Darmstadt, January 25th, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced receiving three separate orders for DYNAMIC Driving Simulators in Q4, 2021. These orders, from both new and existing customers, were placed by automotive customers located in APAC and EMEA. The orders consist of a DiM400, a DiM500, and a DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator, reflecting the growing need of driver-in-the-loop simulators tailored to different workspaces and functional requirements.

These three new dynamic driving simulators will be installed in 2022 and are in addition to the orders for 20 other DESKTOP, COMPACT, COMPACT NVH and STATIC Simulators VI-grade received in 2021.

Driving simulators are the ultimate automotive development tool, and VI-grade’s driving simulators are the industry standard. Regardless of the type of vehicle developed, the discipline being addressed, the frequency range investigated, or the amount of available space in the engineering facilities, VI-grade’s product line boasts a driving simulator to meet any development need. VI-grade Driving Simulators are complete, unique and open solutions. 

• Complete - because they are turn-key solutions and span the entire design cycle from concept to sign-off
• Unique - because they are based on innovative, patented architecture perfectly tailored to simultaneously reproduce accurate low-frequency chassis behavior and high-frequency body behavior
• Open - because they easily interface with commonly used 3rd party software that’s required for the development process. 

“We are beyond excited to welcome both new and existing customers to the ever-growing community of VI-grade driving simulator users”, commented Guido Bairati, Managing Director of VI-grade. “Despite the many challenges we faced in 2021, our team was able to secure 23 new orders, with both brand-new customers and existing users of our technology. Our driving simulators provide unique development solutions that will let them significantly reduce their reliance on and use of physical prototypes. This will reduce their overall development costs across multiple engineering disciplines.”

Darmstadt, Germany, December 16th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the 2022 edition of the “ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit” (ZPS), to be held on May 18th – 19th, 2022. The two-day event catering to the global driving simulator community will take place at VI-grade’s state-of-the-art technology SimCenter facility in Udine, located in the north-east of Italy. 

The 2022 ZPS comes on the heels of the highly successful previous virtual ZPS summit which drew over 2,000 participants, despite being held virtually due to the Covid pandemic.  In May of 2022, VI-grade will return to hosting a physical ZPS event, which will be held at its major technical development center in Udine, Italy. 
Recognizing that not all customers, partners and followers can attend a physical event, VI-grade plans to also organize a simultaneous live broadcast of all summit presentations so that its global community can also benefit from the conference content. This content will also be available on-demand after the event.

The ZPS event is targeted towards executive-level engineering managers and experienced design engineers from the major automotive OEMs, Tier1 suppliers, motorsport teams, universities, and research centers worldwide and boasts an impressive slate of speakers from industry-leading companies actively using VI-grade’s technology in their product development processes. With application-specific driving simulator sessions and high-caliber keynote and technical presentations on May 18th-19th, participants will gain insight into how the major players in the worldwide automotive industry use VI-grade’s cutting-edge simulation, driving simulators and hardware-in-the-loop technologies to accelerate the development of new vehicles, getting ever closer to virtual sign-off with “Zero Prototypes”.  

By holding this event in Udine, attendees will have the unique opportunity to experience VI-grade’s extensive product line of driving simulators live and in action at the SimCenter Udine. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to directly experience how truly advanced VI-grade’s driving simulator platform is. Six of VI-grade’s extensive driving simulator family will be available for attendees to experience:

•    DESKTOP Simulator
•    COMPACT Simulator
•    STATIC Simulator
•    DYNAMIC DiM150 Simulator
•    Cable-Driven DiM400 Simulator
•    as well as the recently launched, unique and state-of-the-art COMPACT NVH Simulator.

VI-grade’s parent company, HBK, recently formed the Virtual Test Division, whose mission is to accelerate product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing. In alignment with this mission, the ZPS will also premiere a series of HiL rigs aimed at demonstrating how embedded controllers can be tested with actual hardware components (i.e. steering, brake, camera, and others) that simulate real world conditions long before the final system is integrated. 

In addition to technical presentations on May 18th-19th, the ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit will also feature a technical showcase area where partner companies can present their solutions and technologies. A series of software update workshops dedicated to VI-grade’s flagship software products will also be available. All registered attendees are invited to an informal “Ice Breaker” social event in the afternoon of May 17th. Location and further details will be announced later.

“Despite the enormous success of our previous two virtual conferences, we are beyond excited to return with a physical event in May 2022 and to invite our valued customers, partners and followers to our renowned SimCenter Udine”, said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing, VI-grade. “This is a great opportunity for us to demonstrate the entire vision of the Virtual Test Division, which focuses on providing real-time software, simulator and hardware-in-the-loop solutions to our community. We are especially looking forward to learning about our customers’, partners’ and followers’ latest projects and advancements which have been achieved using VI-grade’s cutting-edge simulation solutions”. 

Registration for the 2022 ZERO PROTOTYPES Summit is now open. Join the ZPS2022 Community now at the link https://conference.vi-grade.com/ and stay informed about this exceptional event.

Darmstadt, Germany, December 3rd, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the 2021.3 release of its signature software product suite. The release includes major product updates and several usability enhancements for VI-CarRealTime, VI-WorldSim as well as the driving simulator platform, VI-DriveSim. 

The 2021.3 release of VI-CarRealTime, VI-grade’s flagship real-time vehicle simulation environment, features multiple benefits for users:

• New, alternative modelling approaches: 
  • This release introduces a new, alternative modelling approach featuring templates for typical suspension architectures in addition to the traditional curve-based modelling approach. This approach enables a direct hardpoint and bushing based parametrization within the VI-CarRealTime user interface, highlighting the built-in Investigation Mode to setup DOEs. 
• Additional new features include
  • Advanced obfuscation with a vehicle parameters override file, which facilitates collaboration between partners and suppliers; 
  • An updated model conversion process from Adams Car to VI-CarRealTime;  
  • Multiple runtime selectable EPS maps.

VI-WorldSim, VI-grade’s user-friendly, fully integrated graphic environment focused on ADAS development, is now available with offline analysis capabilities.  This is a major enhancement which allows users to run VI-WorldSim independently from VI-DriveSim, so they can focus on offline experiments. Offline usage is enabled through a direct Simulink integration with sensor data compatibility with standard Mathworks toolboxes and a seamless integration with VI-CarRealTime offline plant models.

Additional new features in the latest VI-WorldSim release include:

• Improved processes for importing user-defined road environments based on Roadrunner,  Mathworks’ interactive 3D editor 
• Multiple new public road and race track environments including Wolfsburg, Calabogie, Hockenheim and many more. 

Finally, the 2021.3 update also includes enhancements for VI-DriveSim, VI-grade’s software platform enabling easy and complete control of driving simulator components. The 2021.3 release introduces unified firmware for Active Brake and Steering, integrated support for Cable-driven Simulators (DiM400 and above) and Actuator-based simulators (DiM150 and DiM250) in the same build.

“I’m extremely pleased to announce this important software update to VI-grade’s signature software product suite,” said Roberto De Vecchi, VI-grade Product Development Manager.  “Version 2021.3 is an especially significant update to our VI-CarRealTime platform.  VI-CarRealTime users will gain considerable capabilities with this update, including impressive new parameterization capabilities for VI-CarRealTime’s investigation mode. In addition, the new offline version of VI-WorldSim gives users the ability to first develop ADAS algorithms entirely on their desktop PC and then use the online version of the software to validate their functionality with the driving simulator.”
   
Diego Minen, CTO of VI-grade stated, “The new Wolfsburg urban scenario available in VI-WorldSim is the most realistic traffic driving experience I have ever been exposed to on a driving simulator”, in addressing the caliber of new enhancements to VI-WorldSim’s graphic environments.

The 2021.3 software release, including a detailed list of new features and enhancements, is now available for download.  Registered users can access and download version 2021.3 by logging into their accounts at /en/reserved_area/software_download/VI-grade_Software_Suite_2021_3/ 

Darmstadt (Germany), October 20th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced their participation in the 2021 Automotive Testing Expo Conference and Exhibition (ATE) in Novi, Michigan, taking place October 26-28, 2021. VI-grade is joining forces in Novi with its partner and the leading global provider of high-performance real-time computer systems, Concurrent Real-Time. The two companies, part of HBK’s Virtual Test Division, will showcase their combined set of real-time software, simulator, and Hardware-in-the-Loop solutions that virtually test products throughout the development cycle, thereby helping companies accelerate innovation and reduce time-to-market.

VI-grade’s scalable and upgradeable driving simulator product line has for several years relied on Concurrent Real-Time’s computation solutions to deliver hard real-time performance for the most sophisticated Hardware-in-the-Loop and Driver-in-the-Loop simulation. The innovative off-line and real-time simulation solutions from VI-grade and Concurrent Real-Time featured at ATE Novi are designed to help customers accelerate innovation, reduce time-to-market and improve their competitive advantage in a sustainable way.

“Customers need to reduce the number of physical prototypes and time-to-market while increasing innovation. Simulators are a great platform to employ to develop innovative vehicles in a faster and safer way” said Guido Bairati, VP of Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “VI-grade’s driving simulators, powered by Concurrent Real-Time’s hard real-time technology, constitute a comprehensive set of Hardware-in-the-Loop testing solutions that let automotive components be tested under real-life conditions as if they were in a real prototype.  Our customers are already using precisely this technology to test real steering, braking, cameras and other hardware components in-the-loop with the help of a driving simulator.”

The driving simulator featured at the shared booth will demonstrate the advantages of VI-grade’s VI-Certified program. This program ensures the seamless operation of not only VI-grade software solutions, but also ensures that all major 3rd party applications work natively on VI-grade driving simulators. This seamless and native operation translates into saved time and money for customers during deployment. The booth simulator will also incorporate a Hardware-in-the-Loop setup with FPGA I/O connecting the simulated vehicle model to an ECU. 

Also showcased will be the RedHawk KVM-RT solution, which provides guaranteed real-time performance in virtual machines with RedHawk Linux as the host operating system. The demo features a powerful 24-core AMD system with VI-grade’s VI-CarRealTime and VI-WorldSim delivers the computational prowess, I/O bandwidth, and fast response times in a unique, single system solution. 

VI-grade’s and Concurrent Real-Time’s combined Hardware-in-the-Loop and Driver-in-the-Loop Solutions can be experienced live and in action at booth #6001 at the 2021 Automotive Testing Expo Conference and Exhibition in Novi, Michigan taking place October 26-28, 2021.

Darmstadt, October 13th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing,  today announced that long-term customer and partner Applus+ IDIADA has expanded its virtual development services in China with a new VI-grade DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator. The Driving Simulator has been installed at the IDIADA Proving Ground in Zhaoyuan, China and is already fully operative. 

This state-of-the-art facility is capable of generating longitudinal, lateral and rotational acceleration forces of up to 2.5 g. It features extremely low latency and high frequency and enables the simulation of a wide range of vehicle dynamic maneuvers and complex driving situations.

The new DiM250 DYNAMIC Driving Simulator opens up unique virtual testing possibilities for IDIADA’s engineering teams in areas such as chassis development, vehicle dynamics, ADAS, autonomous driving and Human Factor applications at a very early stage of the vehicle development process. By exploiting the synergies between physical and virtual testing, it will be possible to generate and correlate models in an optimal context with the ability to use IDIADA’s tracks, available as road data files and high-resolution graphics.  

 “We have been contributing to the development of new mobility solutions with our continuous innovation and state-of-art technologies.”, commented Alexandre Català, Managing Director of IDIADA China. “The availability of optimum Driver-in-the-loop solutions allows us to combine them with our proving ground, providing unique development methods that minimize the use of prototypes, thus, reducing the critical development path and overall costs.”

In reference to the advantages for clients regarding the fact of having a new Driving Simulator as part of IDIADA China’s facilities, Català states that “our expertise in building complex and realistic vehicle models, the virtual representation of IDIADA test tracks and the performance of the DiM250 offers a unique solution for advanced vehicle development now in the Chinese market.”

“For years now, VI-grade has helped our customers in the automotive industry bridge the gap between testing and simulation with the introduction of driving simulators to the development cycle.”, declared Guido Bairati, Vice President for Sales & Marketing at VI-grade. “By installing our industry-leading simulator technology at a world-renowned proving ground, IDIADA has successfully shown that employing driving simulators in the development cycle improves product quality and reduces overall development time.”

Darmstadt, October 7^th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the 2022 edition of the Virtual Formula competition, which for the first time ever will exclusively employ the use of driving simulators.

Formula SAE and Formula Student teams have until October 31^st, 2021 to register for the competition, a free-of-charge event which gives them access to VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s state-of-the-art motorsport simulation software. Teams also will receive a DESKTOP Simulator software license including VI-DriveSim and VI-GraphSim. Using VI-grade’s cutting edge simulator software tools, all teams will be required to create a digital twin of their car and to optimize its performance, in preparation for the actual competition on the driving simulator. VI-grade will provide teams with a set of predefined offline maneuvers that can be used to test the vehicle model with the help of the VI-Motorsport software.

The teams will be then invited to compete in an online race using their simulators, driving their previously optimized cars on a digitized version of a racetrack. The team scoring the best lap time will win the competition and be awarded with the industry-leading Fanatec hardware and VI-grade software required to upgrade the team’s Windows PC to a fully functional VI-grade DESKTOP Simulator. The winner will also receive a free-of-charge one-day session at one of VI-grade’s global SimCenters.

“Launching the 2022 edition of the Virtual Formula earlier than in previous years better aligns the competition with the schedules of Formula SAE and Formula Student.”, said Guido Bairati, VP Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “This regulatory change allows the participating teams to virtually optimize their vehicles with the help of VI-Motorsport and their driving simulators. And, like OEMs and professional Motorsport Teams, they can leverage the obtained results to better perform in the real races.”

To fully support the wide range of vehicle configurations, this year’s competition will once again feature two different categories: one reserved for combustion engines, and one dedicated to electric drivetrains. VI-grade will again host a series of webinars and Q&A sessions to introduce all participating teams via dedicated software training sessions to the real-life automotive industry workflows and challenges in vehicle development.

Additional information, registration form, technical specifications and requirements and detailed schedule of the competition are available here.
 

Darmstadt (Germany), September 7^th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced the launch of its new COMPACT NVH Simulator at the SAE Noise and Vibration Conference & Exhibition in Grand Rapids, Michigan taking place September 7-9, 2021. The new COMPACT NVH Simulator addresses what had been until now the unmet need of development engineers at both OEMs and suppliers to fully and accurately experience vibration at all driver touch points, along with noise, but in a small footprint.   

Coupled with the NVH Simulator software, the COMPACT NVH Simulator brings NVH virtual prototypes to life, making it easy to understand and evaluate NVH data and make decisions on NVH designs and content​.  Not only does the new COMPACT NVH Simulator combine the desktop size and proximity for ease of use and access with the full static vibration capabilities of the STATIC NVH Simulator, it does all of this at a lower price point, making it much more affordable than a full-scale simulator.  And, thanks to its small footprint, it can be easily accommodated in the engineering office.

“To achieve an exceptionally stiff structure capable of delivering controlled, accurate vibrations to the evaluator, we have decided to make extensive usage of carbon fiber in our COMPACT NVH Simulator. Both the frame and the steering wheel are made of carbon fiber, ensuring that no vibration modes affect the response, allowing for accurate vibration experience.” said Dave Bogema, Director of NVH Solutions, VI-grade. “Multiple electrodynamic shakers are used in the design to provide high vibration levels over a wide frequency range. An integrated touchscreen interface allows evaluators to easily control the simulator and provide feedback on the vehicles they are experiencing”.

“Our brand new COMPACT NVH Simulator can be applied to numerous areas, providing realistic evaluation of road noise and vibration on various surfaces, road impacts, powertrain NVH phenomena like cylinder deactivation, engine start/stop, idle, lugging boom, and many others”, said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales & Marketing, VI-grade. “The COMPACT NVH Simulator provides automakers and suppliers with the means to experience the NVH characteristics of vehicles and the impact of various systems and components long before prototypes are available. We are confident that our global customers will greatly appreciate and take advantage of this technology.”

The COMPACT NVH Simulator can be experienced live and in action at the VI-grade booth (#310) at the SAE Noise and Vibration Conference & Exhibition in Grand Rapids, Michigan, taking place Sept. 7-10.

Anyone who cannot experience the COMPACT NVH Simulator live and in action at our booth is invited to join us for our virtual launch event on September 23rd, 2021 @ 10am EDT | 4pm CEST to discover more about this new Driving Simulator. Registration free-of-charge at this link.
 

Darmstadt (Germany), Jul 14th, 2021 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, today announced driving simulator product line extensions that allow customers to flexibly configure and upgrade their simulators over time.
 
Previously, customers needed to decide up-front exactly what capabilities and performance they expected to need in their driving simulator and budget accordingly.  Now, VI-grade is introducing the ability to start with a full cockpit static simulator and upgrade as needed.  To facilitate upgrades, the Company has introduced a hexapod-only motion platform, the DiM50, that is fully consistent with the upper stage of the existing DiM150 and DiM250 simulators. 

The DiM50 simulator is an entry-level dynamic simulation solution for those needing to perform ride and ADAS simulation, as well as basic handling maneuvers and provides a higher degree of realism with respect to a STATIC Simulator at an attractive price point. Sharing the same industry-leading hexapod architecture already featured in VI-grade’s popular DYNAMIC Driving Simulator models DiM150 and DiM250, the DiM50 represents a natural evolution of VI-grade’s STATIC Simulator technology and can be further upgraded to a 9 degrees of freedom DiM150 or DiM250 model through the addition of a baseframe and three planar motion actuators. DiM50 features a wide array of automotive applications ranging from ride & comfort, basic vehicle dynamics and control system design, up to HMI/ADAS applications and driver training in motorsports.

DiM50 joins the extensive line fully scalable, configurable, and upgradeable driving simulators from VI-grade, which span from desk-size simulators up to full-scale dynamic simulators. As with all VI-grade driving simulators, the DiM50 incorporates a wide array of features, including:

• VI-grade’s software stack
• proven motion platform
• active components (seats, belts, brakes, …)
• hard-real-time computing platform
• customizable cockpits
• HiL-ready architecture

The DiM50 also provides unparalleled flexibility by supporting 3rd party software components through VI-grade’s open environment in line with the VI-Certified program.

“We are very excited to address an unmet market need with a new driving simulator that further expands our existing product line” said Diego Minen, Chief Technology Officer, VI-grade. “DiM50 leverages the same, proven hexapod technology already featured in our widely used DiM150 and DiM250 and lets users perform ride analysis, ADAS testing and vehicle dynamics simulation with greater and enhanced realism compared to a STATIC Simulator.”

“Today’s DiM50 announcement offers our clients and the market an unprecedented opportunity to purchase a dynamic simulator with a superior degree of realism combined with a low price point. But what makes the DiM50 stand out is that it enables to preserve its investment by providing a potential upgrade path to DiM150 and DiM250.” added Guido Bairati, VP Sales and Marketing, VI-grade. “We believe that DiM50 presents the ideal solution in terms of compromise between performance and investment which lends itself well to universities, research centers, suppliers and motorsport teams as well as automotive OEMs that already invested in bigger simulators.”