In the automotive industry, manufacturers spend billions of dollars and countless hours perfecting the ride comfort of their vehicles. AB Dynamics, Cosin Scientific Software and Dassault Systèmes have been working together to combine a high-fidelity Simpack and FTire model into their advanced vehicle driving simulator. This will enable them to test a vehicle’s ride comfort virtually in real-time simulations, without having to build expensive prototypes first.
Simpack is a widely adopted simulation software technology, and FTire is said to be considered the gold standard for physics-based tire modeling. Having established a virtual 3D dynamic model, rFpro delivers high-definition visuals for the simulation itself, and the data they deliver can then be used to assess ride comfort in comparison with vehicles from leading manufacturers.
AB Dynamics business director Dr Adrian Simms said, “This high level of realism is crucial for gaining accurate data and allowing a broader scope of test and development work to be completed on the driving simulator, which achieves considerable time and money savings from testing on a track. Accuracy is vital when it comes to autonomous driving, so this collaboration has enabled us to make significant progress in this area.”
“We were particularly impressed with the ride feel. The high fidelity of the multibody Simpack vehicle model and FTire models, combined with the class-leading performance of AB Dynamics’ AVDS motion platform, resulted in a drive that was ultra-realistic,” added Gerald Hofmann, partner and co-founder of Cosin.