The Nardò Technical Center integrates virtual and physical testing thanks to VI-grade solutions
Darmstadt, January 20, 2021 – VI-grade today announced that Nardò Technical Center, which has been operated by Porsche Engineering Group GmbH since 2012, created a virtual proving ground for its testing and engineering facility located in the city of Nardò, Apulia, Italy. Thanks to VI-GraphSim and VI-Road, it will be possible to use these road data files and graphic scenarios both for offline and online simulations. Additionally, the Nardò Technical Center virtual proving ground data files will be made available for purchase and rental on the VI-grade website from the beginning of 2021.
“We are glad of this collaboration with VI-grade; the virtualization of our tracks aligns perfectly with our strategy to become more and more an engineering center of excellence offering to our customers also a wide services portfolio”, said Antonio Gratis, Managing Director, Nardò Technical Center. “With the adoption of the VI-GraphSim and VI-Road software provided by VI-grade, we plan to further enhance our virtual testing capabilities, strengthening our virtual development and validation activities by offering virtual scenarios for different applications.”
“We are very pleased that the Nardò Technical Center chose to cooperate with VI-grade in order to provide digital tracks and virtual graphic scenario”, said Alessio Lombardi, South Europe & UK Sales Director, VI-grade. “This will help our customers take vehicle design decisions in a faster and more accurate manner, helping reduce dependence on physical prototypes through the opportunity of safely accessing a virtual version of their proving ground at a lower cost.”
With over 700 hectares of extension and a wide variety of testing tracks and facilities, the Nardò Technical Center ranks among the most important and renowned proving grounds (the unique 12,6 km Circular Track and the Car Dynamic Platform were recently fully renovated) as well as among the most safety ones for automotive OEMS and tire manufacturers worldwide. Particularly in the area of handling performance, the Nardò Technical Center, together with the Nürburgring, is one of the frequently used proving grounds in Europe, enabling a variety of durability, reliability, vehicle dynamics and tire tests. By taking full advantage of the synergies between physical and virtual testing, the Nardò Technical Center now has the possibility to further expand its testing capabilities, providing its customers with the digital clone of their tracks, which is also available on the VI-grade website from beginning of 2021.
VI-Road enables to prepare road data files for vehicle simulations and supports a series of advanced capabilities, such as the possibility of modeling kerbs and of specifying variable friction coefficients and track disturbances. The user interface grant access to specific tools for creating, manipulating and smoothing driver lines; thanks to an embedded solver, VI-Road enables to estimate the static limit speed profile for a given vehicle on a specified trajectory.
VI-GraphSim provides high-resolution and low-latency graphic environments for both static and dynamic Driving Simulators. VI-GraphSim, in conjunction with the usage of wide-screens, provides drivers with an immersive environment for a unique driving simulation experience: through the usage of different cameras it is possible to satisfy the needs of drivers and track engineers at the same time. VI-GraphSim includes a large variety of vehicle models from many different race series and from automotive OEMs and a large number of racing tracks.
“We are glad of this collaboration with VI-grade; the virtualization of our tracks aligns perfectly with our strategy to become more and more an engineering center of excellence offering to our customers also a wide services portfolio”, said Antonio Gratis, Managing Director, Nardò Technical Center. “With the adoption of the VI-GraphSim and VI-Road software provided by VI-grade, we plan to further enhance our virtual testing capabilities, strengthening our virtual development and validation activities by offering virtual scenarios for different applications.”
“We are very pleased that the Nardò Technical Center chose to cooperate with VI-grade in order to provide digital tracks and virtual graphic scenario”, said Alessio Lombardi, South Europe & UK Sales Director, VI-grade. “This will help our customers take vehicle design decisions in a faster and more accurate manner, helping reduce dependence on physical prototypes through the opportunity of safely accessing a virtual version of their proving ground at a lower cost.”
With over 700 hectares of extension and a wide variety of testing tracks and facilities, the Nardò Technical Center ranks among the most important and renowned proving grounds (the unique 12,6 km Circular Track and the Car Dynamic Platform were recently fully renovated) as well as among the most safety ones for automotive OEMS and tire manufacturers worldwide. Particularly in the area of handling performance, the Nardò Technical Center, together with the Nürburgring, is one of the frequently used proving grounds in Europe, enabling a variety of durability, reliability, vehicle dynamics and tire tests. By taking full advantage of the synergies between physical and virtual testing, the Nardò Technical Center now has the possibility to further expand its testing capabilities, providing its customers with the digital clone of their tracks, which is also available on the VI-grade website from beginning of 2021.
VI-Road enables to prepare road data files for vehicle simulations and supports a series of advanced capabilities, such as the possibility of modeling kerbs and of specifying variable friction coefficients and track disturbances. The user interface grant access to specific tools for creating, manipulating and smoothing driver lines; thanks to an embedded solver, VI-Road enables to estimate the static limit speed profile for a given vehicle on a specified trajectory.
VI-GraphSim provides high-resolution and low-latency graphic environments for both static and dynamic Driving Simulators. VI-GraphSim, in conjunction with the usage of wide-screens, provides drivers with an immersive environment for a unique driving simulation experience: through the usage of different cameras it is possible to satisfy the needs of drivers and track engineers at the same time. VI-GraphSim includes a large variety of vehicle models from many different race series and from automotive OEMs and a large number of racing tracks.
German version available here