Maserati hosts winners of 2019 VI-grade’s Virtual Formula Initiative at recently opened INNOVATION LAB in Modena, Italy
Modena, December 18, 2019 - Hard work and brilliant ideas should be rewarded – therefore the two winning Virtual Formula teams, Dynamis PRC from Politecnico di Milano and Cal Poly Racing from California Polytechnic State University had the unique chance to visit the recently opened INNOVATION LAB at the Maserati site in Modena and to experience the cutting-edge VI-grade driving simulators live and in action.
Only recently, the Italian premium car manufacturer and long-time customer of VI-grade opened its doors to this usually off-limits location and granted an exclusive insight into the heart of the brand’s driving research technology and development work. Exploiting the full innovation potential, the state-of-the-art facility features the STATIC Simulator as well as the latest generation of the revolutionary DYNAMIC Driving Simulator DiM250, all provided by VI-grade. It’s a place that is bursting with innovation and progress – and that’s exactly what the winners of the 2019 edition of VI-grade’s Virtual Formula were able to experience for one day.
Maserati strongly believes in the collaboration with universities, in fact its environment is comprised of a very young and dynamic workforce of an average age of around 37 years, where almost half of the employees are under 35 and 20% are under 30, and attracts top graduates from the best Italian universities. The company's Innovation Lab is home to simulators capable of reproducing six months' worth of wear and tear in two weeks, thus saving time and money in the development process.
“We are honored to represent the North American territory participating to the private viewing of this very fascinating Innovation Lab that Maserati has founded: for us, having the opportunity to come to Italy and witness the real-world applications of this simulation, which is the next level of what we do with Virtual Formula and our Formula Student teams, is priceless. It’s amazing to perceive the relationship between VI-grade and Maserati and how close they work together to create the best cars” – said Noah Wheeler and Carl Stoye, Cal Poly Racing, winner of the 2019 edition of the Virtual Formula, Electric Drivetrain Category.
“We’d like to thank Maserati and VI-grade for giving us the chance of learning how a development team of first-class cars operates in its everyday activities. Particularly interesting for us was the opportunity of seeing how a company like Maserati uses for commercial purposes, in conjunction with a sophisticated machine like the DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulator, the same software that we also utilize to develop our Formula Student car” added Marco Antognoli and Mattia Vicari, Dynamis PRC, winner of the 2019 edition of the Virtual Formula, Internal Combustion Category.
“Fortunately, the Maserati Innovation Lab will also collaborate with VI-grade for the upcoming 2020 Virtual Formula season and open its doors again, granting the students an exclusive insight behind the scenes” said Alessio Lombardi, South Europe & UK Sales Director, VI-grade. “Once more, the winners will have the unique opportunity to test the advanced driving simulators used by many OEMs, suppliers and motorsport teams to develop and fine tune their cars, but also to gain relevant experience and knowledge for further races carried out by FSAE. This initiative, jointly organized by us and Maserati, is further proof of how important it is to promote innovation at an early stage and to bridge the gap between universities and the automotive industry.”
About the Maserati Innovation Lab
The Maserati Innovation Lab is a state-of-the-art facility where the cars of today and tomorrow are developed. Here, the digital processes support the product development, applying the exclusive Maserati formula which, by means of an integrated approach, prioritizes the human factor right from the initial phases. Concern with customer needs has been scrupulously incorporated into the virtual simulation process thanks to an exclusive mix of hardware and software. The digital processes supporting product development take place in three major areas: the STATIC Simulator, the latest generation Dynamic Simulator featuring DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology and the “User eXperience” development labs. By applying these advanced driving simulation solutions right from the starting point of the engineering process, it is possible to achieve a 50% reduction in time-to-market for new cars, to carry out 90% of all development on the simulator and to reduce 40 % the use of physical prototypes. At the same time Maserati is able to strengthen its driver centric strategy during virtual development by combining the Hardware in the Loop (HiL) methodology and the simulators.
About Virtual Formula
VI-grade organizes on a regular basis the Virtual Formula, a competition based upon the rules and regulations of the popular Formula SAE and Formula Student. Based on the usage of VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s interactive simulation environment for motorsport vehicle modeling and dynamic analysis, Virtual Formula, now at its 11th edition with more than 1000 Formula Student participating teams since its foundation back in 2009, requests all registered teams to use our state-of-the-art racing simulation software to find the best set-up for their car. The participants will then have the chance not only to learn more about vehicle dynamics software, but also to join the VI-grade network of vehicle specialists and software developers. The two winning teams in the internal combustions and electric vehicle category will not only receive unlimited access to the vehicle dynamics software but also the invitation to the annual VI-grade International Conference and the opportunity to visit the Maserati Innovation Lab in Modena, Italy.
Only recently, the Italian premium car manufacturer and long-time customer of VI-grade opened its doors to this usually off-limits location and granted an exclusive insight into the heart of the brand’s driving research technology and development work. Exploiting the full innovation potential, the state-of-the-art facility features the STATIC Simulator as well as the latest generation of the revolutionary DYNAMIC Driving Simulator DiM250, all provided by VI-grade. It’s a place that is bursting with innovation and progress – and that’s exactly what the winners of the 2019 edition of VI-grade’s Virtual Formula were able to experience for one day.
Maserati strongly believes in the collaboration with universities, in fact its environment is comprised of a very young and dynamic workforce of an average age of around 37 years, where almost half of the employees are under 35 and 20% are under 30, and attracts top graduates from the best Italian universities. The company's Innovation Lab is home to simulators capable of reproducing six months' worth of wear and tear in two weeks, thus saving time and money in the development process.
“We are honored to represent the North American territory participating to the private viewing of this very fascinating Innovation Lab that Maserati has founded: for us, having the opportunity to come to Italy and witness the real-world applications of this simulation, which is the next level of what we do with Virtual Formula and our Formula Student teams, is priceless. It’s amazing to perceive the relationship between VI-grade and Maserati and how close they work together to create the best cars” – said Noah Wheeler and Carl Stoye, Cal Poly Racing, winner of the 2019 edition of the Virtual Formula, Electric Drivetrain Category.
“We’d like to thank Maserati and VI-grade for giving us the chance of learning how a development team of first-class cars operates in its everyday activities. Particularly interesting for us was the opportunity of seeing how a company like Maserati uses for commercial purposes, in conjunction with a sophisticated machine like the DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulator, the same software that we also utilize to develop our Formula Student car” added Marco Antognoli and Mattia Vicari, Dynamis PRC, winner of the 2019 edition of the Virtual Formula, Internal Combustion Category.
“Fortunately, the Maserati Innovation Lab will also collaborate with VI-grade for the upcoming 2020 Virtual Formula season and open its doors again, granting the students an exclusive insight behind the scenes” said Alessio Lombardi, South Europe & UK Sales Director, VI-grade. “Once more, the winners will have the unique opportunity to test the advanced driving simulators used by many OEMs, suppliers and motorsport teams to develop and fine tune their cars, but also to gain relevant experience and knowledge for further races carried out by FSAE. This initiative, jointly organized by us and Maserati, is further proof of how important it is to promote innovation at an early stage and to bridge the gap between universities and the automotive industry.”
About the Maserati Innovation Lab
The Maserati Innovation Lab is a state-of-the-art facility where the cars of today and tomorrow are developed. Here, the digital processes support the product development, applying the exclusive Maserati formula which, by means of an integrated approach, prioritizes the human factor right from the initial phases. Concern with customer needs has been scrupulously incorporated into the virtual simulation process thanks to an exclusive mix of hardware and software. The digital processes supporting product development take place in three major areas: the STATIC Simulator, the latest generation Dynamic Simulator featuring DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology and the “User eXperience” development labs. By applying these advanced driving simulation solutions right from the starting point of the engineering process, it is possible to achieve a 50% reduction in time-to-market for new cars, to carry out 90% of all development on the simulator and to reduce 40 % the use of physical prototypes. At the same time Maserati is able to strengthen its driver centric strategy during virtual development by combining the Hardware in the Loop (HiL) methodology and the simulators.
About Virtual Formula
VI-grade organizes on a regular basis the Virtual Formula, a competition based upon the rules and regulations of the popular Formula SAE and Formula Student. Based on the usage of VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s interactive simulation environment for motorsport vehicle modeling and dynamic analysis, Virtual Formula, now at its 11th edition with more than 1000 Formula Student participating teams since its foundation back in 2009, requests all registered teams to use our state-of-the-art racing simulation software to find the best set-up for their car. The participants will then have the chance not only to learn more about vehicle dynamics software, but also to join the VI-grade network of vehicle specialists and software developers. The two winning teams in the internal combustions and electric vehicle category will not only receive unlimited access to the vehicle dynamics software but also the invitation to the annual VI-grade International Conference and the opportunity to visit the Maserati Innovation Lab in Modena, Italy.
English version available here
VI-grade Announces 2020 Edition of its International Conference
Darmstadt, December 5, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the 2020 edition of its International Conference.
The event, dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, universities and research centers from all over the world, will be held on May 13th-14th, 2020 at the HOTEL ME SITGES TERRAMAR, located in the city of Sitges, Spain (in the outskirts of Barcelona).
The conference will give the VI-grade international community of users, partners and prospective customers the opportunity to learn more about how the main players of the worldwide automotive industry currently use simulation and driving simulators to accelerate the development of new vehicles. Once again, particular attention will be given to VI-grade’s current solutions and development plans for real-time simulation, HIL, SIL, traffic simulation and ADAS, autonomous driving, vehicle energy efficiency and tire modeling. The event will offer keynote and technical papers, panel discussions and workshops as well as an interesting technical showcase area in which VI-grade and its partners will present their solutions.
The 2020 International Conference will also feature an Ice Breaker social event in the afternoon of May 12th, when all registered attendees will be invited to an informal get-together at the Applus+ IDIADA premises in Santa Oliva to learn more about how the combined use of state-of-the-art driving simulator technology and fully equipped proving ground facilities can efficiently bridge the gap between testing and simulation, with particular reference to vehicle dynamics, ride and comfort, ADAS/AV, HMI and motorsport applications.
“Building on the success of the previous events, we are extremely happy to announce the 2020 edition of our International Conference, confirming our intent to organize one major event per year for our community of users,” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “We are looking forward to giving our international community an opportunity to share the latest projects and advancements realized using our simulation solutions with an experienced audience.”
Abstracts showcasing state-of-the-art applications of VI-grade products and solutions in the automotive and transportation industries can be submitted until January 31st, 2020.
Additional details on the conference program and the workshops will be progressively published under the link conference.vi-grade.com.
The event, dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, universities and research centers from all over the world, will be held on May 13th-14th, 2020 at the HOTEL ME SITGES TERRAMAR, located in the city of Sitges, Spain (in the outskirts of Barcelona).
The conference will give the VI-grade international community of users, partners and prospective customers the opportunity to learn more about how the main players of the worldwide automotive industry currently use simulation and driving simulators to accelerate the development of new vehicles. Once again, particular attention will be given to VI-grade’s current solutions and development plans for real-time simulation, HIL, SIL, traffic simulation and ADAS, autonomous driving, vehicle energy efficiency and tire modeling. The event will offer keynote and technical papers, panel discussions and workshops as well as an interesting technical showcase area in which VI-grade and its partners will present their solutions.
The 2020 International Conference will also feature an Ice Breaker social event in the afternoon of May 12th, when all registered attendees will be invited to an informal get-together at the Applus+ IDIADA premises in Santa Oliva to learn more about how the combined use of state-of-the-art driving simulator technology and fully equipped proving ground facilities can efficiently bridge the gap between testing and simulation, with particular reference to vehicle dynamics, ride and comfort, ADAS/AV, HMI and motorsport applications.
“Building on the success of the previous events, we are extremely happy to announce the 2020 edition of our International Conference, confirming our intent to organize one major event per year for our community of users,” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “We are looking forward to giving our international community an opportunity to share the latest projects and advancements realized using our simulation solutions with an experienced audience.”
Abstracts showcasing state-of-the-art applications of VI-grade products and solutions in the automotive and transportation industries can be submitted until January 31st, 2020.
Additional details on the conference program and the workshops will be progressively published under the link conference.vi-grade.com.
English version available here
Envision Virgin Racing Completes Silverstone Expansion Programme Ahead of Formula E Season Six Opener
Silverstone, Nov 18th, 2019 - Following significant investment from Envision Group and team owner Lei Zhang, leading Formula E team Envision Virgin Racing has completed expansion works on its Silverstone headquarters – including a new fully operational race driving simulator – ahead of the opening rounds of the new season.
Designed to further develop and improve its already extensive race preparations, the UK-based team moved to its new state-of-the-art facilities – located just a stone’s throw from the home of British motor racing – in 2017 and has now put the finishing touches to the 12,000 sq ft premises.
Central to the expansion programme has been the installation of a cutting edge VI-grade race driving simulator, complete with monocoque and Halo, allowing the team and its drivers Sam Bird and Robin Frijns to prepare for the challenges of the championship’s temporary street circuits.
Speaking ahead of the new season, Envision Virgin Racing Managing Director Sylvain Filippi said: “As an independent team, to have finished third last season was a fantastic achievement, but we know the competition will be even tougher this time around, especially with the introduction of new teams and drivers. We know consistency and preparation is going to be crucial, make or break in fact, so we have put huge emphasis on this from our driver line-up through to our entire team personnel, and now of course with our simulator, which we expect to be very important tool for race strategy preparation and driver training.”
Guido Bairati, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing of VI-grade, who supplied the team’s racing simulator, added: “We are very pleased to announce another success in the motorsport’s industry by reporting the completed installation of our driving simulator at Envision Virgin Racing as a turnkey solution. The installation includes proprietary software from VI-grade and related hardware components, as well as a cockpit provided by Envision Virgin Racing equipped with proprietary active belts technology from VI-grade. The STATIC simulator, including a set of Formula E digitized tracks, provides the team with a complete solution that enables them to virtually test and optimise the performance of their race cars, therefore allowing them to agree on, and then deliver, the optimal race performance. We wish Envision Virgin Racing Team all the best for the new upcoming Formula E season.”
About Envision Virgin Racing
Backed by majority owner Envision Group, the Envision Virgin Racing Formula E Team is one of the founding and leading outfits in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship –the electric street racing series and the world’s first fully-electric international single-seater category. The team exists to energise the Race Against Climate Change, focusing on accelerating the transition to clean, secure and affordable renewable energy, together with the mass adoption of e-mobility.
Launching in 2014, the team was part of the series’ inaugural race held in Beijing and has competed in every race to date with British racer Sam Bird at the helm of the #2 car. Joining the team for a second season is Dutchman Robin Frijns, who successfully returned to Formula E in season five with the Envision Virgin Racing team, securing two wins that season in the new generation car. The team is one of only two to have won races in every season to date - including 10 wins and 25 podiums - and continues to be one of the highest scoring in the championship.
Overseeing the team’s operations at the team’s commercial headquarters in London is Managing Director Sylvain Filippi, who has been with the team since day one, together with Team and Sporting Director Leon Price and Technical Director Chris Gorne working out of the team’s operational arm at its new state-of-the-art facilities at Silverstone Park. Envision Group’s Franz Jung will continue to undertake the Chairman of the Board role in season six for Envision Virgin Racing.
Designed to further develop and improve its already extensive race preparations, the UK-based team moved to its new state-of-the-art facilities – located just a stone’s throw from the home of British motor racing – in 2017 and has now put the finishing touches to the 12,000 sq ft premises.
Central to the expansion programme has been the installation of a cutting edge VI-grade race driving simulator, complete with monocoque and Halo, allowing the team and its drivers Sam Bird and Robin Frijns to prepare for the challenges of the championship’s temporary street circuits.
Speaking ahead of the new season, Envision Virgin Racing Managing Director Sylvain Filippi said: “As an independent team, to have finished third last season was a fantastic achievement, but we know the competition will be even tougher this time around, especially with the introduction of new teams and drivers. We know consistency and preparation is going to be crucial, make or break in fact, so we have put huge emphasis on this from our driver line-up through to our entire team personnel, and now of course with our simulator, which we expect to be very important tool for race strategy preparation and driver training.”
Guido Bairati, Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing of VI-grade, who supplied the team’s racing simulator, added: “We are very pleased to announce another success in the motorsport’s industry by reporting the completed installation of our driving simulator at Envision Virgin Racing as a turnkey solution. The installation includes proprietary software from VI-grade and related hardware components, as well as a cockpit provided by Envision Virgin Racing equipped with proprietary active belts technology from VI-grade. The STATIC simulator, including a set of Formula E digitized tracks, provides the team with a complete solution that enables them to virtually test and optimise the performance of their race cars, therefore allowing them to agree on, and then deliver, the optimal race performance. We wish Envision Virgin Racing Team all the best for the new upcoming Formula E season.”
About Envision Virgin Racing
Backed by majority owner Envision Group, the Envision Virgin Racing Formula E Team is one of the founding and leading outfits in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship –the electric street racing series and the world’s first fully-electric international single-seater category. The team exists to energise the Race Against Climate Change, focusing on accelerating the transition to clean, secure and affordable renewable energy, together with the mass adoption of e-mobility.
Launching in 2014, the team was part of the series’ inaugural race held in Beijing and has competed in every race to date with British racer Sam Bird at the helm of the #2 car. Joining the team for a second season is Dutchman Robin Frijns, who successfully returned to Formula E in season five with the Envision Virgin Racing team, securing two wins that season in the new generation car. The team is one of only two to have won races in every season to date - including 10 wins and 25 podiums - and continues to be one of the highest scoring in the championship.
Overseeing the team’s operations at the team’s commercial headquarters in London is Managing Director Sylvain Filippi, who has been with the team since day one, together with Team and Sporting Director Leon Price and Technical Director Chris Gorne working out of the team’s operational arm at its new state-of-the-art facilities at Silverstone Park. Envision Group’s Franz Jung will continue to undertake the Chairman of the Board role in season six for Envision Virgin Racing.
English version available here
Maserati opens the doors to its Innovation Lab - featuring a STATIC Simulator and a DiM250 Dynamic Driving Simulator
Taken from Maserati official website (for additional information please visit this link).
Modena, November 12th, 2019 – In a surprise move, Maserati is opening the doors to an exclusive and usually off-limits location: the Maserati Innovation Lab.
The Brand’s engineering hub, inaugurated in September 2015 and located on via Emilia Ovest in Modena, is for the first time sharing with the outside world its fundamental role as the Brand’s beating pulse, driving research technology, development and planning.
The Maserati Innovation Lab is a state-of-the-art facility where the cars of today and tomorrow are developed. Here, the digital processes support the product development, applying the exclusive Maserati formula which, by means of an integrated approach, prioritizes the human factor right from the initial phases. Concern with customer needs has been scrupulously incorporated into the virtual simulation process thanks to an exclusive mix of hardware and software. The digital processes supporting product development take place in three major areas: the STATIC Simulator, the latest generation Dynamic Simulator featuring DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology and the “User eXperience” development labs.
The Product Development hub (or Technical Department) employs more than 1,500 technicians (divided into the Modena offices in Via Emilia Ovest, in Viale Ciro Menotti, via delle Nazioni, in the headquarters of Grugliasco and Balocco). At its headquarters in Via Emilia Ovest covers a total area of 33,744 square meters (of which 14,000 square meters are covered and 19,744 square meters uncovered). More than 1,100 people carry out their activities, the majority of which are engineers, representing 17 different countries. The environment is comprised of a very young and dynamic workforce of an average age of around 37 years. Almost half of the employees are under 35 and 20% are under 30. The organization has grown considerably in recent years, attracting top graduates from the best Italian universities, including those that collaborate with Maserati.
STATIC Simulator
The STATIC Simulator is the starting point for every experience in the Maserati realm of simulation.The system is composed of a cockpit, three projectors and high computational power. It is a simple system that helps engineers, from the very initial phase of the development process, obtain immediate feedback from the driver, and makes a major contribution to new model validation.
In particular, Maserati engineering ensures a driver-centred strategy even during virtual development, by creating a link between the Hardware In the Loop (HiL) methodology and the simulator. Using this approach, real subsystems such as steering and braking, ABS and ESC can be added in, to create tests that connect physical and simulated components to provide a test-bed for developing all the characteristics of a new vehicle. Last but not least, driver assist systems can be developed, trialled and validated in a safe environment by reproducing the complex scenarios which may arise anywhere in the world.
DYNAMIC Simulator with latest generation DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology
The Dynamic Simulator featuring latest generation DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology, the most modern and advanced exemplar found in Europe, supports the Maserati engineers in the development of all the new models. The Dynamic Simulator incorporates state-of-the-art technology and enables full exploitation of systems' integration thanks to the evolution of proprietary control strategies, cutting development times and costs. It also helps to reduce the number of prototypes and ensures that the Virtual Sign-Off is very close to the final product.With various directions of movement, this tool generates an effective driving experience, emulating in a virtual environment the driving dynamics of a car in the real world on a wide variety of road surfaces or contexts, including the world's top international racing circuits. The simulator makes it possible to test cars on various racetracks on the same day. Modifications to the vehicle can be made with a few simple clicks and this greatly simplifies the analysis of the data gathered.
The majority of simulators utilize six actuators in order to offer six “degrees of freedom”. The innovative dynamic simulator used at the Innovation Lab takes full advantage of nine actuators, thanks to which it can utilize 3 degrees of freedom with the lower platform and 6 with the upper one. In this way it can offer in total 9 degrees of freedom to accurately reproduce the driving characteristics of a car. All of this enables the engineers to precisely analyse the dynamics of the car, in addition to driving performance and comfort, all on the same moving platform. Another particularly interesting characteristic is a very thin cushion of air which makes the entire platform float over the pavement, enabling dynamic, silent and continuous movement thanks to the electric actuators.
The Dynamic Simulator featuring latest generation DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology offers tried and tested technology that makes it possible to achieve a 50% reduction in time-to-market for new cars, to carry out 90% of all development on the simulator and to reduce by 40% the use of physical prototypes.
Using the simulator makes it possible to study and emulate the electrified vehicles included in Maserati's future plans even before physical tests become possible. Thus, the new opportunities offered by this different propulsion method can be analysed and explored in ways that keep the Maserati DNA absolutely intact. Weight distribution and the location of the centre of gravity have been effectively optimised thanks to the scope for testing hundreds of different configurations. A centralised logic that guarantees all the car's active contents and its electric traction has been developed, maximising dynamic performances since the entire car provides an integrated reaction to all inputs from the driver. Particular care has been focused on exploiting electric motors' vast potential in terms of power and rapid response.
Courtesy of Emiliano Perucca Orfei - AutoMoto
The “User Experience” Development Labs
The “User eXperience” development labs are fundamental in the design of the human-machine interfaces, one of the major challenges of the latest Maserati development projects.The rapid evolution of connectivity and the use of driver assist systems, combined with electrification, generate a vast number of scenarios for multisensorial interaction with the vehicle, which are often completely new and require state-of-the-art tools for managing their extreme complexity, to take full advantage of all the opportunities and deliver a unique user experience, with competitive development times and costs.
The Maserati driver simulator hub includes a lab dedicated to vehicle ergonomics, enabling accurate reproduction of driving posture, visibility and interactions with the on-board controls and displays, and where the vehicle under development can be driven in any scenario with the utmost realism.
The integrated design of the user experience is aided by the effective, coherent visual, acoustic or haptic alerts in highly automated driving mode, from the level of distraction generated by the most frequent operations to the accessible layout of the controls, and full information in the different driving modes.
The ergonomics lab is completed by a set of sophisticated, specialised instrumentation to analyse the various issues that contribute to the user experience. Two examples: the skylight simulator, designed to reproduce lighting conditions at all times of day, at any point in the year and at any latitude. Here there is an in-depth focus on reflection problems, to avoid disturbance at the wheel while still providing solutions with attractive shapes, materials, finishes and colours.
The psycho-acoustics lab where the soundtrack of future Maseratis is developed: the acoustics of the controls, the audio alerts, the driver assist systems and.... much more!
The "User eXperience” development labs support the integrated development of ergonomics, the human-machine interface and the vehicle's perceived quality for genuine "user-centred design" dedicated to delivering the distinctive Maserati user experience.
English version available here
VI-grade and Rescale Offer On-Demand, Pay-Per-Use Software on HPC in the Cloud Platform
Darmstadt, Germany and San Francisco, California – November 7, 2019 – VI-grade and Rescale are pleased to announce the availability of VI-CarRealTime, VI-grade’s environment for modeling and simulating vehicles in real-time, to Rescale, a purpose-built SaaS platform for solving the automotive industry challenges with HPC in the cloud.
VI-CarRealTime provides a real-time vehicle simulation environment where the same vehicle model can be used by vehicle dynamics and controls engineers to optimize vehicle and control system performance. The delivery of VI-CarRealTime simulation software on the Rescale platform provides organizations in the automotive industry with the ability to face every simulation challenge through hundreds of parallel simulations on the cloud and on-demand additional software licenses.
VI-CarRealTime can now be purchased directly through Rescale’s platform, providing an efficient, single-vendor procurement of on-demand access to cloud HPC and simulation software.
With Rescale, customers achieve the ultimate flexibility by being able to either run existing traditional licenses or purchase pay-per-use licensing on the platform. They can also access a variety of hardware architectures, including bare metal, virtual servers and the customers’ on-premises infrastructure. In addition, the Rescale administration portal allows company administrators to monitor and control their company’s usage by setting budgets at the user, project, and company levels.
“We’re very excited for the role cloud plays in the future of software and hardware in the loop,” said Joris Poort, CEO of Rescale. “Integrating VI-grade into our platform on-demand will accelerate our joint customers’ development cycles and usher great products to market.”
“The need to maintain a competitive advantage requires access to state-of-the-art software and up-to-date hardware components, which in turn calls for continuous and significant investments” said Guido Bairati, VP Sales & Marketing VI-grade. “Thanks to the Rescale technology, our existing customers will benefit from remote access to all the power of the VI-grade solution in the cloud, offering virtually unlimited computational capabilities to launch hundreds of vehicle simulations at the same time for fast parallel computing.”
VI-grade’s long-lasting customer and partner FEV is already taking advantage of the on-demand availability of VI-CarRealTime via the Rescale platform. “Nowadays, due to the increasing complexity of powertrain and engine, a fully Integrated Simulation-based Powertrain Development Methodology is required to support efficiently the product development and its process” said Michele Caggiano, Managing Director, FEV Italy. “A dedicated methodology for PHEV powertrain simulation and optimization has been developed by FEV via VI-CarRealTime – FEV MiL cosimulation. One part of the methodology is a cloud-based investigation using the RESCALE platform by co-simulating the vehicle model and the powertrain model. The co-simulation platform allows the investigation of the complete system, providing information in terms of emissions and consumption as well as prediction of the impact of powertrain parameters on vehicle performances.” (for more information, see the paper presented by FEV at the 2019 VI-grade International Conference)
Customers interested in purchasing on-demand VI-CarRealTime Licensing through Rescale can contact info@vi-grade.com or their Rescale account executive or visit our Software on Demand dedicated webpage for additional information.
About Rescale
Rescale is the global leader for high-performance computing simulations and deep learning in the cloud. Trusted by the Global Fortune 500, Rescale empowers the world’s top scientists and engineers to develop the most innovative new products and perform groundbreaking research and development faster and at a lower cost. Rescale’s platform transforms traditional fixed IT resources into flexible hybrid, private, and public cloud resources—built on the largest and most powerful high-performance computing network in the world. For more information on Rescale’s platform, visit www.rescale.com.
VI-CarRealTime provides a real-time vehicle simulation environment where the same vehicle model can be used by vehicle dynamics and controls engineers to optimize vehicle and control system performance. The delivery of VI-CarRealTime simulation software on the Rescale platform provides organizations in the automotive industry with the ability to face every simulation challenge through hundreds of parallel simulations on the cloud and on-demand additional software licenses.
VI-CarRealTime can now be purchased directly through Rescale’s platform, providing an efficient, single-vendor procurement of on-demand access to cloud HPC and simulation software.
With Rescale, customers achieve the ultimate flexibility by being able to either run existing traditional licenses or purchase pay-per-use licensing on the platform. They can also access a variety of hardware architectures, including bare metal, virtual servers and the customers’ on-premises infrastructure. In addition, the Rescale administration portal allows company administrators to monitor and control their company’s usage by setting budgets at the user, project, and company levels.
“We’re very excited for the role cloud plays in the future of software and hardware in the loop,” said Joris Poort, CEO of Rescale. “Integrating VI-grade into our platform on-demand will accelerate our joint customers’ development cycles and usher great products to market.”
“The need to maintain a competitive advantage requires access to state-of-the-art software and up-to-date hardware components, which in turn calls for continuous and significant investments” said Guido Bairati, VP Sales & Marketing VI-grade. “Thanks to the Rescale technology, our existing customers will benefit from remote access to all the power of the VI-grade solution in the cloud, offering virtually unlimited computational capabilities to launch hundreds of vehicle simulations at the same time for fast parallel computing.”
VI-grade’s long-lasting customer and partner FEV is already taking advantage of the on-demand availability of VI-CarRealTime via the Rescale platform. “Nowadays, due to the increasing complexity of powertrain and engine, a fully Integrated Simulation-based Powertrain Development Methodology is required to support efficiently the product development and its process” said Michele Caggiano, Managing Director, FEV Italy. “A dedicated methodology for PHEV powertrain simulation and optimization has been developed by FEV via VI-CarRealTime – FEV MiL cosimulation. One part of the methodology is a cloud-based investigation using the RESCALE platform by co-simulating the vehicle model and the powertrain model. The co-simulation platform allows the investigation of the complete system, providing information in terms of emissions and consumption as well as prediction of the impact of powertrain parameters on vehicle performances.” (for more information, see the paper presented by FEV at the 2019 VI-grade International Conference)
Customers interested in purchasing on-demand VI-CarRealTime Licensing through Rescale can contact info@vi-grade.com or their Rescale account executive or visit our Software on Demand dedicated webpage for additional information.
About Rescale
Rescale is the global leader for high-performance computing simulations and deep learning in the cloud. Trusted by the Global Fortune 500, Rescale empowers the world’s top scientists and engineers to develop the most innovative new products and perform groundbreaking research and development faster and at a lower cost. Rescale’s platform transforms traditional fixed IT resources into flexible hybrid, private, and public cloud resources—built on the largest and most powerful high-performance computing network in the world. For more information on Rescale’s platform, visit www.rescale.com.
German version available here
English version available here
VI-grade and Konrad Technologies announce collaboration for “DiL with Sensor Fusion Test” method
Bridging their respective expertise and experiences in simulation and test, VI-grade and Konrad Technologies will jointly demonstrate the new test method for verifying functional and performance of ADAS and Autonomous Driving features at the Automotive Testing Expo USA 2019 Conference and Exhibition
Novi, US – October 16, 2019 – VI-grade and Konrad Technologies today jointly announced they will demonstrate a new test method, Driver in the Loop (DIL) with Sensor Fusion Test, at the Automotive Testing Expo USA 2019 Conference and Exhibition, to be held from October 22nd to October 24th, 2019 in Novi, Michigan.
“4 years ago, Konrad Technologies and our partners pioneered Sensor Fusion HiL and demonstrated how sensor test combines with HiL tests to validate performance of multi sensor configurations with ADAS algorithms” said Michael Konrad, CEO of Konrad Technologies. “Radar, Camera, and Lidar sensors can be tested at sub-system and system level implementations to verify ADAS capability for automated braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and others. Today, together with the VI-grade team, we will show how the sensor test can be extended to DiL with Sensor Fusion Test so that ADAS functionality can be evaluated and optimized to a higher degree in the lab before beginning road tests.”
“Our Driving Simulators allow users to simulate real-world driving conditions including traffic,” said Guido Bairati, VP of Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “Adding real sensors into the driving simulation loop allows ADAS/AD functionalities to be tested quickly and safely in a lab environment and adds driver reactions to the test parameters, for a more comprehensive analysis that can then be compared with real drive data for optimization cycles. Through the collaboration with Konrad Technologies, we are able to deliver to the automotive industry a link between physical test and simulation-based testing for ADAS/AD algorithms. We keep bridging the gap between testing and simulation in order to help our customers deliver better products in a shorter time!”
For DIL with Sensor Fusion Test, the objects around the vehicle from the drive simulation software are simulated by Konrad Technologies sensor simulators in real-time. And the output of the sensors is then brought back into the software simulation to close the execution loop.
The collaboration will be presented on a COMPACT Simulator from VI-grade equipped with sensor technology from Konrad installed in the exhibition area at the Automotive Testing Expo USA 2019 Conference and Exhibition, to be held from October 22nd to October 24th, 2019 in Novi, Michigan.
About Konrad Technologies Worldwide
Konrad Technologies (KT) is a global company and NI Platinum Alliance Partner that offers customized turnkey test solutions in the areas of electronics manufacturing, high-frequency technology, optics and beyond. Since 1993, Konrad Technologies has successfully developed, designed and integrated customer-specific test solutions providing customers with R&D, qualification, and manufacturing of electronic products with tools to fulfill their quality goals, accelerate engineering and development throughput. Customers in a wide range of industries from Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Wireless Communications, Consumer Electronics, Medical, Semiconductor, General Electronic Manufacturing to Industrial Automation use KT’s integrated hardware and software platform-based solutions to improve their performance worldwide. Konrad Technologies is a founding member of ADAS iiT, a consortium that provides a complete test solution for autonomous driving.
Konrad-Technologies, KT and Konrad GmbH are all representative of Konrad Technologies worldwide. Other products and company names listed are trademarks of their respective companies. For more information about Konrad Technologies Solutions and upcoming events, please visit www.konrad-technologies.com.
Novi, US – October 16, 2019 – VI-grade and Konrad Technologies today jointly announced they will demonstrate a new test method, Driver in the Loop (DIL) with Sensor Fusion Test, at the Automotive Testing Expo USA 2019 Conference and Exhibition, to be held from October 22nd to October 24th, 2019 in Novi, Michigan.
“4 years ago, Konrad Technologies and our partners pioneered Sensor Fusion HiL and demonstrated how sensor test combines with HiL tests to validate performance of multi sensor configurations with ADAS algorithms” said Michael Konrad, CEO of Konrad Technologies. “Radar, Camera, and Lidar sensors can be tested at sub-system and system level implementations to verify ADAS capability for automated braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and others. Today, together with the VI-grade team, we will show how the sensor test can be extended to DiL with Sensor Fusion Test so that ADAS functionality can be evaluated and optimized to a higher degree in the lab before beginning road tests.”
“Our Driving Simulators allow users to simulate real-world driving conditions including traffic,” said Guido Bairati, VP of Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “Adding real sensors into the driving simulation loop allows ADAS/AD functionalities to be tested quickly and safely in a lab environment and adds driver reactions to the test parameters, for a more comprehensive analysis that can then be compared with real drive data for optimization cycles. Through the collaboration with Konrad Technologies, we are able to deliver to the automotive industry a link between physical test and simulation-based testing for ADAS/AD algorithms. We keep bridging the gap between testing and simulation in order to help our customers deliver better products in a shorter time!”
For DIL with Sensor Fusion Test, the objects around the vehicle from the drive simulation software are simulated by Konrad Technologies sensor simulators in real-time. And the output of the sensors is then brought back into the software simulation to close the execution loop.
The collaboration will be presented on a COMPACT Simulator from VI-grade equipped with sensor technology from Konrad installed in the exhibition area at the Automotive Testing Expo USA 2019 Conference and Exhibition, to be held from October 22nd to October 24th, 2019 in Novi, Michigan.
About Konrad Technologies Worldwide
Konrad Technologies (KT) is a global company and NI Platinum Alliance Partner that offers customized turnkey test solutions in the areas of electronics manufacturing, high-frequency technology, optics and beyond. Since 1993, Konrad Technologies has successfully developed, designed and integrated customer-specific test solutions providing customers with R&D, qualification, and manufacturing of electronic products with tools to fulfill their quality goals, accelerate engineering and development throughput. Customers in a wide range of industries from Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Wireless Communications, Consumer Electronics, Medical, Semiconductor, General Electronic Manufacturing to Industrial Automation use KT’s integrated hardware and software platform-based solutions to improve their performance worldwide. Konrad Technologies is a founding member of ADAS iiT, a consortium that provides a complete test solution for autonomous driving.
Konrad-Technologies, KT and Konrad GmbH are all representative of Konrad Technologies worldwide. Other products and company names listed are trademarks of their respective companies. For more information about Konrad Technologies Solutions and upcoming events, please visit www.konrad-technologies.com.
English version available here
FCA Automotive Research & Development Centre Houses DiM250, Most Advanced Driving Simulator in North America
Windsor, Ontario, October 2, 2019 – The FCA Automotive Research and Development Centre (ARDC) inaugurated a new Vehicle Dynamics Simulator (VDS) lab recently, featuring the most advanced driving simulator technology available in North America: with nine degrees of freedom and specific driver calibration, the new DiM250 simulator by VI-grade closely duplicates the actual driving experience.
The new VDS is cutting-edge technology that emulates a vehicle’s driving dynamics in a real time, virtual environment. This technology offers the driver a customized virtual immersion that replicates the ride and handling of a specific vehicle on a multitude of simulated road surfaces and driving environments.
Most driving simulators make use of six actuators to deliver basic body motion. However, to accurately reproduce vehicle ride, handling and acceleration characteristics, the VDS system uses nine actuators to create the full range of motion of an actual vehicle.
A notable feature of the new VDS is a very thin cushion of air, which floats the entire motion platform above the floor like a hovercraft, allowing for a quiet and seamless motion via the electric actuators.
The new simulator has the ability to add subsystems such as brake and steering, ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) controllers to create a hardware in the loop test to better meet functional targets. This strategy helps reduce product development times and lower project validation costs.
“The ability to simulate a drive experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop is key to the engineering efforts of our customers and assists in identifying design changes much earlier in the development process,” said Guido Bairati, VP Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “By using our simulators, our customers can create a virtual testing environment to assess the ride and handling of a vehicle, perform tests and validation on sensor technology for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) applications, evaluate different Human Machine Interface (HMI) configurations, and test for driver distraction and distraction remedies.”
The simulator can be fitted with any vehicle body, road and environment. To create a visual experience on the five projector screens, data is collected by scanning the environment and roads, such as FCA’s proving grounds in Chelsea, Michigan. The data is then integrated to create a real-time virtual environment that includes elevation changes, off-camber roads and potholes.
Initially, the VDS will be used to support Chassis Vehicle Dynamics, but in the future will be used to support development of ADAS and HMI systems.
Additional information and news from FCA US LLC is available at http://media.fcanorthamerica.com
The new VDS is cutting-edge technology that emulates a vehicle’s driving dynamics in a real time, virtual environment. This technology offers the driver a customized virtual immersion that replicates the ride and handling of a specific vehicle on a multitude of simulated road surfaces and driving environments.
Most driving simulators make use of six actuators to deliver basic body motion. However, to accurately reproduce vehicle ride, handling and acceleration characteristics, the VDS system uses nine actuators to create the full range of motion of an actual vehicle.
(Video courtesy of FCA)
A notable feature of the new VDS is a very thin cushion of air, which floats the entire motion platform above the floor like a hovercraft, allowing for a quiet and seamless motion via the electric actuators.
The new simulator has the ability to add subsystems such as brake and steering, ABS (Anti-lock Brake System) and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) controllers to create a hardware in the loop test to better meet functional targets. This strategy helps reduce product development times and lower project validation costs.
“The ability to simulate a drive experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop is key to the engineering efforts of our customers and assists in identifying design changes much earlier in the development process,” said Guido Bairati, VP Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “By using our simulators, our customers can create a virtual testing environment to assess the ride and handling of a vehicle, perform tests and validation on sensor technology for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) applications, evaluate different Human Machine Interface (HMI) configurations, and test for driver distraction and distraction remedies.”
The simulator can be fitted with any vehicle body, road and environment. To create a visual experience on the five projector screens, data is collected by scanning the environment and roads, such as FCA’s proving grounds in Chelsea, Michigan. The data is then integrated to create a real-time virtual environment that includes elevation changes, off-camber roads and potholes.
(Video courtesy of Windsor Star)
(Video courtesy of The Wheel Network)
Initially, the VDS will be used to support Chassis Vehicle Dynamics, but in the future will be used to support development of ADAS and HMI systems.
Additional information and news from FCA US LLC is available at http://media.fcanorthamerica.com
German version available here
English version available here
Applus+ IDIADA integrates virtual and physical testing with 2 new VI-grade driving simulators
Santa Oliva (Spain), Aug 14th, 2019 – Applus+ IDIADA has expanded its virtual development capabilities with the acquisition of two driving simulators from VI-grade, the DiM250 and a compact simulator. These new driving simulators mean IDIADA offers virtual testing, reducing development times in areas such as chassis development, vehicle dynamics and CAV development.
By exploiting the synergies between physical and virtual testing, IDIADA can generate and correlate models in optimal context with the possibility of using IDIADA’s tracks, available as public road data files and high-resolution graphics.
“The driving simulator is a key facility in our chassis and vehicle dynamics development projects as it links up our virtual and real activities.” said Roger Mateu, Head of Vehicle Dynamics and NVH at Applus+ IDIADA.
“Driving Simulators are an essential tool in the development and testing of new vehicles. The level of accuracy of virtual vehicle models, the precision of movements of the motion platform, the availability of rendered tracks has reached an unprecedented level of accuracy. Results coming out from driving simulators are reliable and CAE engineers together with test drivers can take important decisions before building the first prototype and hitting the test track for the first time. IDIADA selected our Dynamic Driving Simulator DiM250 and COMPACT Simulator to bridge the gap between testing and simulation, to help its customers to develop cars faster and better and to provide a multidisciplinary laboratory to find the best trade-off between different vehicle targets. What IDIADA is doing is a sign of the revolution that is happening in the way cars are developed nowadays and engineers and drivers here are getting ready for the near future” commented Alessio Lombardi, South Europe Sales Director at VI-grade.
The new simulation lab’s main feature is the dynamic DiM250 simulator, which can generate longitudinal, transversal and rotational acceleration forces up to 2.5 g, characterized by extremely low latency and high-frequency, replicating a wide range of vehicle dynamics manoeuvres and reproducing complex driving situations. The DiM250 is complemented by a compact driving simulator that shares the same main features, except for the motion system.
About Applus+ IDIADA
Applus+ IDIADA offers design, testing, engineering, and homologation services to the automotive industry worldwide. Its reputation is founded on the expertise of an international team of more than 2,600 engineers and technical experts, first-class facilities, client focus and a constant drive towards innovation. An international network of subsidiaries and branch offices in 24 countries, including a world-leading proving ground in China, ensures that customers receive a fast and personalized service. IDIADA’s headquarters, composed of a 360-hectare main technical centre that includes its own proving ground and a comprehensive set of laboratories, is located near Barcelona, Spain.
By exploiting the synergies between physical and virtual testing, IDIADA can generate and correlate models in optimal context with the possibility of using IDIADA’s tracks, available as public road data files and high-resolution graphics.
“The driving simulator is a key facility in our chassis and vehicle dynamics development projects as it links up our virtual and real activities.” said Roger Mateu, Head of Vehicle Dynamics and NVH at Applus+ IDIADA.
“Driving Simulators are an essential tool in the development and testing of new vehicles. The level of accuracy of virtual vehicle models, the precision of movements of the motion platform, the availability of rendered tracks has reached an unprecedented level of accuracy. Results coming out from driving simulators are reliable and CAE engineers together with test drivers can take important decisions before building the first prototype and hitting the test track for the first time. IDIADA selected our Dynamic Driving Simulator DiM250 and COMPACT Simulator to bridge the gap between testing and simulation, to help its customers to develop cars faster and better and to provide a multidisciplinary laboratory to find the best trade-off between different vehicle targets. What IDIADA is doing is a sign of the revolution that is happening in the way cars are developed nowadays and engineers and drivers here are getting ready for the near future” commented Alessio Lombardi, South Europe Sales Director at VI-grade.
The new simulation lab’s main feature is the dynamic DiM250 simulator, which can generate longitudinal, transversal and rotational acceleration forces up to 2.5 g, characterized by extremely low latency and high-frequency, replicating a wide range of vehicle dynamics manoeuvres and reproducing complex driving situations. The DiM250 is complemented by a compact driving simulator that shares the same main features, except for the motion system.
About Applus+ IDIADA
Applus+ IDIADA offers design, testing, engineering, and homologation services to the automotive industry worldwide. Its reputation is founded on the expertise of an international team of more than 2,600 engineers and technical experts, first-class facilities, client focus and a constant drive towards innovation. An international network of subsidiaries and branch offices in 24 countries, including a world-leading proving ground in China, ensures that customers receive a fast and personalized service. IDIADA’s headquarters, composed of a 360-hectare main technical centre that includes its own proving ground and a comprehensive set of laboratories, is located near Barcelona, Spain.
German version available here
English version available here
Driving Simulators from VI-grade play an essential role in race preparation for Formula E
Marburg, July 25th, 2019 – Another thrilling season of the all-electric Formula E series has come to an end: 13 races with 9 different winners from 8 different teams kept the tension curve constantly high until the final race in New York last week.
In the end, Jean-Eric Vergne won the championship for the second time in succession and also claimed the Team’s title for DS Techeetah – closely followed by vice-champion Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler and its successful customer sport team Envision Virgin Racing. All three winning teams are using a combination of VI-grade static and dynamic driving simulators in order to prepare for the races.
“The race preparation for this Formula E season has nearly 100% taken place on our dynamic driving simulator by VI-grade. It is a crucial tool for our engineers to experiment and to figure out the optimal energy balance before the race, since there is only limited time for it later on the track”, said Joachim Hausner, Coordination Driving Simulator at Audi Motorsport. “But the driving simulator is also essential for the follow-up work after the event in order to evaluate our performance in the race and to double-check some parameters.”
“Since all Formula E races are single-day events, teams do not have the time to change any vehicle settings on-site nor to test the car on the racetrack”, said Diego Minen, Chief Technical Officer, VI-grade. “This strict timetable forces the manufacturers to rely on driving simulation technologies like ours, in order to be fully competitive in the all-electric racing series. We are thrilled to acknowledge that the top 3 teams, and more generically 6 out of the first 10 drivers in the just-finished 5th FoE championship are using our simulator technology and we are looking forward to further contributing to their successes.”
“Formula E represents a new challenge in the evolution of driving simulator technologies from several points of view” added Minen. “Due to high engine torque values at low speed and to special braking strategies for energy recovery, the way electric vehicles accelerate/decelerate is very different from a traditional formula car. This leads to a set of new challenges for our multi-cueing technology used to accurately represent the driver feeling, i.e. the combination of motion platform and body contact with active seat and belts. Moreover, since energy delivery is very carefully planned to exploit the batteries until the finish line, on-the-field track variations vs. the provided FIA track maps lead to the need of last-minute changes in the virtual graphic model. With our technology, we are able to address those requirements and can work in close collaboration with the racing teams obtaining extremely realistic results even in case of such late adjustments.”
Several years ago, motorsport activities have been the main drivers of the development and adoption of driving simulators and they keep on playing a very important role in the development of all technologies around simulators. Today, VI-grade is a key player in the driving simulators industry with more than 50 simulators installed worldwide at OEMs, Motorsport Teams, Tier1 suppliers and Engineering/R&D centers.
For additional information on the automotive solutions by VI-grade, and in particular on driving simulators, visit /en/products/automotive/.
In the end, Jean-Eric Vergne won the championship for the second time in succession and also claimed the Team’s title for DS Techeetah – closely followed by vice-champion Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler and its successful customer sport team Envision Virgin Racing. All three winning teams are using a combination of VI-grade static and dynamic driving simulators in order to prepare for the races.
“The race preparation for this Formula E season has nearly 100% taken place on our dynamic driving simulator by VI-grade. It is a crucial tool for our engineers to experiment and to figure out the optimal energy balance before the race, since there is only limited time for it later on the track”, said Joachim Hausner, Coordination Driving Simulator at Audi Motorsport. “But the driving simulator is also essential for the follow-up work after the event in order to evaluate our performance in the race and to double-check some parameters.”
“Since all Formula E races are single-day events, teams do not have the time to change any vehicle settings on-site nor to test the car on the racetrack”, said Diego Minen, Chief Technical Officer, VI-grade. “This strict timetable forces the manufacturers to rely on driving simulation technologies like ours, in order to be fully competitive in the all-electric racing series. We are thrilled to acknowledge that the top 3 teams, and more generically 6 out of the first 10 drivers in the just-finished 5th FoE championship are using our simulator technology and we are looking forward to further contributing to their successes.”
“Formula E represents a new challenge in the evolution of driving simulator technologies from several points of view” added Minen. “Due to high engine torque values at low speed and to special braking strategies for energy recovery, the way electric vehicles accelerate/decelerate is very different from a traditional formula car. This leads to a set of new challenges for our multi-cueing technology used to accurately represent the driver feeling, i.e. the combination of motion platform and body contact with active seat and belts. Moreover, since energy delivery is very carefully planned to exploit the batteries until the finish line, on-the-field track variations vs. the provided FIA track maps lead to the need of last-minute changes in the virtual graphic model. With our technology, we are able to address those requirements and can work in close collaboration with the racing teams obtaining extremely realistic results even in case of such late adjustments.”
Several years ago, motorsport activities have been the main drivers of the development and adoption of driving simulators and they keep on playing a very important role in the development of all technologies around simulators. Today, VI-grade is a key player in the driving simulators industry with more than 50 simulators installed worldwide at OEMs, Motorsport Teams, Tier1 suppliers and Engineering/R&D centers.
For additional information on the automotive solutions by VI-grade, and in particular on driving simulators, visit /en/products/automotive/.
German version available here
English version available here
VI-grade announces Official Review of 2019 International Conference
Marburg, June 3, 2019 – VI-grade, the leading provider of best-in-class products and services to bridge the gap between real world testing and technical simulation, today announced the official review of the 2019 edition of its International Conference.
242 engineers, managers, and simulation experts from over 100 automotive and transportation companies, universities and research centers gathered from 20 countries from all over the world to discuss the latest simulation trends and to exchange their experience with other partners and users of the VI-grade technology. The event took place on May 14th-15th, 2019 at Congresspark conference center, located in the city of Hanau, Germany (in the outskirts of Frankfurt).
The event, characterized by the motto “Bridging the gap between testing and simulation”, was rated “very good” to “excellent” by 97% of the participants and offered a very comprehensive agenda, featuring 35 presentations from renowned international companies such as 3D Mapping / Applus+ IDIADA / Automobili Lamborghini / Automotive Simulation Center Stuttgart / Benteler / BMW Motorrad / Brüel & Kjær / Concurrent Real-Time / Danisi Engineering / FCA Latam / FEV / Fraunhofer ITWM / Hyundai Motor Europe / Konrad Technologies / MAGNA Steyr / Maserati / Mercedes AMG / MegaRide & Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II / Michelin / Millbrook Proving Ground / MSC Software / Multimatic / Politecnico di Milano / Pontificial Catholic University of Minas Gerais / Roborace / Rescale / Showa / Smart Eye / TODEMA & Rebel Dynamics / Transpolis / Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia / University of Catania / Virtual Vehicle / Volvo Cars / WIVW.
Michael Bidlingmeier (Mercedes AMG) presented a paper – which also was selected by the audience as “IC2019 Best Presentation” – titled "Team Up the Simulator: Development of an HyperCar", related to the installation and application of VI-grade’s dynamic driving simulator DiM250 in the development process and toolchain at Mercedes-AMG, with particular reference to the example of the “project one” Hyper Car.
Lucas Di Grassi, professional racing driver and CEO of Roborace gave a keynote speech about “The Future of Motorsport” focusing on the future value of Motorsport and especially how changing industry priorities and new technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous driving will reshape this sector.
Fabio Gerbino (Maserati), Luca Dusini (Maserati) and Rutger Uil (Goodyear) presented a paper about the new tire development approach using a driving simulator in order to predict and to maximize tire performance. Since competition in automotive industry is fiercer than ever nowadays, these tools are becoming increasingly important to withstand the ever-shorter development times and the drastic reduction of experimental tests.
During the conference, the VI-grade team also had the chance of awarding the “Dynamis PRC – Politecnico di Milano, Italy" and the “Cal Poly Racing, California, USA” with the First Prize of the 2019 edition of the Virtual Formula competition, respectively in the Internal Combustion and the Electric Vehicle categories. The teams have been awarded with a full software package from VI-grade and with a one-day session at Maserati’s Driving Simulator located in Modena, Italy.
Additionally, the 2019 event also featured an Ice Breaker social event at Honda Europe R&D center in Offenbach in the evening of May 13th, where all customers/partners informally got together to see the world’s first fully installed DiM250 driving simulator live and in action. In a relaxed atmosphere, guests had the opportunity to discuss the latest and forthcoming driving simulation technologies and also to network among the industry.
“Very good as always.”; “Organization second to none. Excellent attention to detail!”; “Nice variety of presentations. Informative and interesting aspects of engineering covered. Well done!”; “Always a success”; “This was a great experience as my first time at the VI-grade Conference.”; “I'm satisfied and the event met my expectations. Thanks for a great event! See you next year! …” are just some of the comments left by selected attendees.
The event was organized with the collaboration of Saginomiya, Danisi Engineering (Platinum Sponsors), MSC Software, Sim.Co.VR, Concurrent Real-Time, FEV, TODEMA, Barco, domeprojection, Millbrook, Brüel & Kjær (Golden sponsors), MegaRide, Horiba Mira, SmartEye, rescale, 3D Mapping, Konrad Technologies, Virtual Vehicle, Multimatic, BE CAE& Test, Solize, Applus+ IDIADA, Fraunhofer ITWM (Silver Sponsors) and Flow The Kitchen as technical sponsor.
For more information about the event, to view all pictures or to download selected proceedings please visit https://conference.vi-grade.com.
Dates and location of the 2020 edition of our international event will be soon announced.
242 engineers, managers, and simulation experts from over 100 automotive and transportation companies, universities and research centers gathered from 20 countries from all over the world to discuss the latest simulation trends and to exchange their experience with other partners and users of the VI-grade technology. The event took place on May 14th-15th, 2019 at Congresspark conference center, located in the city of Hanau, Germany (in the outskirts of Frankfurt).
The event, characterized by the motto “Bridging the gap between testing and simulation”, was rated “very good” to “excellent” by 97% of the participants and offered a very comprehensive agenda, featuring 35 presentations from renowned international companies such as 3D Mapping / Applus+ IDIADA / Automobili Lamborghini / Automotive Simulation Center Stuttgart / Benteler / BMW Motorrad / Brüel & Kjær / Concurrent Real-Time / Danisi Engineering / FCA Latam / FEV / Fraunhofer ITWM / Hyundai Motor Europe / Konrad Technologies / MAGNA Steyr / Maserati / Mercedes AMG / MegaRide & Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II / Michelin / Millbrook Proving Ground / MSC Software / Multimatic / Politecnico di Milano / Pontificial Catholic University of Minas Gerais / Roborace / Rescale / Showa / Smart Eye / TODEMA & Rebel Dynamics / Transpolis / Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia / University of Catania / Virtual Vehicle / Volvo Cars / WIVW.
Michael Bidlingmeier (Mercedes AMG) presented a paper – which also was selected by the audience as “IC2019 Best Presentation” – titled "Team Up the Simulator: Development of an HyperCar", related to the installation and application of VI-grade’s dynamic driving simulator DiM250 in the development process and toolchain at Mercedes-AMG, with particular reference to the example of the “project one” Hyper Car.
Lucas Di Grassi, professional racing driver and CEO of Roborace gave a keynote speech about “The Future of Motorsport” focusing on the future value of Motorsport and especially how changing industry priorities and new technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous driving will reshape this sector.
Fabio Gerbino (Maserati), Luca Dusini (Maserati) and Rutger Uil (Goodyear) presented a paper about the new tire development approach using a driving simulator in order to predict and to maximize tire performance. Since competition in automotive industry is fiercer than ever nowadays, these tools are becoming increasingly important to withstand the ever-shorter development times and the drastic reduction of experimental tests.
During the conference, the VI-grade team also had the chance of awarding the “Dynamis PRC – Politecnico di Milano, Italy" and the “Cal Poly Racing, California, USA” with the First Prize of the 2019 edition of the Virtual Formula competition, respectively in the Internal Combustion and the Electric Vehicle categories. The teams have been awarded with a full software package from VI-grade and with a one-day session at Maserati’s Driving Simulator located in Modena, Italy.
Additionally, the 2019 event also featured an Ice Breaker social event at Honda Europe R&D center in Offenbach in the evening of May 13th, where all customers/partners informally got together to see the world’s first fully installed DiM250 driving simulator live and in action. In a relaxed atmosphere, guests had the opportunity to discuss the latest and forthcoming driving simulation technologies and also to network among the industry.
“Very good as always.”; “Organization second to none. Excellent attention to detail!”; “Nice variety of presentations. Informative and interesting aspects of engineering covered. Well done!”; “Always a success”; “This was a great experience as my first time at the VI-grade Conference.”; “I'm satisfied and the event met my expectations. Thanks for a great event! See you next year! …” are just some of the comments left by selected attendees.
The event was organized with the collaboration of Saginomiya, Danisi Engineering (Platinum Sponsors), MSC Software, Sim.Co.VR, Concurrent Real-Time, FEV, TODEMA, Barco, domeprojection, Millbrook, Brüel & Kjær (Golden sponsors), MegaRide, Horiba Mira, SmartEye, rescale, 3D Mapping, Konrad Technologies, Virtual Vehicle, Multimatic, BE CAE& Test, Solize, Applus+ IDIADA, Fraunhofer ITWM (Silver Sponsors) and Flow The Kitchen as technical sponsor.
For more information about the event, to view all pictures or to download selected proceedings please visit https://conference.vi-grade.com.
Dates and location of the 2020 edition of our international event will be soon announced.
German version available here
English version available here
VI-grade and Multimatic to Establish Advanced Vehicle Development and Driving Simulation Center
Partnership for state-of-the-art simulation center in Novi, Michigan, to develop next-generation vehicle systems.
Novi (Michigan), May 23, 2019 – VI-grade and Multimatic are pleased to announce SimCenter, an advanced vehicle development and driving simulation center to be located in the greater Detroit area.
Optimized to meet customer demand for rapid, cost-effective development of next-generation vehicle systems with features such as driver assistance and autonomous operation, SimCenter will offer both software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) integration into an overall driver-in-the-loop (DIL) virtual world.
Bridging the gap between simulation and real-world testing, SimCenter is the result of an expanded partnership between VI-grade and Multimatic and will house North America’s first industry-leading VI-grade DiM 250 (Driver-in-Motion) series motion platform.
VI-grade’s DiM 250 motion platform is based on a revolutionary, patented mechanism that incorporates nine motion actuators, delivering an enlarged workspace with high operating stiffness. This platform’s resultant ability to accurately reproduce both low and high frequency excitations makes the DiM 250 stand out as an exemplary engineering tool, suitable for evaluating vehicle ride and handling dynamics in the virtual world as never before.
“Multimatic’s operating philosophy, ‘Strength Through Technology,’ is what drives us towards innovation and product excellence every day. SimCenter is the next evolutionary step in the development of our company and its products. The technology that VI-grade has been able to develop with their Driver-in-Motion system is extraordinary and Multimatic couldn’t be more excited to bring DiM to the United States. Multimatic is looking forward to the continued technical partnership with VI-grade as we leverage their technology for future innovation in a highly competitive market” said Michael Guttilla, Executive Vice President of Engineering, Multimatic.
Multimatic, a global leader in vehicle dynamics engineering, will operate the new facility as an extension of its current driving simulators in Canada and England. The facility will also include a VI-grade Compact Static Simulator.
“The adoption of our driving simulation technology at Multimatic is a direct consequence of our long-lasting partnership and will for sure bring mutual advantages to our companies”, said Juergen Fett, Vice President Partners and SimCenters, VI-grade. “DiM 250 represents our best performing driving simulation platform to date and we are extremely excited about having the chance of giving North American automotive and motorsport customers the possibility of directly experiencing the advantages of this technology through the establishment of this new SimCenter.”
SimCenter is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2019.
About Multimatic Inc.
Multimatic is a privately held, global enterprise supplying engineered components, systems and services to the automotive industry. Multimatic’s core competencies include the engineering and manufacturing of complex mechanisms, body hardware, suspension systems and body structures, as well as the design and development of lightweight composite automotive systems. In addition, Multimatic delivers niche vehicle design, development and production for road and race applications. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Multimatic has manufacturing divisions and engineering facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, and alliance relationships with partners around the world. Multimatic is comprised of three operating groups: Multimatic Mechanisms, Multimatic Structures & Suspension and Multimatic Engineering. For further information, please visit www.multimatic.com
Novi (Michigan), May 23, 2019 – VI-grade and Multimatic are pleased to announce SimCenter, an advanced vehicle development and driving simulation center to be located in the greater Detroit area.
Optimized to meet customer demand for rapid, cost-effective development of next-generation vehicle systems with features such as driver assistance and autonomous operation, SimCenter will offer both software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) integration into an overall driver-in-the-loop (DIL) virtual world.
Bridging the gap between simulation and real-world testing, SimCenter is the result of an expanded partnership between VI-grade and Multimatic and will house North America’s first industry-leading VI-grade DiM 250 (Driver-in-Motion) series motion platform.
VI-grade’s DiM 250 motion platform is based on a revolutionary, patented mechanism that incorporates nine motion actuators, delivering an enlarged workspace with high operating stiffness. This platform’s resultant ability to accurately reproduce both low and high frequency excitations makes the DiM 250 stand out as an exemplary engineering tool, suitable for evaluating vehicle ride and handling dynamics in the virtual world as never before.
“Multimatic’s operating philosophy, ‘Strength Through Technology,’ is what drives us towards innovation and product excellence every day. SimCenter is the next evolutionary step in the development of our company and its products. The technology that VI-grade has been able to develop with their Driver-in-Motion system is extraordinary and Multimatic couldn’t be more excited to bring DiM to the United States. Multimatic is looking forward to the continued technical partnership with VI-grade as we leverage their technology for future innovation in a highly competitive market” said Michael Guttilla, Executive Vice President of Engineering, Multimatic.
Multimatic, a global leader in vehicle dynamics engineering, will operate the new facility as an extension of its current driving simulators in Canada and England. The facility will also include a VI-grade Compact Static Simulator.
“The adoption of our driving simulation technology at Multimatic is a direct consequence of our long-lasting partnership and will for sure bring mutual advantages to our companies”, said Juergen Fett, Vice President Partners and SimCenters, VI-grade. “DiM 250 represents our best performing driving simulation platform to date and we are extremely excited about having the chance of giving North American automotive and motorsport customers the possibility of directly experiencing the advantages of this technology through the establishment of this new SimCenter.”
SimCenter is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2019.
About Multimatic Inc.
Multimatic is a privately held, global enterprise supplying engineered components, systems and services to the automotive industry. Multimatic’s core competencies include the engineering and manufacturing of complex mechanisms, body hardware, suspension systems and body structures, as well as the design and development of lightweight composite automotive systems. In addition, Multimatic delivers niche vehicle design, development and production for road and race applications. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Multimatic has manufacturing divisions and engineering facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, and alliance relationships with partners around the world. Multimatic is comprised of three operating groups: Multimatic Mechanisms, Multimatic Structures & Suspension and Multimatic Engineering. For further information, please visit www.multimatic.com
German version available here
English version available here
VI-grade and Konrad Technologies announce collaboration for new test method “DiL with Sensor Fusion Test”
Bridging their respective expertise and experiences in simulation and test, VI-grade and Konrad Technologies will jointly demonstrate the new test method for verifying functional and performance of ADAS and Autonomous Driving features at the Automotive Testing Expo and Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expo 2019
Stuttgart, Germany – May 21st, 2019 – VI-grade and Konrad Technologies today jointly announced they will demonstrate a new test method, Driver in the Loop (DIL) with Sensor Fusion Test, at the Automotive Testing Expo Europe and Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expo 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany.
“4 years ago, Konrad Technologies and our partners pioneered Sensor Fusion HiL and demonstrated how sensor test combines with HiL tests to validate performance of multi sensor configurations with ADAS algorithms,“ said Michael Konrad, CEO of Konrad Technologies. „Radar, Camera, and Lidar sensors can be tested at sub-system and system level implementations to verify ADAS capability for automated braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and others.Today, together with the VI-grade team, we will show how the sensor test can be extended to DiL with Sensor Fusion Test so that ADAS functionality can be evaluated and optimized to a higher degree in the lab before beginning road tests.“
“The VI-grade Driver in Motion (DiM) 150 simulator offers a complete driver behavior and 9 degrees of vehicle movement to simulate a real-world drive situation including traffic simulations,” said Guido Bairati, VP of Sales for VI-grade. “Adding sensors into the drive simulation loop allows ADAS/AD functionality to be tested safely in a lab environment and adds driver reaction to the test parameters for a more comprehensive test that can then be compared with drive test data for optimization cycles. Through this collaboration with Konrad Technologies, we have been able to quickly deliver a link between physical test and simulation-based testing for ADAS/AD features to the automotive market.“
For DIL with Sensor Fusion Test, the objects around the vehicle from the drive simulation software are simulated by Konrad Technologies sensor simulators in real-time. And the output of the sensors are then brought back into the software simulation to close the execution loop.
The collaboration will be presented at the 2019 Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expo event (Halle 6, booth AV6030) as well as through a joint presentation titled “Driver in the Loop (DIL) with Sensor Fusion Test” included in the official conference program of the same conference.
About Konrad Technologies Worldwide
Konrad Technologies (KT) is a global company and NI Platinum Alliance Partner that offers customized turnkey test solutions in the areas of electronics manufacturing, high-frequency technology, optics and beyond. Since 1993, Konrad Technologies has successfully developed, designed and integrated customer-specific test solutions providing customers with R&D, qualification, and manufacturing of electronic products with tools to fulfill their quality goals, accelerate engineering and development throughput. Customers in a wide range of industries from Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Wireless Communications, Consumer Electronics, Medical, Semiconductor, General Electronic Manufacturing to Industrial Automation use KT’s integrated hardware and software platform-based solutions to improve their performance worldwide. Konrad Technologies is a founding member of ADAS iiT, a consortium that provides a complete test solution for autonomous driving.
Konrad-Technologies, KT and Konrad GmbH are all representative of Konrad Technologies worldwide. Other products and company names listed are trademarks of their respective companies. For more information about Konrad Technologies Solutions and upcoming events, please visit www.konrad-technologies.com.
Stuttgart, Germany – May 21st, 2019 – VI-grade and Konrad Technologies today jointly announced they will demonstrate a new test method, Driver in the Loop (DIL) with Sensor Fusion Test, at the Automotive Testing Expo Europe and Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expo 2019 in Stuttgart, Germany.
“4 years ago, Konrad Technologies and our partners pioneered Sensor Fusion HiL and demonstrated how sensor test combines with HiL tests to validate performance of multi sensor configurations with ADAS algorithms,“ said Michael Konrad, CEO of Konrad Technologies. „Radar, Camera, and Lidar sensors can be tested at sub-system and system level implementations to verify ADAS capability for automated braking, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and others.Today, together with the VI-grade team, we will show how the sensor test can be extended to DiL with Sensor Fusion Test so that ADAS functionality can be evaluated and optimized to a higher degree in the lab before beginning road tests.“
“The VI-grade Driver in Motion (DiM) 150 simulator offers a complete driver behavior and 9 degrees of vehicle movement to simulate a real-world drive situation including traffic simulations,” said Guido Bairati, VP of Sales for VI-grade. “Adding sensors into the drive simulation loop allows ADAS/AD functionality to be tested safely in a lab environment and adds driver reaction to the test parameters for a more comprehensive test that can then be compared with drive test data for optimization cycles. Through this collaboration with Konrad Technologies, we have been able to quickly deliver a link between physical test and simulation-based testing for ADAS/AD features to the automotive market.“
For DIL with Sensor Fusion Test, the objects around the vehicle from the drive simulation software are simulated by Konrad Technologies sensor simulators in real-time. And the output of the sensors are then brought back into the software simulation to close the execution loop.
The collaboration will be presented at the 2019 Autonomous Vehicle Technology Expo event (Halle 6, booth AV6030) as well as through a joint presentation titled “Driver in the Loop (DIL) with Sensor Fusion Test” included in the official conference program of the same conference.
About Konrad Technologies Worldwide
Konrad Technologies (KT) is a global company and NI Platinum Alliance Partner that offers customized turnkey test solutions in the areas of electronics manufacturing, high-frequency technology, optics and beyond. Since 1993, Konrad Technologies has successfully developed, designed and integrated customer-specific test solutions providing customers with R&D, qualification, and manufacturing of electronic products with tools to fulfill their quality goals, accelerate engineering and development throughput. Customers in a wide range of industries from Automotive, Aerospace and Defense, Wireless Communications, Consumer Electronics, Medical, Semiconductor, General Electronic Manufacturing to Industrial Automation use KT’s integrated hardware and software platform-based solutions to improve their performance worldwide. Konrad Technologies is a founding member of ADAS iiT, a consortium that provides a complete test solution for autonomous driving.
Konrad-Technologies, KT and Konrad GmbH are all representative of Konrad Technologies worldwide. Other products and company names listed are trademarks of their respective companies. For more information about Konrad Technologies Solutions and upcoming events, please visit www.konrad-technologies.com.
English version available here
VI-grade releases v19.0 product suite
Major release of real-time software (VI-CarRealTime and VI-Driver), vertical products (VI-Automotive, VI-Motorcycle, VI-Aircraft) and driving simulation solutions (VI-DriveSim) bring to customers better flexibility, an improved user experience and support of real-time applications for more advanced components
Marburg, May 2nd, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the release of v19.0 of its software product suite. The release includes major product features and several usability enhancements in the following products: VI-CarRealTime and VI-Driver (real-time software); VI-DriveSim (driving simulation solutions); and VI-Automotive, VI-Motorcycle, VI-Aircraft (vertical products).
Selected new features of VI-CarRealTime v19.0 include:
The new releases, developed on top of Adams2018, are available on the completely revamped VI-grade download area at the link: /en/reserved_area/software_download.
A complete list of new features and enhancements can be found in the Release Notes documents available for download at the same link.
Marburg, May 2nd, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the release of v19.0 of its software product suite. The release includes major product features and several usability enhancements in the following products: VI-CarRealTime and VI-Driver (real-time software); VI-DriveSim (driving simulation solutions); and VI-Automotive, VI-Motorcycle, VI-Aircraft (vertical products).
Selected new features of VI-CarRealTime v19.0 include:
- Investigation Mode:
- Automatic model variant response module
- Allows to easily execute a given plan of experiments
- Define model parameters values and range
- Select events or scenario to be tested
- Define the metric to be monitored
- Automatically generate the related reports
- Model improvements:
- New engine mount layout options (bushings on body chassis, torque
- Vehicle chassis flexibility with body-on-frame architecture
- New demo vehicles
- SUV crossover
- Pick-up truck
- Improved driveline modelling options, to specify e.g. gear shifting maps or specific inertias.
- Design time scaling factors for suspension elements (dampers, springs,
- bumpers…)
- Tire Models
- CDTire RealTime
- Available for handling maneuvers
- FTire 2019-1
- acc & /hil versions integration
- Improved computational efficiency
- TameTire 5.1
- MF-Tyre/MF-Swift 7.3
- MegaRide
- AdheRide/ThermoRide models integration
- Realtime capable version available
- CDTire RealTime
- Adams Car Interface: new properties export added
- Frequency bushing
- Rack & pinion (Pfeffer model)
- Suspension auxiliary longitudinal dynamics identification
- Vehicle Performance modules
- VI-SpeedGen can optionally consider the suspension travel while predicting the limit speed profile computation
- (For motorsport applications): Aerodynamic balance and electric motors regeneration state can be parametrized on the on-track position
- Miscellaneous
- VI-CarRealTime solver now able to produce additional output signals:
- Roll center height for all full vehicle simulations
- ABS & TCS activity
- Possibility to configure multiple solver plugins
- Scriptable (python) custom post-processing
- VI-CarRealTime SDK now includes an executable able to perform simulations with forced “Save&Restore” operation
- VI-CarRealTime solver now able to produce additional output signals:
- VI-DriveSim environment opened to 3rd party vehicle solvers
- Protocol documentation
- Template for Matlab/Simulink
- Input File management
- VI-CarRealTime model input files can be used for different experiments:
- Override road data file
- Redefine vehicle initial position/orientation
- Possible to inherit the lap sensor directly from the road file (explicit reference to a drd file still supported for special cases)
- VI-CarRealTime model input files can be used for different experiments:
- Steering feedback
- Support of angle tracking control mode in addition to the regular torque tracking mode
- Body Feedback
- Active belts systems with independent left/right actuators now supported by the graphical interface
The new releases, developed on top of Adams2018, are available on the completely revamped VI-grade download area at the link: /en/reserved_area/software_download.
A complete list of new features and enhancements can be found in the Release Notes documents available for download at the same link.
English version available here
VI-grade Announces First Round of Sponsors and Speakers of its 2019 International Conference
11th Conference dedicated to the worldwide VI-grade community to be held in Hanau (Frankfurt), Germany on May 13th-15th, 2019
Marburg, March 6, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the first round of sponsors and speakers of the 2019 edition of its International Conference, as well the location of the Ice-Breaker event.
The event, dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers all over the world, is to be held at the Congress Park conference center in the city of Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany, on May 14-15, 2019.
The conference will feature several keynote and technical presentations from renowned representatives from worldwide automotive manufacturers, suppliers and research centers such as: Applus IDIADA, Benteler Automotive, Danisi Engineering, FCA LATAM, Fondazione Democenter, Fraunhofer ITWM, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH, Konrad Technologies, MAGNA STEYR Fahrzeugtechnik, Maserati, Multimatic, Roborace, Transpolis, Volvo Car Corporation, Showa. Further details on the content of the presentations – mostly oriented to topics such as real-time simulation, HIL, SIL, traffic simulation and ADAS, autonomous driving, vehicle energy efficiency and tire modeling – as well as additional speakers will be announced later on.
Additionally, in occasion of our traditional ice-breaker event, all conference attendees will be invited to an informal get-together at Honda Europe R&D center in Offenbach on May 13th at 6pm to see the world’s first fully installed DiM250 driving simulator live and in action. In a relaxed atmosphere, guests will have the opportunity to discuss the latest trends and forthcoming driving simulation technologies and also to network among the industry.
“We are looking forward to giving our ever-growing international community an opportunity to share the latest projects and advancements realized using our simulation solutions with an experienced audience” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales, VI-grade.
The event is produced thanks to the precious support of a growing list sponsors and partners that already includes confirmed participation from Danisi Engineering and Saginomiya (Platinum Sponsors); Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, DomeProjection, SimCoVr, MSC Software, Todema (Golden Sponsors); 3D Mapping, BE CAE&Test, CSM, Horiba Mira, Konrad Technologies, Megaride, Millbrook Proving Ground, Multimatic, Rescale, SmartEye, Virtual Vehicle Research Institute (Silver Sponsors) and with the technical sponsorship of “Flow the Kitchen” Catering.
Additional details on the conference program (finalized list of sponsors and speakers as well as logistic information) will be progressively published under the link https://conference.vi-grade.com.
Marburg, March 6, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the first round of sponsors and speakers of the 2019 edition of its International Conference, as well the location of the Ice-Breaker event.
The event, dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers all over the world, is to be held at the Congress Park conference center in the city of Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany, on May 14-15, 2019.
The conference will feature several keynote and technical presentations from renowned representatives from worldwide automotive manufacturers, suppliers and research centers such as: Applus IDIADA, Benteler Automotive, Danisi Engineering, FCA LATAM, Fondazione Democenter, Fraunhofer ITWM, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH, Konrad Technologies, MAGNA STEYR Fahrzeugtechnik, Maserati, Multimatic, Roborace, Transpolis, Volvo Car Corporation, Showa. Further details on the content of the presentations – mostly oriented to topics such as real-time simulation, HIL, SIL, traffic simulation and ADAS, autonomous driving, vehicle energy efficiency and tire modeling – as well as additional speakers will be announced later on.
Additionally, in occasion of our traditional ice-breaker event, all conference attendees will be invited to an informal get-together at Honda Europe R&D center in Offenbach on May 13th at 6pm to see the world’s first fully installed DiM250 driving simulator live and in action. In a relaxed atmosphere, guests will have the opportunity to discuss the latest trends and forthcoming driving simulation technologies and also to network among the industry.
“We are looking forward to giving our ever-growing international community an opportunity to share the latest projects and advancements realized using our simulation solutions with an experienced audience” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales, VI-grade.
The event is produced thanks to the precious support of a growing list sponsors and partners that already includes confirmed participation from Danisi Engineering and Saginomiya (Platinum Sponsors); Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, DomeProjection, SimCoVr, MSC Software, Todema (Golden Sponsors); 3D Mapping, BE CAE&Test, CSM, Horiba Mira, Konrad Technologies, Megaride, Millbrook Proving Ground, Multimatic, Rescale, SmartEye, Virtual Vehicle Research Institute (Silver Sponsors) and with the technical sponsorship of “Flow the Kitchen” Catering.
Additional details on the conference program (finalized list of sponsors and speakers as well as logistic information) will be progressively published under the link https://conference.vi-grade.com.
English version available here
VI-grade announces keynote speech from professional driver Lucas Di Grassi at 2019 International Conference
CEO of Roborace and Formula E driver officially confirmed attendance and presentation at 2019 edition of VI-grade’s event dedicated to the worldwide automotive community.
Marburg, February 12, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the attendance of Lucas Di Grassi as a Keynote Speaker at the 2019 edition of its International Conference to be held at “Congress Park” in Hanau, Germany on May 14-15, 2019.
In his presentation at the VI-grade event, he will concentrate on the future value of Motorsport and especially how changing industry priorities and new technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous driving will reshape this sector.
Born in Sao Paolo, Brazil Lucas is a true all-round talent in many fields. Apart from his numerous victories as a professional racing driver in the Formula E, he also plays a significant role off track. As one of the co-founders and one of the first ambassadors of Formula E, Lucas Di Grassi did not only arouse public interest on the fully electric racing series, but he also increased awareness related to issues like global warming and declining air quality.
By combining his deep racing expertise and his extensive business experience as the current CEO of Roborace, the world’s first competition for human and artificial intelligent racing, he is now heading towards future by making autonomous technology more exciting and inspirational for a new generation of spectators. “We want to take Roborace where motorsport cannot go, focusing the platform on the future road-relevant autonomous technology”, explains Di Grassi.
About the 2019 VI-grade International Conference
The event is dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers from all over the world. It is a great opportunity for the VI-grade international community to discuss the latest trends with regard to system-level virtual engineering, hardware in the loop, controls and driving simulation.
The 2019 event will also feature an ice-breaker social event in the afternoon of May 13, when all attendees will be invited to an informal get-together to learn more about the new and forthcoming driving simulation technologies provided by VI-grade and partners (location and further details related to the Ice Breaker will be announced later on). The list of event sponsors and partners already includes confirmed participation from Danisi Engineering, Saginomiya, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, SimCoVR, Megaride. Additional sponsors, partners and speakers will be announced later on.
For further information about the conference, please visit: https://conference.vi-grade.com/
Marburg, February 12, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the attendance of Lucas Di Grassi as a Keynote Speaker at the 2019 edition of its International Conference to be held at “Congress Park” in Hanau, Germany on May 14-15, 2019.
In his presentation at the VI-grade event, he will concentrate on the future value of Motorsport and especially how changing industry priorities and new technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous driving will reshape this sector.
Born in Sao Paolo, Brazil Lucas is a true all-round talent in many fields. Apart from his numerous victories as a professional racing driver in the Formula E, he also plays a significant role off track. As one of the co-founders and one of the first ambassadors of Formula E, Lucas Di Grassi did not only arouse public interest on the fully electric racing series, but he also increased awareness related to issues like global warming and declining air quality.
By combining his deep racing expertise and his extensive business experience as the current CEO of Roborace, the world’s first competition for human and artificial intelligent racing, he is now heading towards future by making autonomous technology more exciting and inspirational for a new generation of spectators. “We want to take Roborace where motorsport cannot go, focusing the platform on the future road-relevant autonomous technology”, explains Di Grassi.
About the 2019 VI-grade International Conference
The event is dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers from all over the world. It is a great opportunity for the VI-grade international community to discuss the latest trends with regard to system-level virtual engineering, hardware in the loop, controls and driving simulation.
The 2019 event will also feature an ice-breaker social event in the afternoon of May 13, when all attendees will be invited to an informal get-together to learn more about the new and forthcoming driving simulation technologies provided by VI-grade and partners (location and further details related to the Ice Breaker will be announced later on). The list of event sponsors and partners already includes confirmed participation from Danisi Engineering, Saginomiya, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, SimCoVR, Megaride. Additional sponsors, partners and speakers will be announced later on.
For further information about the conference, please visit: https://conference.vi-grade.com/
German version available here
English version available here
Envision Virgin Racing to install cutting-edge race simulator from VI-grade in its expanded Silverstone headquarters
Leading UK-based Formula E team to install static race simulator from VI-grade to further develop and improve the team’s race preparations
Marburg, February 6, 2019 – Envision Virgin Racing, the current leading team in the all-electric Formula E series, has this week begun work on expanding its operational headquarters at Silverstone Park, to further develop and improve the team’s race preparations. The UK-based outfit moved to its new state-of-the-art facilities – located just a stone’s throw from the home of British motor racing – in 2017, ahead of the fourth season of the FIA Formula E Championship.
Now, due to continued expansion, the team is adding a mezzanine floor to its existing facilities, including the installation of a cutting-edge VI-grade racing simulator. The extension plans, due to be completed by the summer in time for the next Formula E season, also allow for more work space; with all being built in keeping with the rest of the site, which adheres to the ‘Very Good’ energy sustainability standards set by the government’s BREEAM agency, as well as being certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust.
Sylvain Filippi, Managing Director for the team, said: “As one of the founding and most successful Formula E teams, it’s fantastic to watch the team grow year-on-year. Moving to Silverstone Park was an obvious choice due to the facilities, skillset and like-minded businesses on our doorstep. Now, after being here less than two years, we’re in a position to implement the second phase of the development, thanks to the investment and foresight of the team’s new majority owners, Envision Group. Once complete, the new work areas and simulator will help further improve the quality of our race preparation for season six, as well as show our continued commitment to Formula E.”
Envision Group’s Franz Jung and Chairman of the Board said: “We fully support the team and want to continue building on the team’s already impressive legacy. Formula E is becoming increasingly competitive, so we know how important this type of investment is to help stay ahead of the competition.”
John Williams, Managing Director of VI-grade Ltd who will be supplying the team’s racing simulator, added: “We are very pleased to announce another success in the motorsports industry by reporting the adoption of our driving simulator at Envision Virgin Racing as a turnkey solution. The installation includes proprietary software from VI-grade and related hardware components, as well as a cockpit provided by Envision Virgin Racing equipped with proprietary active belts technology from VI-grade. The simulator, including a set of Formula E digitized tracks, will provide the customer with a complete solution that will enable them to virtually test and optimise the performance of their race cars, therefore allowing them to agree on, and then deliver, the optimal race performance.”
For more information on Envision Virgin Racing, including access to the team’s media site, visit www.envisionvirginracing.com.
Marburg, February 6, 2019 – Envision Virgin Racing, the current leading team in the all-electric Formula E series, has this week begun work on expanding its operational headquarters at Silverstone Park, to further develop and improve the team’s race preparations. The UK-based outfit moved to its new state-of-the-art facilities – located just a stone’s throw from the home of British motor racing – in 2017, ahead of the fourth season of the FIA Formula E Championship.
Now, due to continued expansion, the team is adding a mezzanine floor to its existing facilities, including the installation of a cutting-edge VI-grade racing simulator. The extension plans, due to be completed by the summer in time for the next Formula E season, also allow for more work space; with all being built in keeping with the rest of the site, which adheres to the ‘Very Good’ energy sustainability standards set by the government’s BREEAM agency, as well as being certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust.
Sylvain Filippi, Managing Director for the team, said: “As one of the founding and most successful Formula E teams, it’s fantastic to watch the team grow year-on-year. Moving to Silverstone Park was an obvious choice due to the facilities, skillset and like-minded businesses on our doorstep. Now, after being here less than two years, we’re in a position to implement the second phase of the development, thanks to the investment and foresight of the team’s new majority owners, Envision Group. Once complete, the new work areas and simulator will help further improve the quality of our race preparation for season six, as well as show our continued commitment to Formula E.”
Envision Group’s Franz Jung and Chairman of the Board said: “We fully support the team and want to continue building on the team’s already impressive legacy. Formula E is becoming increasingly competitive, so we know how important this type of investment is to help stay ahead of the competition.”
John Williams, Managing Director of VI-grade Ltd who will be supplying the team’s racing simulator, added: “We are very pleased to announce another success in the motorsports industry by reporting the adoption of our driving simulator at Envision Virgin Racing as a turnkey solution. The installation includes proprietary software from VI-grade and related hardware components, as well as a cockpit provided by Envision Virgin Racing equipped with proprietary active belts technology from VI-grade. The simulator, including a set of Formula E digitized tracks, will provide the customer with a complete solution that will enable them to virtually test and optimise the performance of their race cars, therefore allowing them to agree on, and then deliver, the optimal race performance.”
For more information on Envision Virgin Racing, including access to the team’s media site, visit www.envisionvirginracing.com.
English version available here