A Hybrid Traffic Simulation Framework for Evaluating Predictive ICT Approaches in Modern Vehicles

Recent advances in automotive technology are focused on topics about e-mobility as well as integrating information and communication technologies (ICT). Newly developed vehicle concepts possess a large diversification regarding powertrain configurations, e.g., in hybrid or battery powered electric vehicles. For those vehicles, which are equipped with complex energy storage technology, a control algorithm is obligatory for managing the energy flows during run-time. These systems are referred to as energy-management system (EMS) or supervisory control. To evaluate the efficiency of such control systems, usually a simulated or real vehicle is tested under a static load scenario. In this paper, we present an approach for creating dynamic traffic scenarios in a discrete-event simulation (DES) based on MATLAB/Simulink to evaluate possible vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure interaction. The aim is to analyze which environment information depending on the related sensor or predictive control problem is able to support an ICT system, e.g., an advance driver assistance system (ADAS) or energy management strategies. Further, the simulation approach has been formulated in a modular library to offer creation of different traffic simulation scenarios. The results are evaluated for a driver model and a standard traffic situation.