VI-grade’s 2024 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit, with over 1,200 Attendees, Marks Record Success

Udine, Italy, May 23rd, 2024 – VI-grade, the global provider of human-centric simulation-driven vehicle development solutions, today announced the official recap of its record-breaking 2024 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit. Held from May 14-16 at VI-grade’s SimCenter in Udine, Italy, the event achieved record attendance with 300 in-person participants and over 900 virtual attendees via LinkedIn and SAE’s live-streamed webinar platform, marking the largest gathering to date for VI-grade’s global driving simulation community.

The Summit’s theme, ‘Join us on the Road to Zero Prototypes’ encapsulated the transition towards a prototype-free development process and virtual sign-off, acknowledging the significant value inherent in the process itself.  Achieving Zero Prototypes remains the ultimate development goal, and VI-grade customers successfully demonstrated the significant progress they’ve already made along this journey during the three-day event.

According to the post-event survey, 96% of attendees plan to return to the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit next year, a sentiment echoed by the overwhelmingly positive feedback received:

“Although I had no doubts it would be just as great as the 2023 edition, your team delivered yet another truly fascinating event that ran like clockwork. I was overwhelmed by the time I got back with all the exciting conversations over the course of the week.“ - Charlie Smith, Virtual Vehicle Team (EG/PV), Bentley Motors

“A very successful event with a well-chosen group of attendees, exciting presentations, and plenty of time for intensive technical discussions. The experience of the most relevant and latest technologies around the simulator is unique.”- Jonas Grötzinger, Senior Expert in Vehicle Motion & Performance Vehicles at EDAG Group.
 

The 2024 ZPS featured 25 keynote and technical presentations along with three engaging podium discussions led by renowned simulation thought leaders from the global automotive industry. These industry experts demonstrated how they leverage VI-grade’s simulation, driving simulators, and Hardware-in-the-Loop technologies to accelerate new vehicle development, bringing them ever close to realizing the vision of Zero Prototypes.

Day 1 of the summit highlighted presentations from market leading companies such as Applus+ IDIADA, Automobili Lamborghini, Bugatti Rimac, EDAG Group, HBK, Mahindra & Mahindra, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Benz, Politecnico di Milano.  A panel discussion on the future of customer experience in automotive technology included experts from Applus+ IDIADA, Automobili Lamborghini, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche AG, and Virtual Vehicle Research Institute.

On Day 2, attendees were treated to presentations from Bentley, Giti Tire, Goodyear, Hitachi Astemo, Honda R&D Europe, HORIBA MIRA, Meccanica 42, MegaRide and Multimatic. Discussion panels focused on building synergies between automotive OEMs and suppliers, featuring experts from Bosch, Ferrari, Goodyear, HORIBA MIRA, and HTW Berlin.  Additional panel discussions highlighted advancements in ADAS via driving simulator calibration with speakers from Automobili Lamborghini, Ford Werke, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche, and VI-grade.

Summit proceedings an video content will be shared on VI-grade's Website and YouTube channel as it becomes available. The official after movie recap of the event can be found at this link.
 

A significant highlight of the 2024 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit was the launch of the new DiM Full Spectrum Simulator (DiM FSS). This new simulator captivated attendees with its revolutionary ability to deliver full vehicle motion, vibration, and sound in a single immersive experience. Building on the success of the 2023 COMPACT Full Spectrum Simulator, the DiM FSS is the first real-time, driver-in-the-loop simulator to provide accurate sensory integration across the complete spectrum from 0 to 20kHz. Employing a three-stage system to deliver precise vehicle dynamics, it also includes a state-of-the-art “Hyperdock” cockpit equipped with vibration transducers at key driver touchpoints.

The Hyperdock's innovative design significantly reduces inertia by 70%, lowers the center of mass by 200mm, and increases structural stiffness by a factor of 10. These enhancements result in unparalleled realism and immersion, allowing engineers and developers to evaluate virtual prototypes in a manner that closely mirrors real-world driving conditions. The DiM FSS will benefit a wide range of applications, from vehicle dynamics and motorsports to ride comfort, ADAS, and autonomous vehicle testing.
 

"The 2024 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit was an extraordinary success, revealing impressive metrics. We had over 1,200 connected attendees, including 300 in-person attendees from 117 automotive companies. We delivered 556 interactive demo sessions over two days, showcasing our vision of Zero Prototypes through our simulation software, driving simulators, and hardware-in-the-loop technologies. We heard from 25 high-level keynote and technical presentations on how our customers are using our tools to achieve virtual sign-off and reduce reliance on physical prototypes. And of course, none of this would have been possible without the support of our 26 sponsoring partners,” commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade. 

VI-grade extends its gratitude to the following industry partners for their support and sponsorship of the 2024 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit:

German version available here