Professional driving simulators are now widely used in vehicle development, and the system helps the automotive industry make better design decisions earlier in the development process. The overall goal is to provide test drivers with the most realistic possible driving experience, including dynamic movements and sounds, and to test features such as control algorithms or assistance systems. The more realistic the environment, the closer the driver's experience is to the final vehicle. To further enhance the immersion of the simulator, VI-GRADE, a leading provider of driving simulator solutions, selected Varjo as the head-mounted display of choice for its advanced driving simulator.
In this article, we'll give you a brief overview of the technology behind the driving simulator and detail how Varjo's Virtual Mixed Reality (VR XR) technology offers unique advantages when used with VI-GRADE simulators, ultimately accelerating the pace of innovation in automotive development.
VR driving simulation system
Driving simulators are becoming increasingly important in automotive development. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) use driving simulators to maximize vehicle performance from a human-centered design service perspective. This gives OEMs a competitive advantage as they can use the system to differentiate themselves from other vehicles and OEMs in the market.
Over the past few decades, the physical testing process for automotive prototypes has steadily declined with the widespread use of virtual development tools in the automotive development sector. As virtual development tools become easier to use and more realistic, they are now being accepted by many well-known car companies and becoming a key process in the automotive development process. From 3D drawing to computer-aided engineering (CAE), virtual reality systems now allow automakers' decision-makers to see in advance whether every part of the car meets the vehicle's design standards before the automotive component is put into production, reducing the cost of design errors.
Currently, automotive components still need to be physically tested for final approval before they can be put into production: however, the process is perfect for the car itself, as the challenge often comes only from the human driver. At the time, there were no analogue devices that could accurately reflect how the driver would feel in the cab when the lane-keeping system was activated or when there was a sudden emergency braking.
Since today's driving simulators can cover all of these driving operations, human-computer interaction testing, which was once part of the realm of physical testing, has become more convenient. In addition, simulator manufacturers offer a more streamlined development process while eliminating the costly cost of building prototypes and testing at proving grounds, making the technology more suitable for automotive design and development applications.
Human-machine interface: the differentiation of automotive brand perception
Automotive OEMs used to define their brand in terms of eye-catching features, such as appealing chassis design, performance features, or sound effects. However, over time, it's no longer just the features that make a car brand stand out now. In the future, the car is likely to evolve into a software-controlled vehicle system that can be autonomous in a connected environment.
The interaction between people and cars will play a key role in the perception of the brand by the driver and passengers. That's why automotive OEMs are constantly looking for innovation in both the development process of the system and the way the car interacts with its passengers.
More realistic graphics, less dizziness
Driving simulators are not just a test driver's daily job, they are also a fantastic experience. At least for most people who have the opportunity to sit in a vi-grade driving simulator. However, for some, the experience may not be as fun. For example, when the driver's brain receives signals that are different from the acceleration of motion that he sees on the screen and feels with his body, this conflict can lead to diseases such as motion sickness.
Adding more realism and higher image quality to the simulation often results in a driving experience that is closer to reality. Incorporating professional XR technology into the driving simulator will help improve this process.
Why choose Varjo as the display system for your driving simulator
Partnering with Varjo was a natural fit, as both companies were leaders in their respective fields. While Varjo is best known in the industry for its high-end XR headsets, VI-GRADE is the market leader in automotive driving simulators for specific applications such as ride and handling, sound NVH, ADAS, or HMI. VI-GRADE benefits from a more realistic virtual environment (there are no limitations when looking around in the simulator), and Varjo has once again demonstrated that their system can cover a wider range of applications.
Varjo's XR-4 series makes the XR experience even more comfortable thanks to improved head-mounted display balance. Roberto de Vecchi, Head of Product Development at VI-GRADE, says.
The Varjo XR and VI-WorldSim were used as automotive proving grounds
To maximize the full potential of the driving simulator, VI-GRADE uses a virtual environment as their standard virtual environment for testing cars. VI-WorldSIM extends the capabilities of the driving simulator with realistic multi-agent AI traffic behavior and sensor fusion. Users can set up a variety of simulation scenarios, including driving events, environments, road conditions, and vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
The simulation supports full environmental control, which can be adjusted to any time of day, weather conditions, and even custom vehicles. Vi-WorldSim is now fully integrated into Vi-DriveSim, which supports all Vi-Grade driving simulators and is based on the UE5 graphics engine, which takes traditional track modeling to a higher level of realism.
In short, virtual reality is the ideal tool to support immersive subjective feelings and feedback, and Varjo's leading XR technology makes this even more prominent. The Varjo XR headset enables users to capture a variety of real-world content, allowing users to see their hands and real-world objects as well as various 3D models in the virtual world, such as a steering wheel or dashboard superimposed in the virtual environment, to enhance the immersive experience of driving in the simulator in a mixed reality mode.
vi-worldsim 2024.Version 1 will support the Varjo XR-3, and support for the Varjo XR-4 will be available soon.