VI-grade Leverages MapleSim for Vehicle Driving Simulator

By DE Editors

With support from Maplesoft, VI-grade, an engineering simulation software provider, has produced its driving simulator technology, VI-DriveSim Dynamic. This high-end driving simulator allows automotive OEMs and racing teams to test full vehicle configurations using a human driver and a virtual vehicle, the company says.

VI-DriveSim Dynamic enables the implementation of a new validation stage in the design cycle by letting real drivers drive the virtual car, the company says. Driver feedback can then be taken into account and improvements made before any physical prototypes are built.

The simulator works by running a virtual mathematical model of the vehicle and track, and linking it to a six-degree of freedom motion platform designed expressly for automotive requirements by Ansible Motion. The inputs to the virtual model are supplied by actions of the human driver in the simulator as he shifts, steers, brakes, and accelerates.  In turn, the platform controller provides real-time input to the platform actuators, according to what happens to the vehicle model as it responds to the inputs. 

An inverse kinematics/dynamics model of the motion platform is required so the software knows what changes to the platform will produce the correct forces on the driver to simulate the vehicle in motion. To accomplish this, Ansible Motion used Maplesoft's system-level modeling and simulation tool, MapleSim, to build the platform model, and to analytically solve for the inverse kinematic equations.

VI-Grade's flagship solution, VI-CarRealTime, powers the system with a real-time validated vehicle model.

For more information, visit Maplesoft and VI-grade.

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