VI-grade reports new adoption of DiM250 at major German automotive OEM

“We are extremely excited to report the installation of our new DiM250 driving simulation technology at Mercedes-AMG”, said Juergen Fett, Managing Director, VI-grade. “We are looking forward to a continuous collaboration with Mercedes-AMG, which has successfully used our VI-grade software solutions for several years already.”

Mercedes-AMG visited VI-grade’s SimCenter in Udine, Italy several times before they decided to use the DiM technology. They tried the DiM technology on the Nordschleife circuit with a professional driver on an outgoing car project which is currently in the development phase.

“One of the main aspects that led to our decision to adopt the driving simulator DiM250 was that our driver was able to reproduce almost the same lap time on the simulator as in reality. We will use DiM250 primarily for vehicle dynamics applications, therefore evaluating and optimizing the performance of our cars not only on proving grounds and racing circuits, but also on the simulator earlier in the process”, said Tobias Moers, CEO, Mercedes-AMG.

To reproduce vehicle movements and accelerations, the DiM solution takes a different path into driving simulation and is based on a patented, revolutionary design that has nine actuators. The resulting 9 degrees of freedom configuration enables to go beyond the basic six actuators design of a simple hexapod, providing a larger workspace whilst maintaining high stiffness. This leads to a system suitable for low as well as for high frequencies, as appearing in automotive chassis design. Therefore, the DiM platform enables to investigate both vehicle dynamics and ride and comfort on the same motion platform.

The DiM250 configuration provides an extended workspace with respect to the standard DiM150 configuration already installed 9 other times all over the world, guaranteeing an improved driving experience, still within the compact dimensions that characterize all DiM driving simulators.

About DiM (Driver-in-Motion)

The revolutionary driving simulation turnkey solutions from VI-grade provide automotive engineers with a complete set of innovative, integrated driving simulators for a new generation approach to system-level simulation, allowing companies to bridge the gap between virtual prototyping and testing. The dynamic configuration provides motion feedback to the driver thanks to an innovative nine-degrees-of-freedom moving platform with reduced overall dimensions and large travels. The machine architecture is called Driver in Motion (DiM) and its kinematics has been designed, for the first time in history of motion platforms, to implement in the best possible way the motion cueing technology that has been developed and tested by VI-grade. This family of simulators is based on a much more compact and much less expensive driving simulator architecture with respect to conventional simulators with similar workspace. Moreover, these solutions are fully scalable, meaning that it is possible to upgrade from static to dynamic simulator, reusing all components that have been already purchased. The driving simulation solutions from VI-grade are based on VI-DriveSim, the product which provides the core software environment for all driving simulation solutions from VI-grade. For further information, please visit www.driverinmotion.com

About Saginomiya

Saginomiya is the leading provider of automatic controls and test systems in Japan as and is very highly reputed throughout the world for the quality of its products. Saginomiya started developing, manufacturing and selling test systems in 1964, expanding in several business fields such as civil engineering and construction, industrial machinery, railway services, power generation, aviation and automotive. Saginomiya’s “Dynamic Servo” has been developed as the ideal test systems utilizing state-of-the-art core technologies such as electric and hydraulic hybrids as well as a next-generation simulator. Saginomiya is highly committed to serve the needs of the most technically advanced customers in the global market. For further information, please visit http://www.saginomiya.co.jp/eng.