Verification and validation of a winter driving simulator

A full vehicle dynamics simulator was constructed in SimCreator® for the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) Instrumented Vehicle (CIV) and was used to investigate and validate the newly developed Vehicle Terrain Interaction (VTI) code. The VTI code replaces the tire component of the simulated vehicle, in the Driver and Motion Simulator (DMS), allowing it to report back realistic values while driving on various types of terrain surfaces such as mud, snow, ice, and pavement. The validation effort within this paper is focused on the winter (snow and ice) parts of the VTI code. The outputs from the Engineering Research and Development Center (ERDC) and the DMS VTI codes were validated through field experiments and against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Reference Mobility Model (NRMM). The DMS VTI code can be used with different vehicle models, providing the US. Army with a valuable asset that will allow simulation of existing or conceptual, manned or autonomous, ground vehicle performance for acquisition, planning, or training. This information, along with some basic terrain information, will allow troops to plan the fastest and most effective way of getting to a desired location, while minimizing the possibility of being delayed because of the terrain conditions.