McMaster Automotive Resource Centre (MARC), one of Canada’s leading research facilities in the field of transportation electrification and smart mobility, has installed a new driving simulator at its premises in Hamilton, Ontario. The technology is a VI-grade Static simulator, which now forms part of the MARCdrive lab and will be used for the development of automotive components and control systems, especially related to powertrain electrification as well as for the development of autonomous systems, human-machine interfaces and driver monitoring systems.
The team at MARC will use the system for tasks such as incorporating the driver’s perception and inputs to a design in the early stages of developing new systems, well before building the first prototype.
“Much of our design at MARC is done virtually, so being able to test our systems on board of a vehicle allows us insights about the system’s performance that we wouldn’t have unless we prototyped them,” said Dr Ali Emadi, Professor and Canada Excellence Research Chair Laureate at McMaster University.
“For this reason, the possibility to have a driver-in-the-loop in the VI-grade simulator allows us to include the driver’s perception when testing our systems, as well as the ability to test the performance of a component with other vehicle systems before prototyping it, which is of great value for organisation.”
