Virtual prototyping for highly automated vehicle function validation utilizing a vehicle-in-the-loop driving simulator facility

An increasing number of pilot concept cars include conditionally and highly automated driving functionality. Furthermore, following the roadmaps of international committees and car manufacturers, highly automated driving will be already available within the next decade. This implies increasing system complexity and extended requirements on system tests and function validation. Consequently, the importance of simulation-based testing will increase dramatically. In order to fill the gap between driving simulator tests and testing in a real environment a vehicle-in-the-loop driving simulator is implemented. A first proof-of-concept study demonstrated the usefulness of this simulation set-up.