BMW Group and Ansys Co-Developing Simulation Software

Ansys and the BMW Group are extending their collaboration to create an end-to-end tool chain specifically guided by safety principles to develop and validate ADAS and automated/autonomous driving functions. Through this collaboration, the BMW Group is leveraging Ansys' capabilities to reportedly be one of the first automotive manufacturers to offer Level 3 (L3) highly automated driving to consumers. 

The BMW Group will use Ansys software solutions as part of its tool chain that defines test plans, pilots its execution, and gathers and compiles data-critical system information. With Ansys software capabilities, engineers can achieve design optimization and orchestration of simulated workflows faster. Using specific algorithms, the software efficiently and automatically searches for the most robust design configuration to help make decisions early in the design process, Ansys reports.

The BMW Group and Ansys extend their collaboration in the co-development of a simulation tool chain for automated and autonomous driving. Image courtesy of BMW.

"Autonomous driving is one of the key challenges of the automotive industry," says Prith Banerjee, chief technology officer at Ansys. "It will solely be achievable with state-of-the-art software solutions that are cloud-native, scalable, fit for massive data, open and extensible. The automated tool chain uses real-time drive data and the scalability of Ansys simulation solutions to improve the accuracy and reliability of AV applications and remove perceived cost barriers to their development."

"Achieving level 3 autonomy is a key differentiator for us, and an opportunity to demonstrate our high-level of technical innovation in this area," says Nicolai Martin, senior vice president, Driving Experience at the BMW Group. "We are continuously searching for more comfort, for more intelligence, and more convenience to deliver the safest, most pleasurable driving experience for our customers. To support us in these efforts, we choose Ansys as a partner because of its strong simulation background over several domains, as well as its engineering know-how and experience with statistics and scenario analysis in the autonomous space."

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.