Driving simulators have traditionally been viewed as standalone development tools, something to be operated by a handful of specialists at arm’s length from the organization's traditional testing function. Yet this shouldn’t be the case.
DIL systems can easily slot into existing automotive test environments and toolchains and be able to be used by the whole organization. This has never been more important than today, particularly with the development and validation of ADAS and AD controllers, where driver behavior researchers need to work alongside automotive engineers to validate human reaction to a vehicle’s decisions.
Luckily, there are fewer and fewer barriers to adding a driving simulator to the armory of an OEM or Tier 1’s test tools. It’s a lot easier than people think and we believe (of course!) that every department should have access to a driver-in-the-loop simulator. By adding a human driver at the earliest possible stage of the development process, engineers can validate and make design choices sooner and with greater confidence, resulting in better designs, shorter development time, less cost building prototypes and reduced environmental impact. Moreover, the use of DIL simulators helps close the gap between subjective assessment using real vehicle prototypes and objective assessment using offline simulations.
Cruden’s ePhyse open-architecture interface integrates seamlessly with engineers’ existing CAE tools such as vehicle models, traffic simulation and sensor simulation, as well as with hardware test rigs. We make this possible via our open architecture hardware and software and the use of conversion tools. We have also undertaken integration work with the suppliers of third-party packages commonly used in the automotive world, to avoid the need for complicated set-up work by our customers.
We understand the role of the driving simulator as part of a larger development toolchain. Our driving simulators are a flexible and accessible gateway from which the entire testing function can benefit, connecting human drivers and passengers with new and adapted vehicle systems during the design phase. In the past year, we have helped many hardware-in-the-loop engineers add human driver input to their testing with only a modest investment.
One of the many use cases of driving simulators is the evaluation of false positives from ADAS and AD controllers. With a DIL simulator, these false positives can be tested on human drivers in order to evaluate the impact on driver safety and comfort. Understanding the reaction of the driver in the loop is essential in determining how to deal with situations where a controller might draw the wrong conclusion.
We will be exhibiting our standard Cruden AS2 simulator (a motion-based driving simulator housed within a 200-degree, 3 meter high cylindrical projection screen) at the Automotive Testing Expo Europe 2019 (Stuttgart; May 21st-23rd; Hall 8, Stand 8630). It will feature components from various third-party suppliers including the vehicle model, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) hard real-time package as well as content and graphics.
For more information, please contact Dennis Marcus via d.marcus@cruden.com or on +31 20 707 4646.
