Theme 3: Driving Simulation

Comparable to other vehicle manufacturers, at the initial prototype stage Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) undertakes some 30,000 individual assessments to evaluate the robustness of its vehicle design through the Design Verification Programme (DVP). The Programme for Simulation Innovation (PSI) is fundamentally targeted at improving capability to support such a DVP through testing in a virtual environment. The development of advanced simulation capability along with corresponding virtual processes, methods and tools can support the delivery of new products and concepts to market more quickly and efficiently through the provision of feedback as early as possible into the vehicle design process. If the vision of zero physical prototypes is to be realised, then the process of digital design and verification needs to accurately represent not just the physical dimensions of component and system function, but also the perceptual experience from the driver's and passenger's perspective. Furthermore, the digital design process must be underpinned by a robust development and validation programme. These ambitions drive the academic focus and industrial impact of this Theme in the development of driving simulation as an integral part of PSI.

The Theme will develop a modular simulator environment to support virtual prototyping, in which performance characteristics and the interfaces between the vehicle and its occupants can be manipulated. Simulation enjoys many benefits over naturalistic studies with its main advantage being considerable versatility in the configuration of virtual scenarios that exactly match the requirement of a particular verification test. Environmental conditions such as day/night operation, weather conditions and state of the road surface can be changed at will. The parameters of the driven vehicle can be altered: for example suspension design, tyre construction and steering characteristics can be matched to an existing or prototype vehicle. Vehicle interiors, driver support systems and ergonomic design can be evaluated in an inherently safe and repeatable test environment.

A well designed, flexible driving simulator with a modularised architecture is integral to the development of a virtual DVP. Theme 3 will provide such a simulation environment within PSI. The University of Leeds Driving Simulator, an existing major research facility made possible through HEFCE's Science Research Investment Fund, and whose functionality is completely under the control of the research team, will form the test-bed for the development. The research team's existing expertise in human perception and behaviour in a virtual driving environment, coordinated with parallel PSI Themes in vehicle analysis, multi-physics and visualisation, will be combined with JLR's existing knowledge-base in Computer Aided Engineering. The goal is to develop a coordinated evaluation tool that has the potential to support agile, cost-effective and efficient manufacturing processes in virtual vehicle design.

The ability to fully validate the human aspects of the vehicle design through virtual methods will significantly reduce the considerable expense of building physical prototypes for this purpose, and reduce time to market. The ability to subject virtual components, systems, and the whole vehicle to realistic driving and environmental inputs will also significantly increase the breadth of testing and validation over and above that which could be achieved through physical testing alone. Reduced physical testing and the development of more agile, cost-effective manufacturing is one of the five key strategic themes reflecting business opportunities in the Technology Strategy Board's current landscape for High Value Manufacturing. Furthermore, the objective of the proposed work programme to expand the coherence and compatibility of JLR's use of simulation in the vehicle design process meets another TSB strategic theme "increasing the global competitiveness of UK manufacturing technologies by creating more efficient and effective manufacturing systems".

UK involvement in the cutting edge of research in emerging automotive system simulation is currently rather slim, as evidenced by the generally low level of UK participation in large-scale European research programmes within the automotive and technology areas. PSI represents a concerted partnership by major players in the UK automotive and research sectors to address this imbalance. Given the rapid changes in vehicle technology, it is vital to have the UK at the forefront of new developments, particularly involving the under-developed areas of vehicle simulation and virtual prototyping. This is especially pertinent given the recent resurgence of the UK-based automotive industry which exported a record-breaking 80% of production in 2011 (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, 2012).

This project also has significant potential to improve the efficiency of the UK vehicle manufacturing industry outside of JLR (e.g. Aston-Martin, Bentley, Lotus) who share the same business drivers of the faster delivery of new products and concepts to market. The scientific impact of the work programme to facilitate these improvements fall under the challenges set by EPSRC's Manufacturing the Future vision, particularly in the Manufacturing Informatics research areas of Engineering Design and Graphics and Visualisation.