Aston Martin Lagonda Achieves Significant Reductions in Time and Cost of Development Programs Using VI-grade COMPACT Simulator
Darmstadt, February 17th, 2021 – VI-grade today announced that luxury British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda has adopted the COMPACT Simulator designed by VI-grade to meet increasingly complex vehicle targets. The Driving Simulator is also a decisive tool allowing Aston Martin Lagonda to move away from the common traditional engineering approach used in the automotive industry to a more virtual environment, thus saving cost and resources in the development of new vehicles.
Today’s vehicle development programs are increasingly demanding, simultaneously requiring cost and time reductions while also improving quality. Traditional engineering aproaches are hard-pressed to successfully address these requirements, as these two targets are hardly compatible. As a result, Aston Martin Lagonda is steadily moving towards a more virtual environment, employing vehicle models and simulation tools to embed traditional development steps into a virtual model that would usually be carried out on a physical proving ground. This is achieved by creating a digital twin of the vehicle. This innovative form of development is not only more resource-efficient but also enables the sports car manufacturer to significantly increase the quality of its end products.
By using the COMPACT Simulator by VI-grade, Aston Martin Lagonda is now able to conduct numerous tests on the virtual vehicle model at an early stage, well before building a first prototype. The Driving Simulator application allows various elements of the vehicle’s behavior to be tested and potential error sources to be identified and eliminated much earlier in the development process. This leads to higher reliability and confidence in the prototypes and more effective testing, which in the end results in a higher quality of the final vehicle. “We have identified that by the use of virtual tools and simulation, the expenditure profile of a project is smoother and is reduced throughout the life of the product development process, and that’s because any error states that you find, you find them at the very beginning of the program, before you committed to any tooling, or you’re committed to any production parts,” said Jose Barcelo, Chassis/Vehicle Dynamics CAE Manager at Aston Martin Lagonda. “In our development activities, we are always trying to be as cost effective as possible, trying to reduce the time of the programs, and by doing so we are also reducing the cost of the programs.”
“We are delighted to report that the iconic British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda utilizes our revolutionary driving simulation solution, thus embarking on a new innovative development path”, said Alessio Lombardi, Sales Director, South Europe and UK at VI-grade. “First results of the application of our COMPACT Simulator are already visible on the new DBX model, Aston Martin’s first luxury SUV. By integrating our Driving Simulator technology into the development program, the Aston Martin Lagonda engineering team was able to eliminate possible error sources of the vehicle much earlier, build more reliable prototypes and finally come up with a high-performance car that pushes the boundaries of what is possible for an SUV."
Today’s vehicle development programs are increasingly demanding, simultaneously requiring cost and time reductions while also improving quality. Traditional engineering aproaches are hard-pressed to successfully address these requirements, as these two targets are hardly compatible. As a result, Aston Martin Lagonda is steadily moving towards a more virtual environment, employing vehicle models and simulation tools to embed traditional development steps into a virtual model that would usually be carried out on a physical proving ground. This is achieved by creating a digital twin of the vehicle. This innovative form of development is not only more resource-efficient but also enables the sports car manufacturer to significantly increase the quality of its end products.
By using the COMPACT Simulator by VI-grade, Aston Martin Lagonda is now able to conduct numerous tests on the virtual vehicle model at an early stage, well before building a first prototype. The Driving Simulator application allows various elements of the vehicle’s behavior to be tested and potential error sources to be identified and eliminated much earlier in the development process. This leads to higher reliability and confidence in the prototypes and more effective testing, which in the end results in a higher quality of the final vehicle. “We have identified that by the use of virtual tools and simulation, the expenditure profile of a project is smoother and is reduced throughout the life of the product development process, and that’s because any error states that you find, you find them at the very beginning of the program, before you committed to any tooling, or you’re committed to any production parts,” said Jose Barcelo, Chassis/Vehicle Dynamics CAE Manager at Aston Martin Lagonda. “In our development activities, we are always trying to be as cost effective as possible, trying to reduce the time of the programs, and by doing so we are also reducing the cost of the programs.”
“We are delighted to report that the iconic British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda utilizes our revolutionary driving simulation solution, thus embarking on a new innovative development path”, said Alessio Lombardi, Sales Director, South Europe and UK at VI-grade. “First results of the application of our COMPACT Simulator are already visible on the new DBX model, Aston Martin’s first luxury SUV. By integrating our Driving Simulator technology into the development program, the Aston Martin Lagonda engineering team was able to eliminate possible error sources of the vehicle much earlier, build more reliable prototypes and finally come up with a high-performance car that pushes the boundaries of what is possible for an SUV."
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