Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim 2017.0

ANN ARBOR, Mich., December 20, 2016 - Mechanical Simulation is proud to announce the release of VehicleSim 2017, featuring the vehicle dynamics simulation tools CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim.

"20 years ago, simulation of dynamic vehicle behavior was used by test and design specialists to help evaluate vehicle performance in response to driver control for only basic tasks related to braking and cornering," recalls Dr. Michael Sayers, CEO and Chief Technology Officer. "The usage has spread since to all areas of design and development, so simulations must now include many built-in controllers and evaluate both basic and limit conditions. Currently, manufacturers are performing thousands, or even millions, of simulations to cover ADAS scenarios in the development and validation of advanced driver assistance technologies. As the industry rushes to provide higher levels of autonomous control, simulation now must include interactions with other traffic vehicles and users of the road - a truly realistic virtual test environment."

The 2017 versions of CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim include many improvements applicable to the following use cases: classic analysis of vehicle behavior, evaluation of multiple on-board controllers, and ADAS scenarios with on-board sensors for detecting other vehicles and objects in the environment, extending to automatic driving control. Highlights are described below.

Architecture and Basic Usage
Improvements were made that affect all users, and include updates to the user interface, file management, and viewing of results. Some of the new features include:

  • Better appearance on all types of monitors
  • Support for multiple simulations based on a single Run Control dataset
  • Rapid access to table data from large binary files
  • Direct generation of Excel CSV output files
  • VS Solver support for Linux
  • Better Echo file organization and model information
  • Improvements to plotting

Core Vehicle Dynamics
Some improvements were made in the vehicle models, which now offer more modeling options:

  • All three VehicleSim products include support for ESC/TCS torque control requests in the powertrain
  • CarSim and TruckSim have new options in the steering and braking systems
  • CarSim now supports dual tires

Working with External Simulation Tools
Most users now work with co-simulation in which the vehicle model runs with controllers or other model additions using other simulation software, such as Simulink from The MathWorks, tire models from TASS, powertrain models from Gamma Technologies, and hardware in the loop (HIL) on real-time (RT) systems, among others:

  • All of the products support live video when using Simulink
  • All of the products provide more support for the open-standard functional mockup interface (FMI), including some RT systems

ADAS and Autonomous Vehicle Development
Simulation of ADAS scenarios can involve compicated road networks, other vehicles and objects of interest (pedestrians, walls, etc.), on-board sensors, and intervention controllers. The VehicleSim 2017 software update delivers the following enhancements:

  • More path and road options, including a new Atlas GPS web page
  • A virtual replica of the Mcity proving ground for ADAS research and driving simulator applications
  • Camera sensors with image buffers and a Simulink interface
  • GUI setup for ADAS alerts
  • Improvements for specifying motions for moving objects

For more information about this release, please visit www.carsim.com.

About Mechanical Simulation Corporation: Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2016, Mechanical Simulation Corporation is a world-renowned technology leader that continues to serve the ground vehicle market by developing advanced software used for simulating vehicle performance under a wide variety of conditions. From its Ann Arbor, Michigan, headquarters, the team delivers car, truck, and motorcycle simulation packages, along with training and ongoing support, to more than 90 OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, as well as over 160 universities and government research groups, worldwide. For more information, please visit www.carsim.com.

A CarSim vehicle running in the new Mcity virtual environment.

Company Press Releases

Jul-23 Expanding Virtual Vehicle Testing into Off-road, Agricultural, Construction, Mining, and Military Applications
Jan-23 CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim Version 2023.0 Released
Mar-22 Applied Intuition Acquires CarSim, an Industry-Leading Vehicle Dynamics Simulation Company
Jan-22 CarSim, TruckSim, BikeSim, and SuspensionSim version 2022.0 Released
Jul-21 CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim version 2021.1 Released
Apr-21 Mechanical Simulation Corporation Celebrates 25 Years in Business
Jan-21 CarSim, TruckSim, BikeSim, and SuspensionSim version 2021.0 Released
Aug-20 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim 2020.1
Feb-20 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, BikeSim, and SuspensionSim 2020.0
Oct-19 Patented System and Method to Stabilize Motorcycles
Sep-19 Mechanical Simulation’s CarSim and TruckSim Available on NVIDIA DRIVE Constellation
Aug-19 Mechanical Simulation Extends User Programming for CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim 2019.1
Aug-19 Mechanical Simulation Extends Driver Control for Autonomous Vehicle Development in CarSim and TruckSim 2019.1
Jul-19 Mechanical Simulation Connects with New Ground for CarSim and TruckSim 2019.1
Jul-19 Mechanical Simulation Adds Electric Powertrains for CarSim and TruckSim 2019.1
Jan-19 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, BikeSim, and SuspensionSim 2019.0
Jun-18 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim 2018.1
Feb-18 Mechanical Simulation Introduces Modular Design for CarSim and TruckSim
Dec-17 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim 2018
Mar-17 Mechanical Simulation Releases SuspensionSim 2017
Dec-16 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim, TruckSim, and BikeSim 2017.0
Dec-16 Mechanical Simulation Upgrades NIOSH's QuadDS Driving Simulator
Feb-16 Mechanical Simulation Releases CarSim 2016

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