ZERO PROTOTYPES Summitでは、5月18日～19日の技術発表に加え、パートナー企業のソリューションや技術を紹介するテクニカルショーケースエリアも設置されます。また、VI-gradeの主力ソフトウェア製品に特化したソフトウェアアップデートワークショップも開催されます。5月17日の午後には、登録者全員を非公式の“アイスブレーカー”ソーシャルイベントにご招待します。場所や詳細については後日お知らせします。
VI-grade社のVice President Global Sales & MarketingのGuido Bairati氏は、次のように述べています。「過去 2 回のバーチャルカンファレンスの大成功にもかかわらず、2022 年 5 月に物理的なイベントを開催し、大切なお客様、パートナー、フォロワーの方々を SimCenter Udine に招待できることを大変うれしく思っています。このイベントは、リアルタイムのソフトウェア、シミュレータ、ハードウェア・イン・ザ・ループのソリューションを提供することに重点を置くバーチャルテスト部門の全ビジョンを、我々のコミュニティでご覧いただく絶好の機会です。特に、VI-gradeの最先端のシミュレーション・ソリューションを使用して達成された、お客様、パートナー、フォロワーの方々の最新のプロジェクトや進歩について学ぶことを楽しみにしています。」
Darmstadt, Germany, December 3rd, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the 2021.3 release of its signature software product suite. The release includes major product updates and several usability enhancements for VI-CarRealTime, VI-WorldSim as well as the driving simulator platform, VI-DriveSim.
The 2021.3 release of VI-CarRealTime, VI-grade’s flagship real-time vehicle simulation environment, features multiple benefits for users:
New, alternative modelling approaches:
This release introduces a new, alternative modelling approach featuring templates for typical suspension architectures in addition to the traditional curve-based modelling approach. This approach enables a direct hardpoint and bushing based parametrization within the VI-CarRealTime user interface, highlighting the built-in Investigation Mode to setup DOEs.
Additional new features include
Advanced obfuscation with a vehicle parameters override file, which facilitates collaboration between partners and suppliers;
An updated model conversion process from Adams Car to VI-CarRealTime;
Multiple runtime selectable EPS maps.
VI-WorldSim, VI-grade’s user-friendly, fully integrated graphic environment focused on ADAS development, is now available with offline analysis capabilities. This is a major enhancement which allows users to run VI-WorldSim independently from VI-DriveSim, so they can focus on offline experiments. Offline usage is enabled through a direct Simulink integration with sensor data compatibility with standard Mathworks toolboxes and a seamless integration with VI-CarRealTime offline plant models.
Additional new features in the latest VI-WorldSim release include:
Improved processes for importing user-defined road environments based on Roadrunner, Mathworks’ interactive 3D editor
Multiple new public road and race track environments including Wolfsburg, Calabogie, Hockenheim and many more.
Finally, the 2021.3 update also includes enhancements for VI-DriveSim, VI-grade’s software platform enabling easy and complete control of driving simulator components. The 2021.3 release introduces unified firmware for Active Brake and Steering, integrated support for Cable-driven Simulators (DiM400 and above) and Actuator-based simulators (DiM150 and DiM250) in the same build.
“I’m extremely pleased to announce this important software update to VI-grade’s signature software product suite,” said Roberto De Vecchi, VI-grade Product Development Manager. “Version 2021.3 is an especially significant update to our VI-CarRealTime platform. VI-CarRealTime users will gain considerable capabilities with this update, including impressive new parameterization capabilities for VI-CarRealTime’s investigation mode. In addition, the new offline version of VI-WorldSim gives users the ability to first develop ADAS algorithms entirely on their desktop PC and then use the online version of the software to validate their functionality with the driving simulator.”
Diego Minen, CTO of VI-grade stated, “The new Wolfsburg urban scenario available in VI-WorldSim is the most realistic traffic driving experience I have ever been exposed to on a driving simulator”, in addressing the caliber of new enhancements to VI-WorldSim’s graphic environments.
The 2021.3 software release, including a detailed list of new features and enhancements, is now available for download. Registered users can access and download version 2021.3 by logging into their accounts at /en/reserved_area/software_download/VI-grade_Software_Suite_2021_3/
Darmstadt (Germany), October 20th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced their participation in the 2021 Automotive Testing Expo Conference and Exhibition (ATE) in Novi, Michigan, taking place October 26-28, 2021. VI-grade is joining forces in Novi with its partner and the leading global provider of high-performance real-time computer systems, Concurrent Real-Time. The two companies, part of HBK’s Virtual Test Division, will showcase their combined set of real-time software, simulator, and Hardware-in-the-Loop solutions that virtually test products throughout the development cycle, thereby helping companies accelerate innovation and reduce time-to-market.
VI-grade’s scalable and upgradeable driving simulator product line has for several years relied on Concurrent Real-Time’s computation solutions to deliver hard real-time performance for the most sophisticated Hardware-in-the-Loop and Driver-in-the-Loop simulation. The innovative off-line and real-time simulation solutions from VI-grade and Concurrent Real-Time featured at ATE Novi are designed to help customers accelerate innovation, reduce time-to-market and improve their competitive advantage in a sustainable way.
“Customers need to reduce the number of physical prototypes and time-to-market while increasing innovation. Simulators are a great platform to employ to develop innovative vehicles in a faster and safer way” said Guido Bairati, VP of Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “VI-grade’s driving simulators, powered by Concurrent Real-Time’s hard real-time technology, constitute a comprehensive set of Hardware-in-the-Loop testing solutions that let automotive components be tested under real-life conditions as if they were in a real prototype. Our customers are already using precisely this technology to test real steering, braking, cameras and other hardware components in-the-loop with the help of a driving simulator.”
The driving simulator featured at the shared booth will demonstrate the advantages of VI-grade’s VI-Certified program. This program ensures the seamless operation of not only VI-grade software solutions, but also ensures that all major 3rd party applications work natively on VI-grade driving simulators. This seamless and native operation translates into saved time and money for customers during deployment. The booth simulator will also incorporate a Hardware-in-the-Loop setup with FPGA I/O connecting the simulated vehicle model to an ECU.
Also showcased will be the RedHawk KVM-RT solution, which provides guaranteed real-time performance in virtual machines with RedHawk Linux as the host operating system. The demo features a powerful 24-core AMD system with VI-grade’s VI-CarRealTime and VI-WorldSim delivers the computational prowess, I/O bandwidth, and fast response times in a unique, single system solution.
VI-grade’s and Concurrent Real-Time’s combined Hardware-in-the-Loop and Driver-in-the-Loop Solutions can be experienced live and in action at booth #6001 at the 2021 Automotive Testing Expo Conference and Exhibition in Novi, Michigan taking place October 26-28, 2021.
Darmstadt, October 7th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing,today announced the 2022 edition of the Virtual Formula competition, which for the first time ever will exclusively employ the use of driving simulators.
Formula SAE and Formula Student teams have until October 31st, 2021 to register for the competition, a free-of-charge event which gives them access to VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s state-of-the-art motorsport simulation software. Teams also will receive a DESKTOP Simulator software license including VI-DriveSim and VI-GraphSim. Using VI-grade’s cutting edge simulator software tools, all teams will be required to create a digital twin of their car and to optimize its performance, in preparation for the actual competition on the driving simulator. VI-grade will provide teams with a set of predefined offline maneuvers that can be used to test the vehicle model with the help of the VI-Motorsport software.
The teams will be then invited to compete in an online race using their simulators, driving their previously optimized cars on a digitized version of a racetrack. The team scoring the best lap time will win the competition and be awarded with the industry-leading Fanatec hardware and VI-grade software required to upgrade the team’s Windows PC to a fully functional VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator. The winner will also receive a free-of-charge one-day session at one of VI-grade’s global SimCenters.
“Launching the 2022 edition of the Virtual Formula earlier than in previous years better aligns the competition with the schedules of Formula SAE and Formula Student.”,said Guido Bairati, VP Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “This regulatory change allows the participating teams to virtually optimize their vehicles with the help of VI-Motorsport and their driving simulators. And, like OEMs and professional Motorsport Teams, they can leverage the obtained results to better perform in the real races.”
To fully support the wide range of vehicle configurations, this year’s competition will once again feature two different categories: one reserved for combustion engines, and one dedicated to electric drivetrains. VI-grade will again host a series of webinars and Q&A sessions to introduce all participating teams via dedicated software training sessions to the real-life automotive industry workflows and challenges in vehicle development.
Additional information, registration form, technical specifications and requirements and detailed schedule of the competition are available here.
VI-grade社のVice President Global Sales & MarketingのGuido Bairati氏は、次のように述べています。「本日発表されたDiM50は、優れたリアリズムと低価格を両立したダイナミックシミュレータを購入するという、これまでにない機会をお客様と市場に提供します。またDiM50が傑出しているのは、DiM150やDiM250へのアップグレードの可能性を提供することで、効率的な投資を維持することができるという点です。DiM50は性能と投資のバランスという点で理想的なソリューションであり、大学、研究センター、サプライヤー、モータースポーツチーム、さらにはすでに大型のシミュレータに投資している自動車メーカーにも適していると考えています。」
Shanghai, China, June 16, 2021 – VI-grade today announced that major Chinese automotive manufacturing company FAW (First Automobile Works) invested in a VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator, to improve digital chassis R&D capabilities of luxury car brand Hongqi and shorten their development cycle.
By means of the new DESKTOP Simulator, to be installed at the company’s headquarters in Changchun, Jilin, China, FAW engineers expect to further shorten their development cycles focusing on virtual objective chassis evaluation, chassis electronic control algorithm performance and tire dynamics testing and verification as early as possible. At the same time, since the DESKTOP Simulator relies on the same tool chain as the STATIC and DYNAMIC DiM Driving Simulator, it also represents an optimal technical reserve for the application of a more advanced simulator later on.
“In the trend of the new four modernizations in the automotive industry, the driving simulator technology is continuously gaining importance. All the new technical concepts, such as Digital twin, Agile development and User Experience-driven Innovation, are also driving virtual development technologies like driving simulators forward. FAW Group has been intensively involved in the field of vehicle and tire dynamics for many years and has extensive chassis testing and accurate modeling capabilities. Driving simulator technology research also has been going on for ten years.” said Lun Li, Manager FAW NBD Chassis Testing Development at FAW Hongqi. “In the end, we chose VI-grade. The most important thing is its solutions and the communication platform of users around the world. FAW Hongqi hopes that in the future, with VI-grade and their partners, the chassis performance can be greatly improved, the development cycle can be shortened, and our users’ expectations can be fully met."
“We are very excited to report the adoption of our VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator at Hongqi”, said Richard Liu, China Country Manager at VI-grade. “The DESKTOP Simulator is the ideal tool for Hongqi to quickly verify the performance of the electronic control technology and chassis electronic control algorithm. We are looking forward to further expanding our cooperation with Hongqi and the entire FAW Group.”
Darmstadt (Germany), Jun 29th, 2021 – VI-grade, a leading provider of best-in-class driving simulation solutions, today announced the completion of the installation and commissioning of the DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator at CEVT, Geely Holding Group’s Sweden-based innovation center for future mobility solutions. The driving simulator has been installed at Geely’s recently expanded campus in Gothenburg, Uni3 by Geely, significantly enhancing on-site research and development capabilities.
CEVT selected the complete turn-key solution from VI-grade, with the DiM250 simulator serving as the foundation combined with the VI-DriveSim software suite and the complete active technology offering (belts, seat, brake and shakers). This allows driving dynamics and active safety systems to be experienced in an even more realistic environment right from the start of the development process. The driving simulator will be used primarily for Vehicle Dynamics, Ride & Comfort as well as ADAS applications in the development of new vehicles, with particular reference to the development of future mobility solutions.
“The automotive industry is undergoing a transformation from the old ways of the car to the new future of mobility, where the experience of the customer is at heart and where we provide a service that is highly valuable. At CEVT, we have the vision and ambition as well as the experience to do this and with the simulator we have enhanced our skillset to further drive this change”, said Mats Fägerhag CEO at CEVT.
“We have now had our first-hand experience of operating and using a full scale, advanced driving simulator and we are impressed with the capabilities that the DiM250 gives. Not only can we quickly test a lot of ideas that would be expensive, time consuming or too complex to perform in real life but we’re also noticing how well the simulator pushes the collaboration and aspirations of the different teams across CEVT. We are shaping the way of mobility going forwards and the simulator is a crucial tool for that purpose, creating value for our customers in the end”, said Albin Gröndahl, CAE Engineer and Project Manager for the Driving Simulator at CEVT.
“We are very happy to announce the completed installation and commissioning of our DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator at CEVT” said Guido Bairati, VP Global Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “The DiM250 represents a significant expansion of CEVT's capacity to develop mobility solutions and it is, after the one at Volvo, the second DiM simulator installed in the Gothenburg area belonging to the Geely group. Driving Simulators are becoming an important development tool that increase collaboration between OEMs and suppliers, while decreasing physical testing and furthering innovation.”
To reproduce vehicle movements and accelerations, the DiM solution takes a different path to driving simulation based on a patented revolutionary design with nine actuators. The resulting configuration with its 9 degrees of freedom enables it to go beyond the basic six-actuator design of a hexapod or similar, thus providing a larger workspace while maintaining a high stiffness and low latency. This leads to a system suitable for low as well as high frequencies, both of which occur in automotive chassis design. For this reason, DiM enables both vehicle dynamics investigation and ride and comfort on the same driving simulator.
Darmstadt, May 27, 2021 - VI-grade, a leading provider of best-in-class software products and services for advanced applications in the field of system level simulation, announced today that over 2,000 attendees registered to the virtual ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit, held May 20-21, 2021. This represents a significant increase from 2020’s virtual event. 100% of attendees surveyed after the summit indicated their intent to attend VI-grade’s 2022 event, thereby offering a ringing endorsement of the valuable insights and information provided by the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit.
The video presentations of the 2021 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit are accessible on demand until June 18th at https://vi-grade.vfairs.com/.
Targeted at innovators in the global automotive industry, the free-of-charge 2-day Summit provided VI-grade customers and technology partners with a high caliber forum showcasing how leading automotive companies employ VI-grade’s software and simulation solutions to solve complex product development challenges. Keynote speakers on Day 1 included Audi Sport, NIO, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Stellantis, and Multimatic. VI-grade customer presentations from CEVT, Mercedes-AMG, Bentley and Politecnico di Milano addressed use cases in Powertrain, Vehicle Dynamics, NVH and HMI disciplines.
Held virtually again this year due to the covid-19 pandemic, the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit was carefully designed and programmed to give all participants – presenters, sponsors, and users – ample opportunities for learning about and sharing new technologies, as well as networking.
The ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit was also a platform for announcements pertaining to VI-grade’s product development achievements and acquisitions:
Increasing accessibility of VI-grade’s technology through a global network of SimCenters where customers can rent VI-grade driving simulators. Located in Udine, Italy; Millbrook, UK; Detroit, MI; and Tokyo, Japan. Joining those ranks in 2021 will be VI-grade’s first SimCenter in China in conjunction with partner, Idiada. It will be located at the LingLong Tire proving ground in Yantai, Shandong province.
Product innovations & enhancements including:
a revolutionary extension of VI-grade’s simulator product line based on cable-driven technology
new features in VI-WorldSim, the revolutionary simulation software product allowing simulating ADAS and autonomous vehicles
VI-Certified, a program that expands the ecosystem of complementary products and services that work together with our simulators
high-fidelity NVH reproduction capabilities on the new COMPACT NVH Simulator
VI-grade’s efforts in terms of acquisitions: Pending regulatory approval, VI-grade’s parent company, Spectris, recently announced the acquisition of Concurrent Real-Time, the real-time platform provider for VI-grade technology for many years. This comes on the heels of acquisitions in 2019 of Righthook and in 2020 of the NVH simulator team from Brüel & Kjær and the acquisition of Imtec, a leader in mechatronics and automation.
“We were delighted to welcome so many attendees to the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit this year” said VI-grade President, Bob Ryan. “The sheer number of registrations for the Summit is a clear indication that the automotive industry sees enormous value in the use of VI-grade’s driver-in-the-loop vehicle simulators for accelerating the development process and was eager to learn more about our future product development roadmap and acquisition plans,” he continued.
Darmstadt, May 12, 2021 - VI-grade, a leading provider of best-in-class software products and services for advanced applications in the field of system level simulation, today announced a milestone in the current number of registrations as well as the final agenda for the “2021 Zero Prototypes Summit”. The event will be held on May 20 - 21 2021, beginning daily at 2pm Central European Standard Time (CEST) / 10am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).
The event builds on the success of VI-grade’s previous virtual events and boasts an impressive slate of global innovators and thought-leaders from industry-leading companies employing VI-grade’s simulation software and driving simulators to accelerate their vehicle development processes. The first day of the summit is fully dedicated to Voice of the Customer presentations, featuring keynote and technical presentations from Goodyear, Multimatic, NIO, Stellantis, Mercedes-AMG, Bentley Motors Limited, CEVT and Politecnico di Milano. On the second day, VI-grade’s technical partners will share and discuss their current projects in dedicated break-out sessions, including presentations from cosin scientific software, Fraunhofer Institut ITWM, MegaRide, Danisi Engineering, Applus+ IDIADA, HORIBA MIRA, 3D Mapping, MSC Software, rescale, HBK, BlackBerry QNX and Smart Eye. These sessions will be followed by 5 virtual discipline-specific Roundtables on Ride & Handling, Motorsport, ADAS, HMI and NVH, led by top-class moderators and panelists.
The free-of-charge event also boasts a fully functional virtual exhibition area where all VI-grade sponsors and partners have the opportunity to showcase their solutions to all participants.
“The past year has been difficult for everyone in the global business community because of the challenges presented by Covid-19. We are overwhelmed by the high degree of interest from our community and the number of registrations for our 2021 ZERO PROTOTYPES SUMMIT”, said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing, VI-grade.“We especially look forward to providing our valued customers, partners and followers with exclusive insights into how the major players in the worldwide automotive industry currently use simulation and driving simulators to push the envelope and accelerate the development of new vehicles, thus enabling them to get ever closer to virtual sign-off.”
Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Europe’s leading automotive engineering consultancy, HORIBA MIRA, today confirmed that its Vehicle Attribute Development Team had concluded an investment in a new VI-grade COMPACT Simulator to underscore its proprietary Voice of the Customer approach to vehicle development.
The foundation of HORIBA MIRA’s attribute engineering process is focused on the driver experience as the key determiner of engineering decisions; the new Driver-in-the-Loop capability further embeds this philosophy by incorporating the driver’s subjective assessments at the earlier, virtual stage of the design cycle.
Tom Lee, Vehicle Dynamics and NVH Manager at HORIBA MIRA said, “Adding the driver into the loop at an earlier stage in the virtual development phase not only results in better overall engineering decisions, but it is wholly consistent with our Voice of the Customer approach to attribute engineering. This investment in our new simulator facility underlines our ongoing commitment at HORIBA MIRA to remain the market leaders by utilising the knowledge, experience and quality of our engineers with the latest engineering tools required to deliver first-class results for our customers.”
Guido Bairati, VP Global Sales & Marketing at VI-grade said, “We are happy to confirm the adoption and installation of our COMPACT Simulator at HORIBA MIRA. This demonstrates that testing activities and simulation are converging to develop better cars in shorter timeframes. Driving simulators provide engineers with subjective feedback earlier in the design cycle, enhance later-stage prototype testing and help to anticipate potential issues. The level of accuracy of VI-grade driving simulators make it possible to develop, test and fine-tune new vehicles with a precision never seen before.”
The VI-grade facility has been fully commissioned and is now operational as part of the company’s Vehicle Attribute Development Team’s services. The solution will ensure test and development timelines are shortened, costs are reduced and ultimately product performance is enhanced for the company’s OEM and Tier 1 customers.
Darmstadt, Germany, April 1st, 2021 – VI-grade today announced the acquisition of 100% of the outstanding shares of Concurrent Real-Time, Inc., a global provider of high-performance, real-time computational hardware and software solutions, from Battery Ventures, a Boston-based PE firm, for a purchase consideration of $166.7 million (£121.2 million) in cash, subject to customary closing conditions. The transaction is in line with VI-grade’s strategy to enhance and grow its market-leading simulator platform businesses and fully integrate Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) technology.
Headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida, USA, Concurrent Real-Time (Concurrent-RT) is a leading developer and supplier of hard real-time operating systems, software, and hardware that delivers simulation and control platforms for a wide range of mission-critical aerospace and automotive applications. As such, Concurrent-RT shares a number of end-markets with VI-grade where customers demand low-latency real-time solutions involving software-in-the-loop (SiL), hardware-in-the-loop (HiL), and people-in-the-loop (PiL).
The combination of the two businesses will build on VI-grade’s market-leading position in simulation software and simulator solutions by enhancing its dynamic performance, broadening its product portfolio, while improving its delivery capability and market reach. The combination will create a virtual simulation and testing company of scale in the high-growth R&D markets within automotive and aerospace and defence.
Concurrent-RT has approximately 115 employees spread across the U.S., Japan, China, and Europe.
The acquisition is expected to close in Q2 pending regulatory review and approvals.
Additional information on this transaction can be found at this link.
Darmstadt, Germany, March 24, 2021 – VI-grade today announced the “2021 Zero Prototypes Summit”, to be held on May 20th - 21st, 2021. This event expands on VI-grade’s previous virtual events and boasts an impressive slate of speakers from industry-leading companies using VI-grade’s simulation software and Driving Simulators to accelerate the vehicle development process. It will also feature a fully functional virtual exhibition area in which all sponsors and partners have an opportunity to showcase their solutions during dedicated sessions open to all participants.
This free-of-charge event is targeted towards executive-level engineering managers and experienced design engineers from the major automotive and transportation OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, universities and research centers worldwide. Held on May 20th, 2021 from 2:00pm to 6:00pm Central European Standard Time (CEST) with additional discipline- and partner-dedicated sessions on May 21st, the Zero Prototypes Summit will employ the most sophisticated web conferencing techniques available on the market to ensure seamless and uninterrupted streaming. In addition to the virtual event, VI-grade also plans to hold limited availability, in-person versions of the Summit in its advanced global SimCenters located in Udine (Italy), Millbrook (UK), Detroit (USA), and Tokyo (Japan), thus virtually connecting its worldwide community of customers, partners and followers.
Participants will gain insight into how the major players in the worldwide automotive industry currently use simulation and driving simulators to accelerate the development of new vehicles, thus enabling them to get ever closer to virtual sign-off. Keynote presentations will be delivered by executives from Goodyear, Multimatic, NIO and Stellantis. Technical presentations and other special contributions from our user community will be announced soon. Additionally, this year’s event will also offer application-specific virtual roundtables, giving the community the opportunity to exchange and discuss the latest trends in driving simulation.
“Building on the success of our 2020 Virtual International Conference, this year we are very excited to offer our community an enhanced, hybrid version of our main event” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing, VI-grade. “We are especially looking forward to providing our valued customers, partners and followers with a platform that enables participants to share their latest projects and advancements achieved with VI-grade solutions. More importantly, this allows them an opportunity to highlight the benefits and advantages gained by employing Driving Simulators in the vehicle development process.”
The event will also feature a fully functional virtual exhibition area in which all sponsors and partners will have the opportunity to present and showcase their solutions during dedicated sessions open to all participants. Confirmed sponsors of the Virtual Conference so far are: Applus+ IDIADA, Danisi Engineering, Rebel Dynamics, SAGInoMIYA, Altair, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, Cosin, HBK, MegaRide, Multimatic, 3D Mapping, domeprojection, Heeds, Imtec Engineering, Horiba Mira, Konrad Technologies, Rescale, Screenline, SimCoVR, Smart Eye. Additional sponsors and exhibitors are planned to be added in the coming days.
The 2021 Zero Prototypes Summit is free-of-charge and open to all. Register now at https://conference.vi-grade.com. Additional details about the event will be added to the VI-grade website as they become available.
Darmstadt, March 3rd, 2021 –VI-grade today announced the release of NVH Simulator 2021.0, the latest release of its NVH Simulator software.
This release incorporates significant new features and capabilities, and completely revises the pricing model and product structure to enable easier technology use and accessibility. The NVH Simulator solutions were recently incorporated into the VI-grade portfolio of automotive simulations solutions. These NVH simulation solutions, together with the rest of the VI-grade simulation solutions for ride and handling, ADAS and HMI applications, provide automotive product development professionals with the tools they need to accelerate product development across a wide range of automotive applications and from a single source.
VI-grade has continued to refine its NVH Simulator solutions over time, resulting in significant improvements in automotive product development efficiency. The importance and relevance of these solutions have been widely recognized by the automotive industry, given the mainstream usage and adoption of VI-grade’s solutions industry-wide. Because of the widespread adoption of VI-grade’s NVH Simulator solutions, VI-grade has comprehensively revised the product structure, licensing and pricing with the goal of making the NVH Simulator software more easily accessible, more scalable and overall more useful in the product development and innovation process.
“Many leading automakers and suppliers depend on the NVH Simulator to bring their sound and vibration data to life, to experience, understand, communicate and make decisions on NVH issues faster than ever before possible. Now more than ever, automotive engineers and designers rely on virtual prototypes, including NVH virtual prototypes, to accelerate the design process and make critical design decisions,” says Dave Bogema, Director of NVH Solutions at VI-grade. “The NVH Simulator technology has been provided through Brüel & Kjær for 15 years and has enjoyed the benefits of being developed under the auspices of Brüel & Kjær, who have a long tradition of excellence in sound and vibration innovation exceeding 75 years. With over 50 DESKTOP NVH Simulators and full-vehicle STATIC NVH Simulators installed and in use around the world, the NVH simulator solutions have become mainstream solutions for accelerating product development. With this release, we not only wanted to provide the usual abundance of new and expanded functionality, but also make the solutions more scalable and bring them within reach of everyone who can benefit from the NVH Simulator technology.”
The NVH Simulator solutions enable the highly accurate experience of sound and vibration data, and comprise a comprehensive set of solutions including desktop NVH simulators, full-vehicle static NVH simulators, in-vehicle/on-road simulators, exterior sound simulators, and sound solutions providing accurate sound in concert with any driving simulator. The NVH Simulator solutions are used by automotive engineers and designers worldwide to set and achieve targets, assess design options, conduct benchmark comparisons, design the sound of EVs and IC-engine vehicles, and communicate sound and vibration concepts and issues to decision-makers. These NVH solutions further integrate to the broader portfolio of VI-grade solutions for vehicle dynamics, ride, handling, HMI and ADAS.
Goodyear社のSenior Vice President and Chief Technology OfficerであるChris Helsel氏は、次のように述べています。「このレベルのシミュレーション能力は、技術的にリーダーシップを発揮する上で明らかに有利です。我々は常に開発プロセスを改善し、顧客に好まれるサプライヤーとしての地位を維持したいと考えています。」
VI-grade社のVice President Global Sales & MarketingのGuido Bairati氏は、次のように述べています。「Goodyear社に2台目のDiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulatorが採用されたことを報告できることを嬉しく思います。DiM250とCOMPACT Simulatorが欧米の各拠点に導入したことで、Goodyearはバーチャルタイヤ開発の最前線に立つことができ、自動車OEMとのコラボレーションや製品開発の加速化において、大きな競争力を得ることができます。」
Darmstadt, January 20, 2021 – VI-grade today announced that Nardò Technical Center, which has been operated by Porsche Engineering Group GmbH since 2012, created a virtual proving ground for its testing and engineering facility located in the city of Nardò, Apulia, Italy. Thanks to VI-GraphSim and VI-Road, it will be possible to use these road data files and graphic scenarios both for offline and online simulations. Additionally, the Nardò Technical Center virtual proving ground data files will be made available for purchase and rental on the VI-grade website from the beginning of 2021.
“We are glad of this collaboration with VI-grade; the virtualization of our tracks aligns perfectly with our strategy to become more and more an engineering center of excellence offering to our customers also a wide services portfolio”, said Antonio Gratis, Managing Director, Nardò Technical Center.“With the adoption of the VI-GraphSim and VI-Road software provided by VI-grade, we plan to further enhance our virtual testing capabilities, strengthening our virtual development and validation activities by offering virtual scenarios for different applications.”
“We are very pleased that the Nardò Technical Center chose to cooperate with VI-gradein order to provide digital tracks and virtual graphic scenario”, said Alessio Lombardi, South Europe & UK Sales Director, VI-grade.“This will help our customers take vehicle design decisions in a faster and more accurate manner, helping reduce dependence on physical prototypes through the opportunity of safely accessing a virtual version of their proving ground at a lower cost.”
With over 700 hectares of extension and a wide variety of testing tracks and facilities, the Nardò Technical Center ranks among the most important and renowned proving grounds (the unique 12,6 km Circular Track and the Car Dynamic Platform were recently fully renovated) as well as among the most safety ones for automotive OEMS and tire manufacturers worldwide. Particularly in the area of handling performance, the Nardò Technical Center, together with the Nürburgring, is one of the frequently used proving grounds in Europe, enabling a variety of durability, reliability, vehicle dynamics and tire tests. By taking full advantage of the synergies between physical and virtual testing, the Nardò Technical Center now has the possibility to further expand its testing capabilities, providing its customers with the digital clone of their tracks, which is also available on the VI-grade website from beginning of 2021.
VI-Road enables to prepare road data files for vehicle simulations and supports a series of advanced capabilities, such as the possibility of modeling kerbs and of specifying variable friction coefficients and track disturbances. The user interface grant access to specific tools for creating, manipulating and smoothing driver lines; thanks to an embedded solver, VI-Road enables to estimate the static limit speed profile for a given vehicle on a specified trajectory.
VI-GraphSim provides high-resolution and low-latency graphic environments for both static and dynamic Driving Simulators. VI-GraphSim, in conjunction with the usage of wide-screens, provides drivers with an immersive environment for a unique driving simulation experience: through the usage of different cameras it is possible to satisfy the needs of drivers and track engineers at the same time. VI-GraphSim includes a large variety of vehicle models from many different race series and from automotive OEMs and a large number of racing tracks.
Darmstadt (Germany), January 14, 2021 – VI-grade today announced the 2021 edition of the Virtual Formula competition.
Virtual Formula is a contest built upon the rules and regulations of the Formula SAE and Formula Student competitions. Participating teams can register free-of-charge and get access to VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s state-of-the-art simulation software, to find the best set-up for their car. Teams will have to optimize a given vehicle model virtually racing against all other teams on a selection of typical Formula Student dynamic events. The car with the best overall score will take the trophy.
In order to fully support all different vehicle configurations, and to line up with the rules and regulations of the Formula Student events, this year’s competition will once again feature two different categories, one reserved for combustion engines and one dedicated to electric drivetrain.
Additionally, this year’s competition will be divided in two subsequent phases: the OFFLINE phase and the ONLINE phase.
The OFFLINE phase will consist of optimizing the performance of a virtual racecar by minimizing the lap-time on given tracks.
The 3 best teams will be qualified for the ONLINE phase of the competition, in which they will race against each other on a DESKTOP Driving Simulator, using the cars they have designed and submitted at the end of the OFFLINE phase.
The team that scores the best combined ranking will win the competition and will be awarded with all top-notch Fanatec hardware and VI-grade software needed to upgrade the team’s Windows PC to a fully functional VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator as well as with a one-day session at one of VI-grade’s SimCenters located around the world.
Additional information, registration form and detailed schedule of the competition are available here: /virtualformula
Darmstadt, January 13, 2021 – VI-grade today announced that Australian racing team Walkinshaw Andretti United (WAU) adopted a combination of software and hardware technologies from VI-grade on their proprietary driving simulator. This solution will be used by the Team’s engineers, as well as drivers Chaz Mostert and Bryce Fullwood in the lead up, and during the 2021 season, to advance the Teams simulation program for 2021.
The partnership sees the VI-DriveSim simulation software from VI-grade, used in conjunction with Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Motum Simulator, for all simulation activities away from the racetrack. Additionally, thanks to the VI-Motorsport software based on a faster-than-real-time simulation solver which can predict the virtual car behavior, the Team managed to reduce the time needed to find the best set-up and explore more design variants in less time, extensively validating the simulation against test data in various race car series.
“It’s fantastic to be able to enter into a partnership with VI-grade, as we continue to advance our simulation program away from the racetrack” said Carl Faux, Technical Director, WAU. “Testing miles in our category are extremely limited, so whatever we can do while back at base to arrive at a racetrack with as much data and direction for car setup is going to be extremely advantageous to us. Their software provides us with instant analysis and feedback, from both the data in front of us, as well as the feedback from the driver on the simulator.”
“We have been using VI-grade software offline for a number of years, but now combining this with our Motum Simulator to do real Driver-in-Loop testing is a really exciting prospect, and one that the driver can provide information back to the engineers on feel of the car that sometimes gets lost in the purely virtual world” continued Faux. “Certainly, this is a giant step forward in the capabilities at WAU and something we are going to rely on heavily throughout the 2021 season.”
“We are excited to keep working with WAU and to move our collaboration to the next level, bringing our VI-DriveSim software suite on the simulator” says Guido Bairati, VP Sales & Marketing at VI-grade. “Off-line simulations are essential to design a good race car but getting the feedback from the real driver is essential to gain that little additional advantage that brings you on top of the grid. The realism of our real-time vehicle model in VI-Motorsport in conjunction with digitized tracks in VI-GraphSim will allow WAU drivers to prepare at best for their race weekends, finding the best set up for their car and the best driving strategy to stay ahead of competition.”
About Walkinshaw Andretti United
Walkinshaw Andretti United was born from three iconic organisations in world motorsport, Walkinshaw Racing, Andretti Autosport, and United Autosports. It fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Repco Supercars Championship. The three organisations cover the globe, with Walkinshaw Racing based in Australia, Andretti Autosport in America, and United Autosports in Europe.
The Team, originally Walkinshaw Racing, debuted as the Holden Racing Team in 1990, and is one of the most successful Supercars teams of all time, having amassed seven Bathurst wins (1990, 1996, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2009, 2011) and six driver championship wins (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002). Walkinshaw also produced two other driver championship wins with their HSV Dealer team (2006, 2007) bringing their total to eight.
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