Theme 3: Driving Simulation

与其他汽车制造商相比，捷豹路虎(JLR)在最初的原型阶段通过设计验证计划(DVP)进行了约30,000项单独评估，以评估其汽车设计的健壮性。模拟创新方案(PSI)的基本目标是通过在虚拟环境中进行测试来提高支持这种DVP的能力。开发先进的模拟能力以及相应的虚拟流程、方法和工具，可以通过在车辆设计过程中尽早提供反馈，支持更快、更有效地向市场交付新产品和概念。如果要实现零物理原型的愿景，那么数字化设计和验证的过程不仅需要准确地表示部件和系统功能的物理维度，而且需要从驾驶员和乘客的角度准确地表示感知体验。此外，数字设计过程必须得到强有力的开发和验证方案的支持。这些雄心壮志推动了这一主题在驾驶模拟作为PSI不可分割的一部分的发展中的学术关注和行业影响。该主题将开发一个模块化的模拟器环境，以支持虚拟样机，在其中可以操纵车辆和乘员之间的性能特征和接口。与自然主义研究相比，模拟有许多好处，其主要优势是在配置虚拟场景方面具有相当大的通用性，这些虚拟场景完全符合特定验证测试的要求。昼夜运行、天气状况、路面状况等环境条件可以随意改变。被驱动车辆的参数可以改变：例如，悬挂设计、轮胎结构和转向特性可以与现有或原型车辆相匹配。汽车内饰、驾驶员支持系统和人体工程学设计可以在本质上安全和可重复的测试环境中进行评估。一个设计良好、具有模块化架构的灵活驾驶模拟器是开发虚拟DVP不可或缺的一部分。主题3将在PSI中提供这样的模拟环境。利兹大学驾驶模拟器是通过HEFCE的科学研究投资基金建立的现有主要研究设施，其功能完全由研究团队控制，将成为开发的试验台。研究团队在虚拟驾驶环境中人类感知和行为方面的现有专业知识，与车辆分析、多物理和可视化方面的并行PSI主题相协调，将与捷豹路虎现有的计算机辅助工程知识库相结合。目标是开发一种协调的评估工具，有可能在虚拟汽车设计中支持敏捷、成本效益和高效的制造过程。

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.