Driving the future of automotive innovations

Use cases are growing every day with versatile simulators capable of testing all aspects of developing future ground vehicles (dynamics, user experience, autonomy, driver assistance, new powertrains) and providing much needed capacity to support manufacturers and suppliers.  

But there is another aspect that is a positive for the development and freedom of engineers to be, well, engineers. Here, Kia Cammaerts, Founder and Technical Director at Ansible Motion, discusses how Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL) simulation can help teams get back to the fundamentals of engineering.

Imagine what the world might look like now, had Frank Whittle never had the opportunity to explore his earliest ideas about the turbojet engine, or if Tim Berners-Lee ran out of time while developing what went on to become the World Wide Web. History is likely filled with unrealised inventions, thwarted by the pressures of time, financial constraints, technological limitations, or logistical challenges – bright ideas that we’ll never see.

Today, the automotive industry is in a state of flux, with the drive towards electrification reshaping almost every facet of vehicle design. Those developing the latest models are having to consider new ways to handle everything from heavy powertrains and low-slung battery packs, through to charge management and overall user experience. Couple that with the limited amount of time each department will get their hands on a prototype – and innovation becomes both a necessity and a challenge.

Of course, that isn’t the only hurdle. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), self-driving technology, the constant competition for the best in-car connectivity, and evolving business models – such as subscription services and shared – further intensify the competition for design resources while simultaneously increasing the need to accelerate development and reduce costs.

Although all this disruption has the potential to prompt innovation, it can also stifle it. And, navigating such turbulence is not without its risks, which prompts questions around whether there’s merit in pursuing novel solutions when proven ones exist, and the value proposition of introducing new technologies in the context of maintaining and elevating brand identity.

Enter research and simulation technologies such as DIL simulation, which tilt the odds in favour of vehicle development engineers. DIL simulation enables the creation of virtual prototypes for proof-of-concept investigations within a matter of days and at minimal cost, a stark contrast to the months and significant expenses required for physical prototypes – which can take more than half a million pounds to build.

Multiply that out across an entire prototype fleet, and it becomes easy to see why management might think twice before signing off a high-risk programme unless it can be supported by appropriately advanced tools and techniques.

DIL simulation largely removes the risks associated with these ‘what if?’ questions, while simultaneously expanding the sandbox. Imagine, for instance, that you were planning a new electric vehicle platform and pondering whether the dynamic benefits of running an individual motor for each wheel justified the additional packaging complexity. Or perhaps the outgoing model used MacPherson strut suspension and you wanted to evaluate whether the cost of re-engineering it for a double wishbone setup would be justified.

DIL simulation provides the freedom to pose these questions, months ahead of any physical builds or testing. It also provides an ongoing benefit with total freedom to vary the test conditions combined with laboratory-calibre repeatability.

Moreover, DIL simulation removes logistical concerns. It bypasses the unpredictability of physical testing venues affected by weather or location, reducing environmental impact, and saving time and money on shipping prototypes to cold winter testing sites, or hot desert proving grounds.

Where the real advantage lies, however, is placing a human driver (or occupant) inside the loop – interacting with and experiencing the vehicle. Human drivers bring an invaluable dimension to vehicle testing, perceiving nuances that may not be evident in numerical data alone. They provide critical feedback on factors such as ADAS system behaviour – such as Lane Keep Assist – and overall vehicle stability, which may fulfil all its on-paper design criteria, but only a human driver can judge whether it feels too intrusive or too eager to intervene.  

The benefits of placing a human-in-the-loop go way beyond subjective assessment, too. When we are in a car, we are experiencing an ongoing feedback loop with the vehicle, whereby each vehicle control input – say, a steering, throttle, or brake correction – is a carefully calculated response from our brain, based on dozens of different vehicle stimuli combined and interpreted by senses. Without those uniquely human interpretations and responses, it’s impossible to get truly representative inputs for, say, a test bench or an off-line vehicle simulation model.

Fundamentally, the human is a vital part of the equation, even when it’s a matter of collecting purely objective, numerical data.

Returning to the ADAS example – it could be that an aggressive intervention from an ostensibly assistive system might inadvertently trigger a human driver to overcorrect, ultimately doing more harm than good.

Another classic example is high performance optimisation related to overall vehicle stability. Pick a suspension and steering setup that’s too aggressive in terms of yaw from steer response, and it may theoretically be better, but you risk creating a car that even a Formula 1 driver would struggle to control.

It’s a careful balance of keeping engineering fundamentals in mind, while still being immersed in many new automotive technologies – as well as a having access to safe and robust exploratory tools such as DIL simulation.

Of course, there’s no denying that a DIL simulator is a considerable investment – but it’s one that pays for itself quite quickly. Continental, for example, invested in an Ansible Motion Delta series S3 simulator, and now, instead of a three-month process to create a physical prototype, tyres can now be tested and analysed within 90 minutes, enabling engineers to adapt designs to achieve desired characteristics in a much shorter timeframe.

It’s also worth noting that DIL simulators are becoming more accessible than ever. The Bay Zoltán Research Centre in Hungary recently began offering open access to another Delta series S3 simulator. Designed to be software-agnostic, their DIL simulator lab allows engineering teams to bring their own vehicle and environment models, created in virtually any major simulation environment. The Centre can even support customers who wish to build their own bespoke cabins to use on the motion system.

All of this means that it’s now easier than ever for engineers to delve into the important questions that surround modern vehicle design and development. Ultimately, DIL simulation and other cutting-edge tools provide the freedom to explore and innovate, by making use of advanced technologies that are commensurate with the advanced state of contemporary automobiles. In a world that’s all too frequently constrained by budgets or logistics or technology itself, it is nice to know that there are tools that enable engineers to focus on engineering once more.