, Bugatti Rimac and Multimatic Inc. are lending their support to VI-grade in this important student engineering endeavor, and thus, encouraging young engineers to sharpen their virtual design skillset.
Participation in the Virtual Formula Competition is free-of-charge with a registration deadline of January 15th, 2023. Registered teams will have access to VI-grade’s state-of-the-art simulation tools, including VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s motorsport simulation software, as well as a DESKTOP Simulator license including the VI-DriveSim and VI-GraphSim software products for real-time vehicle simulation and comprehensive driving simulator control.
More global engineering students will be eligible to participate in the 2023 Virtual Formula, thanks to new rules including the Optimization and Digital-Twin categories. The Optimization Category provides teams without a physical prototype with an electric vehicle model from VI-grade. The competition consists of an offline phase and an online phase. The goal in the offline phase is to improve and fine-tune the model’s performance. Teams will then compete against each other using their own desktop simulator in an online race event.
The Digital-Twin category also comprises an offline and online phase. Teams will create a digital twin of their 2023 Formula Student race car in VI-Motorsport. As in the Optimization category, the performance of each team’s own vehicle model (internal combustion & EV) is optimized in a dedicated offline phase. Before moving directly to the online phase, the Digital-Twin category features a technical review phase in between the offline and the online phase. During this technical review, teams have the unique opportunity to present their design decisions directly to the technical sponsors. Once the technical review phase is complete, teams will competitively race their VI-Motorsport vehicle models in an online event, utilizing their own desktop simulator.
The winning teams in each category (Optimization, Digital-Twin EV & Digital-Twin IC) who score the best lap time during the online race will win the competition. Winners will be awarded with either a hardware upgrade of their desktop simulator, or an all-expenses paid trip to one of VI-grade’s worldwide SimCenters.
“As the winner in the EV category of the 2022 Virtual Formula, I would like to express my congratulations to VI-grade for this competition. The software is easy to use, but at the same time it is so powerful and effective that we have decided without a doubt to continue applying it for the development of our vehicle and its control system”, commented Luca Massano, Head of Vehicle Dynamics and Control Systems Division at Squadra Corse (Formula SAE Team from Politecnico di Torino).
“We have participated in the last two editions of the Virtual Formula, having won in the 2022 Internal Combustion category of the 2022 competition. We have gained great value for our team from the participation. The Virtual Formula has significantly helped us test all areas of vehicle dynamics, even those that are more difficult for Formula Student teams to work on”, said Matteo Civale, Dynamics Division Manager at UniBo Motorsport (FSAE team of University of Bologna). “We also use the software to develop our FSAE cars, so it's a fundamental tool for the whole team. We’re looking forward to the 2023 edition of the Virtual Formula!”
Additional information, registration form, technical specifications and requirements and detailed schedule of the competition are available at http://virtualformula.vi-grade.com/
Darmstadt, Germany, November 30th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the launch of CARE and CARE+, a superior maintenance program, guaranteeing customers maximum operational uptime for their Driving Simulators.
Driving simulators have become an integral part of customers' vehicle development processes. The sudden failure of an essential component not only poses an enormous safety risk but also leads to significant cost and time delays in the entire development chain. VI-grade is eliminating the risk of sudden, unexpected driving simulator downtime by introducing the CARE and CARE+ programs. These comprehensive maintenance programs offer customers real added value beyond standard preventive and corrective maintenance programs by giving customers the benefit of maximum utility from their driving simulators.
VI-grade offers two different support levels within its maintenance program.
The CARE program is VI-grade’s entry-level, basic support maintenance program covering:
Annual driving simulator inspection, with a focus on the simulator’s set up and mechanical performance
Thorough inspection and checkup of all wearable parts. This ensures the driving simulator remains in optimal condition and ensures continuous performance reliability.
Should a component need replacement due to malfunction or wear and tear, it will be ordered after the inspection and replaced at the customer's expense.
The CARE Program also includes the annual software upgrade installation. VI-grade engineers assist customers with software update installations and ensure they are fully operational with all driving simulator components.
The comprehensive CARE+ program builds on VI-grade’s basic CARE maintenance program and offers additional value. As with the CARE program, the CARE+ program includes an extensive annual inspection of the driving simulator hardware, as well as software upgrade installations performed by the VI-grade team. The CARE+ program offers driving simulator customers these additional benefits:
Immediate access to an exclusive spare part inventory previously created by VI-grade to replace any faulty or defective component. This allows the new part to be immediately installed, with the least possible driving simulator downtime and delay in the customer’s entire development chain.
30% of the annual fee for the CARE+ Program is already considered an advance payment for the required spare parts. If no hardware components fail or need to be replaced, 30% of the amount paid will be credited at the end of the year and carried over to the next year.
“I am pleased to announce the launch of our two new customer maintenance programs, CARE, and in particular, our CARE+ program, which provide our customers with premium service and maintenance for their driving simulators”, commented Francesco Ambrogi, Global Service Manager at VI-grade. “Three customers are already benefiting from the CARE+ program. VI-grade is quickly moving to address the increasing demand for a high-level service program that provides real value beyond standard preventive and corrective maintenance. Exclusive access to a spare parts inventory created by VI-grade is critical to keeping customers’ driving simulators running smoothly year-round, particularly with the current disruption in global supply chains.”
Darmstadt, Germany, November 9th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the official recap of its highly successful 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits held on May 18-19 in Udine (Italy), September 22 in Tokyo (Japan) and October 12 in Novi, MI (USA). Over 500 representatives from major automotive and transportation OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, research centers and partner companies attended the global event series in-person. VI-grade’s flagship event, hosted at SimCenter Udine (Italy), drew an additional 800+ virtual participants from 42 countries who followed the live broadcast, resulting in an overall record attendance.
A total of 40 Keynote and Technical Presentations by leading OEMs and suppliers provided the worldwide VI-grade community with exclusive insights into how major global players in the automotive industry are actively using simulation, driving simulators and HiL in their quest to achieve zero prototypes and virtual sign-off. All presentations were recorded and are now accessible on the VI-grade website and VI-grade’s YouTube Channel.
Because both the European and North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits were held in VI-grade’s SimCenter facilities, those attendees also had the opportunity to test-drive the full range of VI-grade driving simulators. 20 application-specific demo sessions allowed participants to experience firsthand the value and benefits of using VI-grade's state-of-the-art driving simulators to refine the development process and thus accelerate innovation.
Looking ahead to 2023, VI-grade is pleased to announce the NEW dates for its 2023 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits:
International / EMEA ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit at SimCenter Udine (Italy) on May 24-25, 2023
North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit in Novi, MI (USA) on September 20, 2023
Japan ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit in Tokyo, Japan on September 21, 2023
China ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit (location & date TBA, pending Covid restrictions)
“We are truly impressed by the great interest our worldwide community has shown in our series of ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits, as evidenced by the number of attendees and the consistently positive feedback," commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. “We look forward to building on this year's success as our ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits become one of the automotive industry's premier events. We’re pleased that our ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits have become a forum where automotive manufacturers and suppliers can demonstrate tangible success in closing the gap between CAE simulation and physical testing on the road to zero prototype sign-off.”
Novi, MI, USA, October 11th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced their participation in the 2022 Automotive Testing Conference and Exhibition (ATE), in Novi Michigan, taking place October 25-27, 2022. VI-grade will be showcasing AutoHawk, its new Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) solution for automotive applications. Available for the first time in North America, visitors can experience AutoHawk live and in action at VI-grade’s booth, #2036. Additionally, Dean Streck, Director North America at VI-grade, will introduce AutoHawk in a dedicated, technical presentation on October 26th at 1:30pm.
With AutoHawk VI-grade becomes a significant contender in the sizeable, high-growth market of HiL testing, strategically leveraging its core strengths and experience in simulation and driving simulators. Employing the most advanced open Real Time Operating System (RTOS) available in the marketplace today, AutoHawk is powered by Concurrent Real-Time’s industry leading HiL technology. AutoHawk uniquely addresses the industry’s demand for a flexible solution comprising hardware, software, and integration services that can cost-effectively validate all variety of electronic control units (ECUs).
“I am pleased to introduce our new, flexible HiL Platform AutoHawk to the North American market at Automotive Testing Expo Novi”, said Dean Streck, Director North America at VI-grade. “The HiL market is critical for driving innovation and allowing us to leverage our core competencies and experience in driving simulation and simulators. Our vision is to build an integrated, virtual test approach with Hardware-in the Loop being an essential component of the development process. This will enable our customers to decrease the number of physical prototypes throughout the entire development cycle and to ultimately achieve virtual sign-off.”
Darmstadt, Germany, October 5th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the deployment of its latest generation COMPACT Simulator featuring a carbon-fiber frame at renowned Italian braking systems manufacturer, Brembo. The simulator is fully equipped with dedicated VI-grade software as well as with active shaker components consisting of active seat, active belt and active brake for an enhanced, more realistic driver feeling. The new COMPACT Simulator has been installed at the company’s headquarters in Stezzano (Bergamo), Italy, and has already been fully commissioned by the R&D Department.
Employing the COMPACT Simulator allows Brembo to greatly expand its research capabilities and significantly advance its braking system development. Moreover, this state-of-the-art driving simulator is the ideal tool for Brembo to enhance the collaboration with their customers, especially with major automotive manufacturers who rely on the same (or similar) VI-grade technologies.
“We are pleased to announce the installation and commissioning of our new COMPACT Simulator at Brembo”, said Alessio Lombardi, EMEA Sales Director at VI-grade. “Brembo’s confidence in our COMPACT Simulator, and especially in the active brake technology built into it, is proof of the immediate technical and financial benefits VI-grade’s COMPACT simulator brings to the development process.”
Canton, MI, US, September 28th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced two additional expert contributors for its first-ever North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit (ZPS) to be held on October 12th at Multimatic’s SimCenter in Novi, Michigan. Automotive race and passenger car test driver, Andy Priaulx, and renowned transportation analyst and Forbes journalist, Sam Abuelsamid, will add to the summit's high-profile program, which includes presentations from leading automotive companies such as Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Automobili Lamborghini, Bridgestone, HARMAN International, Hitachi Astemo, McMaster University and Stackpole Engineering Services.
Already at 85% of registration capacity, this positive response to the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit underscores the strong interest the North American community has in attending an event where automotive manufacturers and suppliers demonstrate their achievements in closing the gap between CAE simulation and physical testing to achieve zero prototypes sign-off.
In his role as a professional race and test driver, Andy Priaulx will add another important dimension to the event. The three-time FIA World Touring Car Champion has been involved with Multimatic Motorsports since 2016 as an advisor and full-time test driver in numerous development projects. He will provide exclusive insights about his experience with the DiM250 driving simulator installed at Multimatic’s SimCenter.
“I look forward to attending and contributing to the first-ever North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit”, said Andy Priaulx. “I especially look forward to being able to present to attendees the benefits I’ve directly experienced using the DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator to actually impact the development process. I’ll also be holding a live racing demo session where I’ll push Multimatic’s DiM to its limits to prove the value a driving simulator brings in accelerating and refining the vehicle development process”, he added.
The Summit will be moderated by Automotive Industry Analyst and Forbes journalist, Sam Abuelsamid. After more than two decades as a product development engineer in the automotive industry developing advanced electronic control systems and embedded software, Sam is a principal analyst at Guidehouse, leading the Mobility Ecosystem Research Service with a focus on transportation electrification, automated driving and mobility services. Sam regularly contributes to a number of publications including Autonomous Vehicle Engineering, Forbes, and co-hosts the Wheel Bearings podcast.
“I’m thrilled to moderate VI-grade’s first ever North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit with such a broad array of OEMs and suppliers presenting” he said. “As the industry shifts electrification, automation and new vehicle architectures, simulation is more important than ever. I look forward to learning how these global automotive leaders are pushing the development envelope with VI-grade’s products towards achieving zero prototypes, as well as experiencing the full suite of VI-grade’s simulators at Multimatic.”
In addition to the high-level technical presentations from industry-leading companies, the North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit will also feature a series of application specific driving simulator sessions. The full range of VI-grade’s Driving Simulators, specifically targeted at discipline-oriented applications (Ride & Handling, NVH, ADAS & AV, HMI and Motorsports), will be available for attendees to experience: DESKTOP and DESKTOP NVH Simulator, COMPACT and COMPACT NVH Simulator, STATIC Simulator, DiM250 DYNAMIC Simulator. AutoHawk, VI-grade’s HiL solution powered by Concurrent Real-Time for automotive applications, also will be on display for the first time ever in North America.
VI-grade gratefully acknowledges the support of its North American ZPS sponsors: Rebel Dynamics, SAGInoMIYA (Platinum); 3DMapping Solutions, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, Hexagon, Smarteye and Stackpole Engineering Services (Golden).
Registration for the North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit is still open and free-of-charge at https://conference.vi-grade.com/. Final details about the event will be added to the VI-grade website as they become available.
Darmstadt, Germany / North Canton, OH, US, September 7th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, and Stackpole Engineering Services, a leading full-service provider of engineering solutions to tire and vehicle OEM’s and suppliers, today announced their strategic partnership, that will significantly advance the companies’ research and development efforts in the areas of tire testing, tire modeling and simulation application.
Stackpole Engineering Services utilizes a VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator at their Corporate office in North Canton, Ohio to support the evaluation and certification of tire models and vehicle physics in various professional driving simulator applications. Through this strategic partnership, VI-grade and Stackpole Engineering Services now directly collaborate on the development and implementation of tire and vehicle models across VI-grade’s driving simulators, ensuring the best possible support for the joint customer base of vehicle and tire manufacturers.
Highlights of the partnership between Stackpole Engineering Services and VI-grade include the following major advances:
Close cooperation in the evaluation and certification of third-party software as well as vehicle and tire models to ensure native and seamless application in VI-grade driving simulators
Equipping all VI-grade SimCenters worldwide with SES-AgileTire™ software suite for tire model analysis and providing access to sample library of commercial tire models.
“It is an honor for Stackpole Engineering Services, Inc. to partner with the team at VI-grade on the creation, implementation and validation of tire models and vehicle physics in the VI-grade simulator environment, and to provide industry-leading support for our joint customers”, commented Michael Stackpole, President and Founder, Stackpole Engineering Services. “Stackpole Engineering Services is proud to include the VI-grade simulator as part of our expanded engineering service offerings, and are focused on utilizing this world-class toolset to evaluate and certify commercial and custom tire & vehicle models, and to support our customer’s unique virtual environment programs.”
“I am pleased to announce the collaboration of VI-grade and Stackpole Engineering Services”, said Tony Spagnuolo, Vice President Business Development at VI-grade. “We look forward to collaborating even more closely with our valued partner Stackpole Engineering Services in the development and implementation of tire models on our driving simulators to provide the best possible simulation solutions to our joint customer base of vehicle and tire OEMs.”
Stackpole Engineering Services will be present at the 41st Annual Tire Society Conference (September 12-13, 2022 in Akron, OH) with a booth and their VI-grade DESKTOP simulator. In addition, Kelly Holshue, Delivery and Installation Manager - North America at VI-grade will give a dedicated presentation on the benefits of virtual tire evaluation using a Driver-in-the-Loop Simulator (DiL).
Canton, MI, US / Tokyo, Japan, August 31st, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced final agendas of its first-ever regional ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits (ZPS) to be held on September 22nd in Tokyo, Japan and on October 12th at Multimatic’s SimCenter in Novi (suburban Detroit), Michigan.
As with VI-grade’s flagship event held in Udine, Italy, in May 2022, both regional ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits will showcase a combination of application-specific driving simulator sessions and high-level technical presentations from industry-leading companies actively using VI-grade’s simulation, driving simulator and hardware-in-the-loop technology in their product development processes.
The main focus for the local Summits is demonstrating how VI-grade tools drive immediate technical and financial returns in the customers’ product development process across ADAS, Vehicle Dynamics, NVH and HMI areas of focus, including multi-attribute simulations. Attendees will benefit from hearing actual customer testimonials describing how adopting VI-grade technologies moved them from “skeptic to speaker” as they bridge the gap between simulation and physical testing in the ultimate quest to achieve zero prototypes sign-off.
Speakers at the Japanese ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit include representatives from Honda Japan, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Mazda, Hitachi Astemo, Applus+ IDIADA, Solize, Meiji University, SAGInoMIYA, Rebel Dynamics, Hexagon, HBK and Barco. In addition to keynote and technical presentations, all attendees will also have opportunities to experience the VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator, DESKTOP NVH Simulator, COMPACT NVH Simulator as well as the recently launched HiL Platform, AutoHawk, live and in action in dedicated demo sessions.
The North American edition of VI-grade’s ZPS event will feature high-caliber keynote and technical contributions from Multimatic Inc., Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Harman, Lamborghini / Bridgestone, McMaster University, Stackpole Engineering Services, Hitachi Astemo, SAGInoMIYA and Rebel Dynamics. Because the event will be held at Multimatic's state-of-the-art SimCenter, attendees will also have the unique opportunity to experience first-hand the full spectrum of VI-grade driving simulators and directly experience what makes VI-grade technologically superior to the competition.
“We are extremely pleased to bring our renowned ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit to our local VI-grade communities in Japan and in the United States and to host such an impressive slate of speakers at each event”, commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. “These presentations will provide our valued customers, partners and followers with exclusive insights into how key players in the global automotive industry are currently using simulation and driving simulators to accelerate the development of new vehicles, bringing them ever closer to virtual release.”
Registration for both regional ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits is free-of-charge atthis link. Additional details about the event will be added to the VI-grade website as they become available.
Novi, Michigan, US & Tokyo, Japan, July 14th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced it will globally expand its premier “ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit” (ZPS) to Japan and the United States, to be held on September 22nd in Tokyo, Japan and on October 12th at VI-grade’s SimCenter in Novi, (suburban Detroit) Michigan. These regional events build on the highly successful ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit hosted at VI-grade’s main technical development center in Udine (Italy) in May 2022, which attracted more than 220 physical and over 700 virtual attendees.
VI-grade’s ZERO PROTYTPES Summit is rapidly becoming a premier, must-attend automotive industry event, where automotive manufacturers and suppliers demonstrate their accomplishments towards closing the gap between CAE simulation and physical testing in the quest to achieve zero prototypes sign-off. VI-grade’s unrivalled technological superiority and global leadership in the areas of real-time simulation, driving simulators and HiL (Hardware-in-the-loop) enable its partners and customers to push the product innovation envelope ever further in their efforts towards achieving zero prototypes.
As with the flagship event in Udine, both of VI-grade's local ZPS events will showcase a combination of high-caliber technical presentations from industry-leading companies, application-specific driving simulator sessions, and a series of software trainings and user groups. Participants will gain exclusive insight into how the major players in the automotive industry use VI-grade’s cutting-edge simulation, driving simulators and hardware-in-the-loop technologies to accelerate the development of new vehicles, thereby getting ever closer to virtual sign-off with “Zero Prototypes”.
The ZPS events are targeted towards executive-level engineering managers and experienced design engineers from the major automotive OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, universities, and research centers from the respective regions.
“We look forward to bringing our ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit to North America and Japan in fall 2022”, commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. “This is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate not only our entire vision and our tools to the Japanese and North American communities, but also to learn more about the latest projects and advancements our customers and partners have achieved using VI-grade's innovative simulation solutions.”
“We are pleased to invite our valued customers, partners and sponsors to the SimCenter Detroit for our first-ever North American ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit event”, added Dean Streck, Director North America at VI-grade. “As with VI-grade’s flagship event in Udine, Italy, the event in Novi allows attendees to experience the full spectrum of our simulators live and in action. Our main focus for the Summit is demonstrating how VI-grade tools drive immediate technical and financial returns in our customers’ product development process across ADAS, Vehicle Dynamics, NVH and HMI areas of focus, including multi-attribute simulations. Attendees will gain valuable insight from hearing actual customer testimonials describing how adopting VI-grade technologies moved them from “skeptic to speaker” and who now cannot imagine developing products without VI-grade simulation technologies embedded at the core of their work.”
“After three years and numerous virtual events, we are thrilled to host a local physical conference for our Japanese community for the second time”, said Toru Yoshii, Country Manager, VI-grade Japan.” The event will feature high-caliber Keynote and Technical presentations from major Japanese automotive manufacturers and suppliers, as well as demo sessions at selected driving simulators and a technical exhibition area, where all sponsors will showcase their solutions to the audience.”
Confirmed Sponsors of the ZPS local events (to-date) are: Rebel Dynamics, SAGInoMIYA (Platinum); 3D Mapping Solutions, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, Hexagon MSC, Solize Corporation and HBK (Golden). Additional sponsors and details on the presentations will be announced shortly.
Pre-Registration for the local ZERO PROTOTYPES Summits is now open. Join the ZPS2022 Community now at the link https://conference.vi-grade.com/ to stay up-to-date on these exceptional events.
Udine, Italy, June 29th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the 2022.1 release of its main software products for real-time simulation and driving simulators. The release includes major product updates and several usability enhancements for VI-CarRealTime, VI-WorldSim, VI-DriveSim and for the whole NVH Simulator product suite.
The 2022.1 release of VI-CarRealTime, VI-grade’s flagship real-time vehicle simulation environment, features multiple benefits for users:
The Solid Axle suspension model is now based on a separate body representing the axle, leading to a more accurate computation of steering dynamics
The Steering Subsystem Editor is now completely redesigned to be more intuitive and to allow better control of its different elements
The new Yaw Moment Event enables to generate a representation of the vehicle maneuvering envelope computing its dynamic equilibrium at constant speed over a given range of side slip and steering
The Adams Car Interface now supports a side-by-side installation mode, enabling the usage of a single Adams Car installation with multiple versions of VI-CarRealTime
The 2022.1 release of VI-WorldSim, VI-grade’s user-friendly, fully integrated graphic environment focused on ADAS development, features the following enhancements:
An enhanced model of the sky, featuring volumetric clouds and other atmospheric visual improvements, more accurate illumination at night and presence of the moon
AI controlled vehicles are now able to swerve around obstacles
Any vehicle may be given exclusive control to the external SDK process independently from the behavior specified in the scenario
The Simulink library has been expanded, providing access to trigger activation, weather conditions, vehicle lights and control actions generated by the AI module.
The 2022.1 update also includes enhancements for VI-DriveSim, VI-grade’s software platform enabling easy and complete control of driving simulator components:
A brand-new user interface enabling to manage all driving simulator subsystems from a single application
The MotionCueing module reduces the actuation latency for cable-driven simulators thanks to an increased operative frequency.
The new MultiCueing module coordinates the usage of the VI-ActiveSeat unit with the motion platform actions.
Finally, the 2022.1 release of NVH Simulator contains several major improvements and new functionalities:
All-new NVH Simulator toolbox featuring many new capabilities and enhancements: full capabilities of previous toolbox, Magic Brush sound editing multi-tool, Wav edit (expanded functionality with trim, fade, invert), Order Designer (expanded to create EV orders), Road/Engine Masking playback improvements
NVH Simulator Data Preparation Software enriched with several new capabilities and improvements: High-res order display for easy order identification in EVs, Auto order identification, Integrated masking noise calculation for engine and road masking, Batch Processing
Support of new VI-WorldSim version and scenarios (Calabogie racetrack, Cityscape)
Support of assembly ID switching for QNX Liveamp
MME audio output option in VI-SimSound
“I'm overjoyed to share this significant software update for VI-flagship grade's software product line,” said Roberto De Vecchi, VI-grade Product Development Manager. “All of our real-time and NVH software solutions have undergone a significant overhaul with version 2022.1, and I am convinced that customers of our offline and driving simulator software will benefit much from it.”
“我们很高兴将 AutoHawk 投入到规模庞大且快速发展的汽车 HiL 测试市场。”， Concurrent Real-Time（隶属HBK 虚拟测试部门）总裁 Ken Jackson 评论道。 “现在，车辆上安装了越来越多的ECU来满足主动底盘控制和高级驾驶员辅助系统（ADAS）功能，我们迎合行业不断增长的HiL测试需求，推出了AutoHawk。”
Udine, Italy, June 1st, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the official recap of its 2022 ”ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit” (ZPS), held on May 18– 19, 2022. Over 220 representatives from major automotive and transportation OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, research centers and partner companies gathered in person for the two-day ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit at SimCenter Udine, VI-grade's state-of-the-art technology in the north-east of Italy. In addition to the in-person event, a virtual event, simultaneously broadcast live all summit content and attracted over 800 registered participants from more than 42 different countries.More importantly, 100% of attendees surveyed after the summit indicated their intent to attend again in 2023, a ringing endorsement of the valuable insights and information provided by the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit.
ZPS2022 SPEAKERS
Targeted at innovators in the global automotive industry, the 2-day event provided the VI-grade community with exclusive insights into the methods simulation thought leaders use to succeed in their quest towards achieving zero prototypes, and the important role VI-grade’s advanced simulation solutions play in that quest. Keynote and Technical Presentations on Day 1 included Pirelli Tyre, Volvo Cars / Royal Institute of Technology, McMaster University, Applus+ IDIADA, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Automobili Lamborghini / Bridgestone, Danisi Engineering / Meccanica 42, UTAC, Politecnico di Milano and Multimatic Inc.
Day 2 featured high-level presentations from General Motors, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH, University of Windsor, MegaRide / BE CAE Test, Technische Universität Dresden, Ford Werke GmbH and HORIBA MIRA.
HiL testing on DiM400 with Lamborghini Huracan cockpit
This year's “ZPS Best Paper Award” was awarded ex-aequo to
Giuseppe Sgoluppi from Automobili Lamborghini and Alfredo Corollaro from Bridgestone EMIA, who held a joint presentation titled “Optimal Coupling of Suspensions Set-up and Tire Dynamic Footprint through FEM Modeling and Driver-in-the-Loop Approach”, and
Guido Tosolin from Applus+ IDIADA, who co-authored a paper with Mahindra & Mahindra titled “Achieving World-Class Dynamics Performance of the New XUV 700 and Cutting Down Development Time and Cost Using a Driving Simulator”.
All presentations were recorded and are now accessible on the VI-grade website and YouTube channel. At this link the official after-event video trailer of VI-grade’s 2022 ZERO PROTOYPES Summit can be found.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS MADE AT ZPS2022
The ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit was also a platform for announcements pertaining to VI-grade’s business and product development achievements:
AutoHawk, VI-grade’s new HiL solution powered by Concurrent Real-Time, was officially launched and presented to all Summit attendees in dedicated, live demo sessions. For further information on AutoHawk, please follow this link.
Leading automotive engineering services companyHORIBA MIRA announced the adoption of VI-grade’s DiM250, further enhancing its proprietary approach to driver-centric and qualitative vehicle attribute engineering. The new DYNAMIC Driving Simulator will be the first facility of its kind installed in the UK
UniBo Motorsport (ICE) and Squadra Corse Politecnico di Torino EV respectively won first place in the 2022 edition of the Virtual Formula competition, in the Internal Combustion and the Electric Vehicle category.The teams will be awarded with industry-leading Fanatec hardware and VI-grade software required to upgrade the team’s Windows PC to a fully functional VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator. The winners will also receive a one-days session at VI-grade’s SimCenter Udine
“We are truly impressed with the high degree of interest shown by our community for this event, as evidenced by the number of attendees for both the in-person and the virtual edition of our 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit,” commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade.“It all started 8 months ago with the idea of bringing our customers, partners, sponsors, and colleagues to the place where our software and simulators are developed and tested. For the first time, we decided not to bring the tools to the conference, but to move the conference to where the tools are. Despite numerous obstacles and challenges, we are exceedingly pleased with the outcome of our first hybrid event. We are very grateful to our loyal community and proud of the relationship we have forged over the years.”
INDUSTRY SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
VI-grade would like to acknowledge and thank the following 28 industry sponsors and partners for their support of the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit:
Udine, Italy, May 5th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the final agenda of its 2022 ”ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit” (ZPS), to be held on May 18th – 19th, 2022. The two-day hybrid event dedicated to the global driving simulator community will take place at VI-grade’s state-of-the-art technology SimCenter facility in Udine, located in the north-east of Italy.
The in-person event is at 95% capacity, underscoring the industry’s clear desire for a return to in-person events.
The Summit will also be simultaneously broadcast live, free-of-charge, allowing VI-grade’s global community to benefit from the conference content. This content will also be available on-demand after the event.
In-person attendees are invited to an informal pre-Summit reception at the Udine SimCenter, on May 17th at 6pm. Attendees can mingle and network in a relaxed atmosphere while discussing the latest trends in driving simulation technology.
SUMMIT CONTENT FEATURES GLOBAL SIMULATION THOUGHT LEADERS
The ZPS is geared towards executives and experienced design engineers from major automotive and transportation OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, motorsports teams, universities, research centers worldwide and partner companies. The Summit offers a unique opportunity to learn how simulation thought leaders are succeeding in their quest towards achieving zero prototypes by employing VI-grade’s advanced simulation solutions.
With 19 high-level technical presentations to select from, attendees will hear first-hand from industry-leading companies actively using VI-grade’s simulation, driving simulators and hardware-in-the-loop technology to accelerate and improve their product development processes.
ZPS PRESENTERS
Speakers include representatives from:
General Motors, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center, Volvo Cars / Royal Institute of Technology, Applus+ IDIADA / Mahindra, Automobili Lamborghini / Bridgestone EMIA, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Pirelli Tyre, Multimatic Inc., Ford Werke GmbH, Nardò Technical Center, McMaster University, Politecnico di Milano, Technical University of Dresden, University of Windsor, UTAC, HORIBA MIRA, Danisi Engineering / Meccanica 42, MegaRide / BE CAE & Test.
“We are truly impressed by the high degree of interest shown by our community for this event, as evidenced by the number of registrations for both the in-person and the virtual edition of our 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit,” commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. “We’re especially pleased to be able to provide our valued customers, partners and followers with such an impressive lineup of speakers demonstrating exclusive insights into how key players in the global automotive industry are currently using simulation and driving simulators.”
EXCLUSIVE DRIVING SIMULATOR DEMOS
As an added bonus, in person attendees will be treated to 7 exclusive driving simulator demos where they’ll directly experience the value and benefits of using VI-grade’s state-of-the-art driving simulators to refine the development process.
SUPPLEMENTAL, HANDS-ON TECHNICAL TRAINING SESSIONS
VI-grade is offering on-site workshops on its flagship software products VI-CarRealTime and VI-WorldSim on May 20th. These fee-based training courses are aimed at experienced users who want to expand their existing knowledge of and learn about the new functionalities and capabilities of VI-grade’s software products.
VI-grade will also host a free-of-charge NVH Simulators User Group for its NVH customers on May 20th. Attendees will learn more about recent and future new NVH Simulator capabilities and technology developments and will also have the opportunity to provide feedback and make requests directly to the NVH product development team.
INDUSTRY SPONSORS AND PARTNERS
VI-grade would like to acknowledge and thank the following 28 industry sponsors and partners for their support of the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit:
Sponsors will be present both at the dedicated exhibition area where they’ll showcase their technologies, as well as at live demo sessions, where their products and solutions are also directly integrated into VI-grade's driving simulators.
Registration for the in-person and virtual edition of the 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit is still open at https://conference.vi-grade.com/.
Darmstadt (Germany), April 28th , 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the complete installation and commissioning of a VI-grade COMPACT Simulator at the Ford Motor Research and Engineering Center in Nanjing China. The 3D virtual data that simulates Ford China’s test tracks in Nanjing will also soon be integrated into the driving simulator solution.
By leveraging this innovative solution consisting of the VI-grade COMPACT Simulator and the Virtual Testing Tracks, engineers are able to evaluate vehicle dynamics performance, primarily on steering and handling capability, in a 3D virtual environment. Ultimately, the solution can help engineers shorten production development time and better meet needs of Chinese consumers. Because the COMPACT Simulator utilizes the same tool chain as the VI-grade STATIC and DYNAMIC DiM Driving Simulators, it also represents an optimal technical reserve for the application of a more advanced simulator.
“We are excited to provide our COMPACT Simulator solution for Ford China,” said Richard Liu, China Country Manager at VI-grade. “In conjunction with the Virtual Testing Tracks data, the COMPACT Simulator is an innovative tool to develop and test designs more efficiently, reducing time-to-market for future products. We are looking forward to further expanding our cooperation with Ford in the future.”
Tokyo, Japan, April 13th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the adoption of an extended version of its DiM250 DYNAMIC Simulator at long-standing customer Honda. The Driving Simulator, to be installed at Honda’s R&D site in Japan, is based on the same patented architecture as VI-grade’s DiM250 model, but with extended workspace through longer tripod actuators. This enlarged motion platform is particularly suitable for applications which require longer time exposure to steady state accelerations.
However, the newly acquired DiM is already the second VI-grade DYNAMIC Simulator within the Honda Group, since the R&D site in Offenbach, Germany, has relied on a model of the DiM250 simulator for vehicle development and testing since 2018. As the DiM250 has proven to be a valuable tool and development platform for the European team, Honda has now decided to introduce an extended version of DiM250 at its main development center in Japan. The Driving Simulator will be deployed in the areas of Ride & Handling, NVH, HMI and HiL, aimed to accelerate innovation in the overall vehicle development process, while reducing the number of physical prototypes, development time and costs.
“We are pleased to announce the adoption of a second VI-grade DYNAMIC Simulator at Honda”, said Toru Yoshii, Japan Country Manager at VI-grade. “With the DiM Simulator on both sides of the ocean, Honda has now the ideal common development platform for their R&D activities and is at the forefront of virtual vehicle development.”
Darmstadt, Germany, April 5th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced that Michael Hoffmann has joined the VI-grade Team as Senior Expert in Simulation Driven Development, effective April 1st, 2022.
Michael has over 30 years of experience in sales, marketing and software development focused on helping customers build better products in less time and with fewer resources. Before joining VI-grade, he held key positions at major simulation software companies such as Altair, MSC Software and Mechanical Dynamics.
“We are thrilled to welcome Michael Hoffmann to VI-grade”, said Guido Bairati, Managing Director, VI-grade. “He will be instrumental in advancing our Zero Prototypes strategy at VI-grade and will provide critical guidance and support to our customers in their path towards virtual sign-off”, he added.
“We’ve been talking about reducing hardware prototypes for quite some time”, said Michael Hoffmann. “I’m really looking forward to setting the bar a bit higher as we aim for „Zero Prototypes”, and I’m excited to work with clients who embrace innovation and who are willing to accept this challenge.”
Udine, Italy, March 31st, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the preliminary agenda of its 2022 ”ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit” (ZPS), to be held on May 18th – 19th, 2022. The two-day event catering to the global driving simulator community will take place at VI-grade’s state-of-the-art technology SimCenter facility in Udine, located in the north-east of Italy.
Attendees can expect high-level technical presentations from industry-leading companies actively using VI-grade’s simulation, driving simulators and hardware-in-the-loop technology in their product development processes and how it has given them a clear technology leadership advantage over the competition. Speakers include representatives from General Motors, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center, Volvo Cars / Royal Institute of Technology, Applus+ IDIADA / Mahindra, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Danisi Engineering, Multimatic Inc., Ford Germany, McMaster University, Politecnico di Milano, Technical University of Dresden, University of Windsor, UTAC. The detailed list of presentations, which will be progressively updated in the coming weeks, is available at https://conference.vi-grade.com/#summitprogram
Recognizing that not all customers, partners and followers can attend the physical event in Udine, VI-grade also organizes a simultaneous live broadcast of all summit presentations so that its global community can benefit from the conference content. This content will be made available on-demand after the event as well.
To allow conference attendees get the most out of their stay at SimCenter Udine, VI-grade will offer chargeable workshops dedicated to its flagship software products VI-CarRealTime and VI-WorldSim on May 20th. These training courses are aimed at experienced users who want to expand existing knowledge and to learn all new functionalities and capabilities of VI-grade’s software products.
All registered attendees will also be invited to an informal get-together at VI-grade’s Udine SimCenter, where also the Summit will be held, on May 17th at 6pm to network and to discuss the latest trends and forthcoming driving simulation technologies in a relaxed atmosphere.
“We are excited to offer our VI-grade community such an impressive slate of speakers at our 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit and to invite them to our renowned SimCenter in Udine”, comments Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. “These presentations will provide our valued customers, partners and followers with exclusive insights into how key players in the global automotive industry are currently using simulation and driving simulators to accelerate the development of new vehicles, bringing them ever closer to virtual release.”
The ZPS event is kindly supported by the following sponsors and partners:
SILVER Sponsors: 3D Mapping Solutions, BeamNG, cosin scientific software, domeprojection.com, Fraunhofer ITWM, Konrad Technologies, Meccanica 42, Vioso
BRONZE Sponsors: Almatec, Screenline, Virtual Vehicle Research Institute
VI-CERTIFIED Sponsors: Hexagon, IPG Automotive
The sponsors will be present both in the dedicated exhibition area to showcase their technologies as well as in live demo sessions, as their products and solutions are also directly integrated into VI-grade's driving simulators.
Registration to the 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit is now open at https://conference.vi-grade.com/. Additional details about the event will be added to the VI-grade website as they become available.
Darmstadt, Germany, March 9th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced that its long-standing customer, NIO, has implemented VI-grade’s user-friendly, fully integrated graphic environment, VI-WorldSim. With the adoption of VI-WorldSim, the Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer complements its existing VI-grade driving simulation setup, which includes a DiM150 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator and VI-CarRealTime, VI-grade’s real-time vehicle simulation environment utilizing a single simplified vehicle model.
VI-WorldSim is fully supported by NIO’s DiM150 Driving Simulator, installed at the company’s headquarters in Shanghai. Adopting VI-WorldSim expands the DiM150’s capabilities by adding realistic, multi-agent AI traffic behavior and sensor fusion. VI-WorldSim will mainly be used for ADAS and AV development aimed at increasing safety in autonomous driving. In addition to the DYNAMIC Driving Simulator, NIO is also looping in an extra DESKTOP Simulator. This creates a multi-simulator setup, allowing two drivers on two different driving simulators to simultaneously operate in the same scenario. This co-simulation is largely used to study the interaction of ADAS controllers in both random and complex scenarios.
“Delivering a joyful and reassuring experience while using autonomous and assisted driving is one of NIO’s pillars, which is why we are investing heavily in the development and validation of these functions”, said Danilo Teobaldi, VP Vehicle Engineering at NIO.“The availability of our DiM150 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator in combination with VI-CarRealTime and VI-WorldSim allows us to create a safe environment for extensive ADAS and AV development, and to reproduce it at any time. We are confident that our current driving simulation setup will significantly help us to make ADAS systems safer and improve their overall functionality in the future.”
“We are pleased to announce the introduction of VI-WorldSim at our long-standing customer NIO”, commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. “It is the perfect complement to their existing driving simulation setup, allowing NIO to take their ADAS & AV development capabilities to an even higher level.”
Darmstadt, Germany, February 16th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the preliminary roster of speakers and sponsors for its 2022 “ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit” (ZPS), to be held on May 18th – 19th, 2022. Tailored to the global driving simulator community, the two-day live event will take place at VI-grade’s state-of-the-art technology SimCenter facility in Udine, located in the north-east of Italy.
VI-grade also plans to organize a simultaneous live broadcast of all summit presentations, allowing its global community to benefit remotely from the conference presentations.
Keynote and technical presentations will be delivered by representatives fromGeneral Motors and Hyundai as well as by professors and faculty advisors from University of Windsor and McMaster University. Additional keynote and technical presentations from the VI-grade user community will be announced soon. These presentations will illustrate how leaders in the worldwide automotive industry use VI-grade’s cutting-edge simulation, driving simulators and hardware-in-the-loop technologies to accelerate the development of new vehicles, getting ever closer to virtual sign-off with “Zero Prototypes”.
The ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit will also feature a technical showcase area where partner companies can connect with attendees and demonstrate their solutions and technologies.
Confirmed sponsors of the 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit to date are: Applus+ IDIADA, Danisi Engineering, Rebel Dynamics, MegaRide, SAGInoMIYA, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, HORIBA MIRA, Imtec Engineering, Multimatic, Rescale, Smart Eye, 3D Mapping Solutions, cosin scientific software, domeprojection, Fraunhofer ITWM, Konrad Technologies, Meccanica 42, Almatec and Screenline. The complete list of sponsors will be constantly updated on the VI-grade website.
Because VI-grade’s many technology partners’ products are integrated into VI-grade’s driving simulators, ZPS attendees in Udine will be able to experience these products live and in action at the SimCenter in Udine.
“We are pleased once again to have the support of our long-standing partners, both as exhibitors and technical presenters. We will be holding dedicated driving sessions at the SimCenter in Udine during the ZPS. This is a unique opportunity for our community to experience our extensive product line of driving simulators with our partners’ integrated technologies, live and in action,” said Guido Bairati, Managing Director, VI-grade. “VI-grade is looking forward to the numerous keynote and technical presentations to learn more about how our customers currently use our cutting-edge simulation, driving simulators and hardware-in-the-loop technologies to accelerate the development of new vehicles, getting ever closer to virtual sign-off with “Zero Prototypes”.
Registration for the 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit is now open at https://conference.vi-grade.com/. Additional details about the event will be added to the VI-grade website as they become available.
Canton, MI (USA), February 2nd, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the completion of the installation and commissioning of the DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator at American multinational automaker Ford Motor Company. The driving simulator has been installed at the Company’s headquarters in Dearborn, MI, USA to enhance research and development capabilities and to accelerate automotive development.
In detail, Ford Motor Company has purchased and installed a complete turn-key solution from VI-grade based on the DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator (Driver-in-Motion) equipped with the whole VI-DriveSim software suite and with active technology (belts, seat, brake and shakers).
“We are extremely pleased to announce the adoption of our DYNAMIC Driving Simulator at such a global and prestigious company as Ford,” said Guido Bairati, Managing Director, VI-grade. “This success builds on our long-standing collaboration with Ford Motor Company, who has already virtually connected its different engineering sites around the globe through the implementation of several, smaller size DESKTOP, COMPACT, COMPACT NVH and STATIC simulators from VI-grade, thus leveraging their full power across NVH and Ride & Handling disciplines.”
To reproduce vehicle movements and acceleration, the DiM solution takes a different path to driving simulation and is based on a patented revolutionary design with nine actuators. The resulting configuration with its 9-degrees of freedom enables going beyond the basic six-actuator design of a simple hexapod or similar, thus providing a larger workspace while maintaining high stiffness. This results in a system suitable for low as well as high frequencies, both of which occur in automotive chassis design. For this reason, DiM enables users to investigate vehicle dynamics as well as ride and comfort on the same driving simulator.
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