CarMaker@AUDEx : unity-based integration of CarMaker into the AUDEx project for the operation of a driving simulator

Abstract

At Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, the Department of Automotive and Aeronautical Engineering has a long tradition of offering a practice-relevant academic education. The goal is to structure our teaching so that students – the engineers of the future – are educated to develop future mobility solutions. As a part of this, AUDEx (Automotive evelopment in 1:x) project was founded to support students’ education. In vehicle development, virtualization is an important trend for increasing effectiveness and efficiency. By using a driver-in-the-loop (DiL) simulator at the earliest possible stage in the development process, engineers can validate design decisions more quickly and confidently by closing the gap between subjective evaluation using real vehicle prototypes and objective evaluation using offline simulations. Up-to-date, IPG. CarMaker has been part of several courses within bachelor as well as master degree program at HAW Hamburg. This article presents the actual development and implementation of a system for the real-time provision of the entire vehicle simulation data from IPG.CarMaker for immersive display on a motion system within AUDEx. General inputs to this driver-in-the-loop (DiL) simulator are made using Simucube steering and pedal systems. For visual feedback, operators can choose between a triple-screen setup with 55“ screens, or a headmounted display (HMD). For additional haptic feedback, the driver sits in an 8-DOF motion system, comprised of components from Next Level Racing® and PROSIMU®. The system development is based on the source code programming interface of IPG.CarMaker and Unity as a tool for data processing and module control - with a particular focus on data transfer. Finally, the system requirements are validated and the results achieved are discussed. The simulations and driving tests carried out show that all motion modules work and the simulated motion data is represented well within certain limits. At the same time, the limits of the movement system are shown and approaches for further work are shown.