11th Conference dedicated to the worldwide VI-grade community to be held in Hanau (Frankfurt), Germany on May 13th-15th, 2019
Marburg, March 6, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the first round of sponsors and speakers of the 2019 edition of its International Conference, as well the location of the Ice-Breaker event.
The event, dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers all over the world, is to be held at the Congress Park conference center in the city of Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany, on May 14-15, 2019.
The conference will feature several keynote and technical presentations from renowned representatives from worldwide automotive manufacturers, suppliers and research centers such as: Applus IDIADA, Benteler Automotive, Danisi Engineering, FCA LATAM, Fondazione Democenter, Fraunhofer ITWM, Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center GmbH, Konrad Technologies, MAGNA STEYR Fahrzeugtechnik, Maserati, Multimatic, Roborace, Transpolis, Volvo Car Corporation, Showa. Further details on the content of the presentations – mostly oriented to topics such as real-time simulation, HIL, SIL, traffic simulation and ADAS, autonomous driving, vehicle energy efficiency and tire modeling – as well as additional speakers will be announced later on.
Additionally, in occasion of our traditional ice-breaker event, all conference attendees will be invited to an informal get-together at Honda Europe R&D center in Offenbach on May 13th at 6pm to see the world’s first fully installed DiM250 driving simulator live and in action. In a relaxed atmosphere, guests will have the opportunity to discuss the latest trends and forthcoming driving simulation technologies and also to network among the industry.
“We are looking forward to giving our ever-growing international community an opportunity to share the latest projects and advancements realized using our simulation solutions with an experienced audience” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales, VI-grade.
The event is produced thanks to the precious support of a growing list sponsors and partners that already includes confirmed participation from Danisi Engineering and Saginomiya (Platinum Sponsors); Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, DomeProjection, SimCoVr, MSC Software, Todema (Golden Sponsors); 3D Mapping, BE CAE&Test, CSM, Horiba Mira, Konrad Technologies, Megaride, Millbrook Proving Ground, Multimatic, Rescale, SmartEye, Virtual Vehicle Research Institute (Silver Sponsors)and with the technical sponsorship of “Flow the Kitchen” Catering.
Additional details on the conference program (finalized list of sponsors and speakers as well as logistic information) will be progressively published under the link https://conference.vi-grade.com.
CEO of Roborace and Formula E driver officially confirmed attendance and presentation at 2019 edition of VI-grade’s event dedicated to the worldwide automotive community.
Marburg, February 12, 2019 – VI-grade today announced the attendance of Lucas Di Grassi as a Keynote Speaker at the 2019 edition of its International Conference to be held at “Congress Park” in Hanau, Germany on May 14-15, 2019.
In his presentation at the VI-grade event, he will concentrate on the future value of Motorsport and especially how changing industry priorities and new technologies like artificial intelligence and autonomous driving will reshape this sector.
Born in Sao Paolo, Brazil Lucas is a true all-round talent in many fields. Apart from his numerous victories as a professional racing driver in the Formula E, he also plays a significant role off track. As one of the co-founders and one of the first ambassadors of Formula E, Lucas Di Grassi did not only arouse public interest on the fully electric racing series, but he also increased awareness related to issues like global warming and declining air quality.
By combining his deep racing expertise and his extensive business experience as the current CEO of Roborace, the world’s first competition for human and artificial intelligent racing, he is now heading towards future by making autonomous technology more exciting and inspirational for a new generation of spectators. “We want to take Roborace where motorsport cannot go, focusing the platform on the future road-relevant autonomous technology”, explains Di Grassi.
About the 2019 VI-grade International Conference
The event is dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers from all over the world. It is a great opportunity for the VI-grade international community to discuss the latest trends with regard to system-level virtual engineering, hardware in the loop, controls and driving simulation.
The 2019 event will also feature an ice-breaker social event in the afternoon of May 13, when all attendees will be invited to an informal get-together to learn more about the new and forthcoming driving simulation technologies provided by VI-grade and partners (location and further details related to the Ice Breaker will be announced later on). The list of event sponsors and partners already includes confirmed participation from Danisi Engineering, Saginomiya, Barco, Concurrent Real-Time, SimCoVR, Megaride. Additional sponsors, partners and speakers will be announced later on.
Leading UK-based Formula E team to install static race simulator from VI-grade to further develop and improve the team’s race preparations
Marburg, February 6, 2019 – Envision Virgin Racing, the current leading team in the all-electric Formula E series, has this week begun work on expanding its operational headquarters at Silverstone Park, to further develop and improve the team’s race preparations. The UK-based outfit moved to its new state-of-the-art facilities – located just a stone’s throw from the home of British motor racing – in 2017, ahead of the fourth season of the FIA Formula E Championship.
Now, due to continued expansion, the team is adding a mezzanine floor to its existing facilities, including the installation of a cutting-edge VI-grade racing simulator. The extension plans, due to be completed by the summer in time for the next Formula E season, also allow for more work space; with all being built in keeping with the rest of the site, which adheres to the ‘Very Good’ energy sustainability standards set by the government’s BREEAM agency, as well as being certified carbon neutral by the Carbon Trust.
Sylvain Filippi, Managing Director for the team, said: “As one of the founding and most successful Formula E teams, it’s fantastic to watch the team grow year-on-year. Moving to Silverstone Park was an obvious choice due to the facilities, skillset and like-minded businesses on our doorstep. Now, after being here less than two years, we’re in a position to implement the second phase of the development, thanks to the investment and foresight of the team’s new majority owners, Envision Group. Once complete, the new work areas and simulator will help further improve the quality of our race preparation for season six, as well as show our continued commitment to Formula E.”
Envision Group’s Franz Jung and Chairman of the Board said:“We fully support the team and want to continue building on the team’s already impressive legacy. Formula E is becoming increasingly competitive, so we know how important this type of investment is to help stay ahead of the competition.”
John Williams, Managing Director of VI-grade Ltdwho will be supplying the team’s racing simulator, added:“We are very pleased to announce another success in the motorsports industry by reporting the adoption of our driving simulator at Envision Virgin Racing as a turnkey solution. The installation includes proprietary software from VI-grade and related hardware components, as well as a cockpit provided by Envision Virgin Racing equipped with proprietary active belts technology from VI-grade. The simulator, including a set of Formula E digitized tracks, will provide the customer with a complete solution that will enable them to virtually test and optimise the performance of their race cars, therefore allowing them to agree on, and then deliver, the optimal race performance.”
For more information on Envision Virgin Racing, including access to the team’s media site, visit www.envisionvirginracing.com.
Audi Motorsport to utilize revolutionary dynamic driving simulation technology from VI-grade for the virtual fine tuning of their race vehicles’ dynamic performance
Marburg, December 13, 2018 – VI-grade today announced that Audi Motorsport has completed the installation of the dynamic driving simulation solution DiM150 (Driver-in-Motion). The driving simulator, equipped with a Formula E and DTM car cockpit, has been installed at the Audi Motorsport site in Neuburg, Bavaria (Germany) and is currently in use for the virtual fine tuning of the dynamic performance of the vehicles developed and marketed by Audi Motorsport as well as for professional driver training.
“Due to the increasingly strict regulations of the motorsport series there is only a limited number of testing days on the real racetracks,” said Joachim Hausner, Coordination Driving Simulator Audi Motorsport. “With our new DiM150 driving simulator we are very confident to master these future challenges, because we are able to develop more efficiently and precisely in advance, so that we are better prepared on the real racetracks later and lastly to improve our performance in the race.”
“Shortly after the final installation it was already possible for us to apply the simulator for the preparation of the upcoming Formula E season starting on December 15,” continued Hausner. “There is still some work to be done to fully implement and integrate the simulator in the development processes of all our race series, but we see great potential in this driving simulation solution for the future of Audi Motorsport.”
“We are delighted to report the completion of the installation of our driving simulation solution at Audi Motorsport and to realize that our DiM150 is already used by Audi’s drivers and engineers to improve vehicle performances,” said Alessio Lombardi, Key Account Manager, VI-grade. “The concept of our DiM150 fully represents Audi’s philosophy and mission – Vorsprung durch Technik, meaning a step forward through technology. We are looking forward to all current and potential future usages of our driving simulation technologies at Audi Motorsport.”
To reproduce vehicle movements and accelerations, the DiM solution takes a different path to driving simulation and is based on a patented revolutionary design with nine actuators. The resulting configuration with its 9 degrees of freedom enables us to go beyond the basic six-actuator design of a simple hexapod, thus providing a larger workspace while maintaining a high stiffness. This leads to a system suitable for low as well as high frequencies, both of which occur in automotive chassis design. For this reason, the DiM platform enables us to investigate vehicle dynamics as well as ride and comfort on the same motion platform.
Leading company specializing in providing design, engineering, testing and homologation services to the automotive industry worldwide to distribute together with VI-grade digitalized test tracks for offline and online simulations
Marburg, December 6th, 2018 – Following the agreement recently signed with Applus+ IDIADA, VI-grade today announced the availability of the first set of virtual files representing proving grounds located at the IDIADA testing facilities in Tarragona, Spain. These tracks are now available both for offline (on software products such as VI-CarRealTime from VI-grade for real-time vehicle simulation) and online (on all driving simulators from VI-grade) simulations.
In detail, the “Dry Handling”, “General Road” and “Comfort” tracks are now available as graphic scenarios in VI-GraphSim as well as road data files. The quality of the track files has been already tested on the DiM150 driving simulator installed at the VI-grade technical headquarters of Udine, Italy as well as on the Compact Simulator which has been already delivered to IDIADA as an anticipation to the DiM250 dynamic driving simulator that is going to be installed at their premises at the beginning of 2019.
This partnership provides another example of VI-grade’s mission of bridging the gap between testing and simulation, since customers can now work with Applus+ IDIADA to prepare their vehicle tests on virtual tracks on driving simulators, executing then the same tests on real proving ground for further validation.
“These new road data files and high-resolution graphic files will be available for purchase for all customers who wish to virtually test their vehicles with software products such as VI-CarRealTime and VI-GraphSim, the graphic engine of VI-grade’s static and dynamic driving simulators,” said Guido Bairati, VP Global Sales, VI-grade. “We are proud to keep up the continuous collaboration with such an important partner, which provides engineering services to several major automotive companies worldwide.”
11th Conference dedicated to the worldwide VI-grade community to be held in Hanau (Frankfurt), Germany on May 13th-15th, 2019
Marburg, November 28th, 2018 – VI-grade today announced the 2019 edition of its International Conference.
The event dedicated to executive managers and experienced engineers belonging to automotive and transportation companies, engineering firms and universities as well as research centers all over the world is to be held at the CONGRESS PARK conference center in the city of Hanau near Frankfurt, Germany, on May 14-15, 2019.
The conference will give the VI-grade international community of users, partners and prospective customers the opportunity to discuss the latest trends with regard to system-level virtual engineering, hardware in the loop, controls and driving simulation. Once again, particular attention will be given to VI-grade’s current solutions and development plans for real-time simulation, HIL, SIL, traffic simulation and ADAS, autonomous driving, vehicle energy efficiency and tire modeling. The event will offer keynote and technical papers, panel discussions and workshops as well as an interesting technical showcase area in which VI-grade and its partners will present their solutions.
The 2019 event will also feature an icebreaker social event in the afternoon of May 13, when all attendees will be invited to an informal get-together to learn more about the new and forthcoming driving simulation technologies provided by VI-grade and partners. Location and further details related to the Ice Breaker will be announced later on.
“Building on the success of the previous events, we are extremely happy to announce the 2019 edition of our International Conference, confirming our intent to organize one major event per year for our community of users,” said Guido Bairati, Vice President Global Sales, VI-grade. “We are looking forward to giving our international community an opportunity to share the latest projects and advancements realized using our simulation solutions with an experienced audience.”
Additional details on the conference program, the workshops, the location and registration for the event as well as the call for papers will be progressively published under the link https://conference.vi-grade.com.
Audi Motorsport specializes in producing high-performance race cars and components along with purchaser-specified customizations with the aim of utilizing revolutionary dynamic driving simulation technology from VI-grade for the virtual fine tuning of their race vehicles’ dynamic performance
Marburg (Germany), October 2, 2018 – VI-grade today announced that Audi Motorsport has chosen the dynamic driving simulation solution DiM150 (Driver-in-Motion). The driving simulator, equipped with a Formula E and DTM car cockpit, is currently being installed at the Audi Motorsport site in Neuburg, Bavaria (Germany) and will be used for the virtual fine tuning of the dynamic performance of the vehicles developed and marketed by Audi Motorsport as well as for professional driver training.
“We are delighted to report on the installation of our driving simulation solution at Audi Motorsport, which is already a long-standing customer for our solutions,” said Alessio Lombardi, Key Account Manager, VI-grade. “We are looking forward to the successful use of DiM at Audi Motorsport. It will help the company to improve their vehicles even more as well as supporting the virtual training of their professional drivers on different circuits.”
“We have been using the static driving simulation solutions by VI-grade for almost three years now, and we are convinced of their value for our engineering process. We are looking forward to further expanding the use of driving simulation, which adds more realism and detail to this activity with the support of the DiM150 platform and contributes to a further improvement of the driving experience,” said Joachim Hausner, Coordination Driving Simulator Audi Motorsport.
“Through a steadily increasing focus on the needs of motorsport customers, we at VI-grade keep on adding software- and hardware-specific functionalities to our solutions in order to address such a demanding market. The precious comments and feedback collected from professional drivers is of great help to continuously improve the realism of sensorial immersion in `at-the-limit´ driving conditions,” said Diego Minen, CTO, VI-grade.
To reproduce vehicle movements and accelerations, the DiM solution takes a different path to driving simulation and is based on a patented revolutionary design with nine actuators. The resulting configuration with its 9 degrees of freedom enables us to go beyond the basic six-actuator design of a simple hexapod, thus providing a larger workspace while maintaining a high stiffness. This leads to a system suitable for low as well as high frequencies, both of which occur in automotive chassis design. For this reason, the DiM platform enables us to investigate vehicle dynamics as well as ride and comfort on the same motion platform.
Marburg (Germany), Jul 26th, 2018 – Spectris plc announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire VI-grade (www.vi-grade.com) as part of its continuing expansion into PLM and into ADAS vehicle development, testing, and simulation. The acquisition is subject to approval by the relevant merger clearance authorities.
Spectris is embracing the combination of hardware, software, and services to accelerate development of advanced electromechanical products. The rapid advancement of mechatronics and autonomous systems has forced the convergence of physical and virtual testing: the fast expansion of vehicle platforms (gasoline, electric, fuel cell, hybrid, etc.) and vehicle mechatronics (for ADAS and Autonomous Driving) has created a strong market need for VI-grade solutions and fueled their significant corporate growth (over 20%) over the past few years. Market projections indicate that the pace of investment in these simulation areas will only accelerate in the next five years.
“VI-grade represents an exciting opportunity for us to move further into the simulation segment of vehicle testing, which is expected to see significant growth in coming years on the back of ADAS and AV development and the proliferation of models” says John O’Higgins, Chief Executive, Spectris plc. “It is closely related to our existing instrumentation businesses and, as such, the acquisition is an important step forward in the realization of the Group's strategy to provide our customers with differentiated solutions that incorporate a combination of hardware, software and services. Supported by Spectris' global reach and expertise, the combination of VI-grade's application and technical expertise in simulation software and hardware along with the testing equipment, services and software that already exists in other Spectris operating companies will help customers address the increasing complexities involved in product testing whilst reducing the time to market for new products. We believe that there is a significant opportunity for VI-grade to strengthen its market position and accelerate its growth to expand internationally and broaden its solutions offering both organically and through M&A.”
“This is a strategic move for VI-grade and we are very excited to be joining Spectris,” says Jürgen Fett, Managing Director at VI-grade. “There are many advantages to becoming part of this global group. The leadership team at Spectris has a strong interest in developing and investing in VI-grade’s capabilities and highly talented workforce. We also believe Spectris’ other portfolio companies will bring additional expertise and capabilities that will allow us to jointly offer innovative solutions to our customers. We expect to accelerate VI-grade’s growth through investment and expansion into key international markets. We will remain independent yet benefit from the stability that this change of ownership brings to the VI-grade Group.”
Spectris intends to establish VI-grade as an independent operating business within its Test & Measurement (T&M) business segment alongside Bruel & Kjaer, HBM (including nCode and ReliaSoft), ESG, and Millbrook Group (proving grounds & lab testing). The business will benefit from the investment and global network that come along with being part of Spectris. Spectris will retain VI-grade’s employees/sites and has a clear strategy to significantly invest in, and grow, the business.
VI-grade’s current management team will continue to drive the business’ future growth led by Bob Ryan, a software industry veteran, who has joined Spectris to lead its advance into simulation software solutions.
About Spectris
Spectris is a FTSE 250 listed global conglomerate with 2017 sales over $2B and 9,800 employees. The firm conducts business in four major segments: materials analysis, test & measurement, in-line instrumentation and industrial controls and serves a broad range of industries ranging from pharma, and electronics, to automotive, energy, mining, and aerospace. For further information, please visit http://www.spectris.com.
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