2024 VI-GRADE ZERO PROTOTYPES SUMMIT

The state of the art of vehicle development is often clashing with the prototypes availability that tends to be delayed while software and network architecture definition tends instead to be anticipated. Bugatti-Rimac decided to bridge the gap between the prototype world and the simulation world leveraging a HiL system coupled with a DiL system, both using VI-Grade hardware & software and appointing RSEngineering for the full system integration and commissioning. An AutoHawk HiL system was assembled in a collaboration between VI-Grade, RSEngineering and Bugatti Rimac comprising 2 Engine Management System, 1 Transmission Control Unit and 1 Vehicle Control Unit, 1 Brake by Wire, 1 Electronic Stability Control. The system includes also a “wet” representation of the brake system with all the physical components connected to the ECUs via hydraulic lines. A completely modular simulation model including the entire powertrain and many chassis components was developed and integrated with the physical communication layer of the AutoHawk system. This allowed the selectively setup of which ECUs are emulated and which ones are real. The HiL system was then integrated with Bugatti-Rimac’s Driver-in-the-Loop setup with the direct connection of the cockpit brake pedal to the brake system. The final setup enabled the calibration of the ECUs with a real driver in the loop combined with all the relevant ECUs flashed with the same software that will then be deployed on the prototypes. This also enabled the shortening of the development time and a faster debugging of all systems due to the extremely low downtime of the virtual environment compared to on-vehicle physical testing. We were able to extend the range of vehicle calibration and testing scenarios (extreme weather conditions, road surface changes, fault injection) in a controlled and repeatable virtual environment and maximize the ROI coming from the early bugs detection in the software development process.