Development of a Drive-in Driver-in-the-Loop Fully Immersive Driving Simulator for Virtual Validation of Automotive Systems

This paper gives an overview of the new Drive-in Driver-in-Loop simulator at WMG, University of Warwick, UK, which has been conceptualized to serve as a standard platform for virtual verification and validation of autonomous features. This front loading approach is key to the development of some of the upcoming technologies which have been lagging behind in terms of mass acceptance due to lack of proper simulation environment for testing. One of the key areas for the simulator is the study of driver acceptance of autonomous features in cars. Additionally, the simulator would help in the development of a validation methodology for autonomous systems keeping in mind the industry safety regulations and standards. The drive-in component on this scale adds to the novelty of the simulator, as it´s a first of its kind. This enhances the challenge of making the communication interfaces of the simulator general, in order to communicate with any vehicle driving into the simulator. In order to achieve this, emphasis was laid on software architecture to enable modularity and re-configuration. A brief about various applications of the simulator has been provided in this paper.