Porsche Motorsport adopts revolutionary driving simulation technology from VI-grade
Marburg, Oct 9th, 2014 – VI-grade, the leading provider of best-in-class software products and services for advanced applications in the field of system-level simulation, today announced that Porsche Motorsport selected the newly developed motion platform named DiM (Driver in Motion). The new dynamic platform for the driving simulator has been installed at the Porsche Motorsport site in Weissach, Germany and will be used for testing and optimizing the setup of new racing cars. The first vehicle to be tested on this new platform is the new Porsche LMP1 sports prototype, which is competing in the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2014.
The 9 degrees-of-freedom DiM platform has been designed in order to take full advantage of VI-MotionCueing, a very innovative motion cueing strategy developed by VI-grade in collaboration with the University of Padua (Italy). The technology enables the extension of the motion envelope and the separation of low and high frequency contributions, which makes this type of motion platform suitable for both vehicle dynamics and ride studies.
“We are extremely happy to report this commercial success at Porsche Motorsport”, said Juergen Fett, Managing Director, VI-grade. “Together with Saginomiya and other technology vendors we have built this complex vehicle simulator to establish it in a competitive environment of a world leader in sportscars and racecars and Porsche Motorsport, thanks to its expertise in worldwide known racing cars, represents for us the ideal customer for the deployment of the innovative DiM technology in the motorsport industry.”
For additional information on how Porsche Motorsport uses VI-grade’s DiM technology to optimize the performance of their vehicles and to better interact with its factory drivers, please check this video (courtesy of German channel N-TV).
About Porsche Motorsport
World famous car manufacturer Porsche has been successful in many branches of motorsport of which most have been in long distance races. Despite their early involvement in motorsports being limited to supplying relatively small engines to racing underdogs up until the late 1960s, by the mid-1950s Porsche had already tasted moderate success in the realm of sports car racing, most notably in the Carrera Panamericana and Targa Florio, classic races which were later used in the naming of street cars. The Porsche 917 of 1969 turned them into a power house, winning in 1970 the first of 16 “24 Hours” of Le Mans, more than any other company. With the 911 Carrera RS and the Porsche 935 Turbo, Porsche dominated the 1970s, and sometimes even has beaten sports prototypes – a category in which Porsche entered the successful, Le Mans-winning 936, 956 and 962 models.
Porsche is currently the world's largest race car manufacturer. For example: Based on the Porsche 911, Type 997, the company has built and sold nearly 1.700 GT-Racecars (GT3 Cup, GT3 R, GT3 RSR). Porsche regards racing as an essential part of ongoing engineering development—it was traditionally very rare for factory-entered Porsche racing cars to appear at consecutive races in the same specification. Some aspect of the car almost invariably, was being developed, whether for the future race programs or as proof of concept for future road cars. Since the decision in mid-2011 to return with the LMP1 racer to top motorsport as a works effort, the Motorsport Centre at Weissach has grown significantly. A workshop and an administration building were built and accommodate more than 200 employees who are responsible for the design, assembly and deployment of the LMP1 car. Since the beginning of the 2014 WEC season, the racer is fielded by a Weissach-based works squad. For additional information, click here.
About Saginomiya
Saginomiya is the leading provider of automatic controls and test systems in Japan as and is very highly reputed throughout the world for the quality of its products. Saginomiya started developing, manufacturing and selling test systems in 1964, expanding in several business fields such as civil engineering and construction, industrial machinery, railway services, power generation, aviation and automotive. Saginomiya’s “Dynamic Servo” has been developed as the ideal test systems utilizing state-of-the-art core technologies such as electric and hydraulic hybrids as well as a next-generation simulator. Saginomiya is are highly committed to serve the needs of the most technically advanced customers in the global market. For further information, click here.