PANTHERA FREE

Welcome to the download area for Panthera Free, Cruden’s no-cost, license-free version of its Panthera simulation software. Users can run simulations, modify and expand vehicle models, add interfaces to hardware and use custom cars and tracks.

Panthera Free opens a new door to endless driving simulations and vehicle modelling creations. There is nothing like this available at the moment in the market. Users can download Panthera Free, via this link.

Panthera Free forum

We’ve launched a forum where you can join and access support from a community of Panthera Free users. Please note that Cruden is not able to provide user support for Panthera Free. Follow this link to our Panthera Free forum.

FAQs

What is Panthera Free?

Panthera Free is Cruden’s no-cost version of its Panthera driver simulator software suite. It can be used with almost any vehicle model including VI-grade, IPG CarMaker, veDYNA, CarSim, Dymola, dSPACE ASM or SIMPACK for single channel desktop simulations. Or, users can take our in-house developed Simulink vehicle model, CSVM-Lite, which comes as part of the package.

Panthera Free includes:

Panthera Core – the main simulation engine that enables users to simulate and visualize cars modelled in Simulink or using the internal vehicle model

ePhyse – the integration layer for Matlab Simulink

CSVM Lite – a Simulink vehicle model for driver-in-the-loop simulation that can be modified by the user at will

Session Manager Lite – the user front-end for configuring and controlling a simulation

TrackEd – Editor to prepare tracks for use in Panthera

Documentation

Who can use it?

Anyone! There are no license restrictions. Panthera Free has been designed to free automotive and motorsport engineers and students from workplace and university software license restrictions.

What can I do with Panthera Free?

Users will be able to run simulations, modify and expand vehicle models, add interfaces to hardware and use custom cars and tracks. They will be able to interface with the vehicle model they choose and hook up to a steering wheel and pedals. We’ve held nothing back – every feature of the professional Panthera software that is needed within the desktop simulation environment is included.

What can’t I do with Panthera Free?

Visualisation in Panthera Free is limited to a single channel. For multiple screens, motion platforms, force feedback steering systems, dashboard, audio etc. users will need to purchase additional elements within the full Panthera software suite.

Important installation requirements:

Hardware

Computer hardware requirements are quite minimal. However, it is recommended to run Panthera Free on a multicore processor with considerable computational power (at least e.g Intel i7 with 3.0GHz) and sufficient memory (at least 4Gb)

GPU hardware is required, an nVidia GTX560 is considered the bare minimum. Intel internal graphics are supported, but result in extremely simple graphics. ATI GPUs are currently not supported.

Input devices are required to drive the simulated vehicle. Panthera has support for most computer joysticks and both a Logitech G27 and G920 driving system have been pre-configured. If no joystick-like system is available, the car can be driven using the mouse.

Software

Basic knowledge of computers in general and Matlab Simulink in particular is required to use the software package. The ePhyse Net environment resides in Matlab Simulink. The following Matlab toolboxes and components are required to run the Panthera Free package:

– Matlab
– Simulink
– Simscape
– SimMechanics
– SimDriveline
– Simulink Coder

Panthera Free can be used in combination with Matlab 2013b 32-bits and 64-bits, as well as younger versions. Matlab versions older than 2013b are not supported. Note that some Matlab student licenses can only handle Simulink models with no more than 1000 blocks. The Simulink vehicle model in this Panthera Free package consists of approximately 5100 blocks and can therefore not be handled using such licenses.

Optionally, the user can generate additional tracks and/or alternative car graphics. In order to do so, licenses for 3D Studio Max and an image manipulation program (e.g. Adobe Photoshop) are required, as well as working knowledge of these programs.

Panthera Installation
Panthera Free can run from a single directory and therefore does not require a full installation procedure. To install the Cruden software, simply run the installer which will extract to C:\Cruden\.

If you choose to use an alternative location, the ePhyseNet configuration file should be updated. To do so, use your favourite text editor to open ephysenet.ini from

\Cruden\Panthera_Free\data\cars\
Formula_student\ephyse_net\v0

In this ASCII file, at the top, modify the parameters local_dir and remote_dir. Panthera Free requires Microsoft C++ redistributables to be installed on the system. Several offline installers are included in the package and can be found in \Cruden\Install\. On most systems installing vcredist_x86_vc2013.exe is sufficient. This was attempted as part of the installer that ran on your system to install Panthera Free previously.