WHITEPAPER

How to Maximize the Efficiency of ADAS/AD

Development and Validation Using Simulation
Introduction
FEATURES

Introduction

The introduction of driver assistance systems (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems/ADAS and Autonomous Driving/AD)
The Challenge
has become a force for innovation in the automotive industry. Safety constraints, emission legislations, driver comfort
and short development times are the most important challenges for car manufacturers and suppliers alike. The AVL Solution
For the successful introduction of new ADAS and AD functions to the market, the first step for OEMs is building trust in Case Study
their products. The only way to achieve this is with intensive testing and validation, using all the help they can get.
Development targets can only be met by applying highly efficient development and testing methodology. Conclusion
This White Paper presents AVL’s approach to mastering the challenges of automated driving by the extensive usage of
simulation methods. This starts from an early concept design phase and goes all the way to system integration and
hardware tests. AVL’s Integrated and Open Development Platform (IODP) combines long-time experience in model-
based systems engineering, multi-domain simulation technologies and virtualized hardware testing. It thus provides a
fast and cost-efficient development and validation framework for delivering safe, comfortable and efficient products.
The Challenge
FEATURES

Introduction
The Challenge
The most important challenges for developing safe, comfortable and efficient ADAS/AD quickly and cost-efficiently can be
clustered as follows:
The AVL Solution
 Application Complexity
Case Study
Even “simple” ADAS/AD functions, such as driving in a constrained environment (e.g. valet parking, hub-to-hub driving, storage
vehicle operation) consist of many smaller control modules. They require the interoperability of different sensoring, perception, Conclusion
integration, actuation and safety systems with numerous operating modes and use cases. For more challenging applications
such as Highway Pilot and if in addition to the functional safety, also the perceived safety and driver comfort need to be
considered, things get even more complex. Virtual model-based development is the only answer to this challenge.

 Modeling Complexity

In order to provide a virtual model-based environment for ADAS/AD development, it is necessary to model the whole world
(environment, weather, road, traffic, vehicle, sensors, controls, driver etc.) and the world is complex. On top of that, the
simulation models must be fast, accurate, reliable and exchangeable, depending on the application. AVL believes that this can
be mastered by a specialized open integration platform which utilizes just the right models for each application, enabling model
re-use, cross-department collaboration and test frontloading.

 Testing and Certification Complexity

For sufficient test coverage of an average ADAS function, with several vehicle variants and representative test scenarios, even
simple math tells us that millions of test kilometers are necessary. Using high-quality simulation models some of the test cases
can be covered, but not all. How to switch to more realistic testing environments such as driving simulator or vehicle test beds
without breaking the validation chain? How to select representative, critical test cases for on-road testing? How to ensure best-
in-class quality of the product? And, finally, how to reach certification criteria on different markets within competitive cost and
time budgets? This White Paper explores how to use the virtualization approach to reach these goals.
The AVL Solution
FEATURES

Introduction

AVL’s answer to the challenges of ADAS/AD development is the virtualization of the

The Challenge
development and validation process by the consistent usage of advanced simulation
technologies within an open and integrated development platform. This is supported by The AVL Solution
a model-based systems engineering approach to functional safety and a scenario-based
validation cascade, from validation in the cloud to efficient HiL, testbed, proving ground Case Study
and public road testing.
Conclusion
The central aspect of this approach is to use an ideal combination of virtual and real
components in each development and validation phase within a seamless development
process with unified virtual prototype management and data analytics.
Virtualization - Setting up the World’s Digital Twin
FEATURES

Introduction
The Challenge
For building trust in the market and acceptance by early adopters for AD features, it is essential both to guarantee the technical
safety of the system and to make passengers feel at least as safe and comfortable as if they were driving the car themselves. It is
possible to make an early objective assessment of perceived safety with AVL-DRIVETM Autonomous for ADAS which needs a very The AVL Solution
accurate physical vehicle dynamics model from AVL VSM™ as input. Different application aspects , such as camera sensor
integration, C2X communication etc. require different environment models optimal for the given application, e.g. VTD Vires or Case Study
open-source tool CARLA. Sometimes it is necessary to integrate a black box component model from the external providers such
as tire model, sensor model etc. If we develop efficiency relevant functions like platooning or e-range optimizer, it is necessary Conclusion
to integrate an accurate powertrain energy consumption model e.g. from AVL CRUISE™ M. The AVL preferred toolchain is
validated and capable for real-time applications, but maybe for other applications an altogether different toolchain is required.
Whatever the toolchain, it provides an environment for control function code development engineers to integrate their
Simulink, FMU, C++ or other control unit models and validate them in a closed-loop virtual set-up. In the next step, the safety
critical function code needs to be ported to an ECU and verified on a HiL system within the same closed-loop virtual
environment before moving to hardware integration testing. Even for the hardware test, reusing parts of the virtual
environment set-up can increase the testing efficiency. Setting up the virtual environment within Model.CONNECT, AVL’s open
and neutral model integration and co-simulation platform, guarantees a stable interaction between virtual and real
components, accurate results, optimal performance, model exchangeability, rapid prototyping and a seamless transition from
virtual concept design to simulation supported hardware integration and testing. This makes Model.CONNECTTM a central
integration platform of AVL’s virtualized model-based ADAS development process.
Scenario Based Validation
FEATURES

Introduction
The Challenge
Scenario management and scenario-based validation are a key element of AVL’s virtual validation framework. Instead of running
hundreds of millions of random kilometers, we focus on running “smart kilometers” using critical representative scenarios.
Critical scenarios are selected from different sources such as accident database, safety legislation procedures, measurement The AVL Solution
data, virtually augmented test data, etc. These are enriched with realistic maps, parametrization and road statistics in order to
provide a maximum test coverage for the given functions. Case Study
AVL offers several tools, methods and technology stacks for scenario management such as DGT (Dynamic Ground Truth) Conclusion
scenario extraction, OpenScenario-based Scenario Designer, Test Case Generator with tests based on driving statistics,
centralized multi-source scenario database and a seamless test preparation and execution in virtual cloud environment, testbed
environment (AVL DRIVINGCUBE™) and proving ground. A standardized test preparation ensures comparable and combinable
test results and powerful data analytics.
Validation in the Cloud
FEATURES

Introduction
The Challenge
The purpose of virtual validation is to minimize the size of the testing variant space by the factor of thousand and to reduce the
number of corner cases which need to be tested in a more realistic environment to the minimum, saving huge amounts of time
and money. The AVL Solution
With Model.CONNECT™ and JMS (Job Management System), AVL provides a generic scalable cloud computing framework based Case Study
on docker container technology. It can be executed on an arbitrary commercial or in-house cloud and HPC infrastructure.
Conclusion
Since we need to perform simultaneous variations of traffic scenarios, vehicle variants and function parameters, even with a
large scale cloud set-up with thousands of parallel cores, we can reach the limit of feasibility. If it is necessary to further reduce
the testing space for detailed simulation models, first we use AVL CAMEO™ to perform a so-called active DoE optimization with
simplified models and reduce the test space initially by a factor of around 40, depending on the use case.

A further reduction is achieved by the massive parallelization of the detailed simulation model variants in the cloud. The critical
variants that are too hard to tell by using pure simulation provide test cases for the further steps of the validation cascade, AVL
DRIVINGCUBE™ and on-road testing.
Vehicle-in-the-Loop
FEATURES

Introduction
The Challenge
The next step in the validation cascade is the testing performed on a testbed or on the proving grounds.

The AVL DRIVINGCUBE™ combines both simulation and ready-to-drive vehicles on a chassis dynamometer and on a powertrain The AVL Solution
testbed. It paves a new way to speed up the validation and approval process of ADAS and AD systems. Its holistic sensor
stimulation and full range steering ability bring the proving ground to the testbed. Using fully automated, scenario-based testing Case Study
increases the test coverage whilst reducing test effort. Reproducible and safe conditions at vehicle level gives the confidence to
speed up the approval process even further. Conclusion
Beyond environment and sensor simulations, different ultrasonic, GPS, camera and radar stimulators, and a steering module
that allows full range steering on the testbed, Model.CONNECT™ as central integration platform plays a key role in the solution.
The parallel execution support and connection to real-time and hardware components and systems (ECUs, sensors, Hardware-
in-the-Loop, Vehicle-in-the-Loop, etc.) makes Model.CONNECT™ suitable to form a bridge between all components of the AVL
DRIVINGCUBE™.

Vehicle-in-the-Loop is an essential step in increasing the efficiency of vehicle testing and reducing the number of expensive and
hardly reproducible on-road tests for a wide range of ADAS applications such as ACC, LKA, safety steering/braking, efficiency
relevant applications (platooning, predictive energy management), cyber security robustness tests, benchmarking, etc.
Functional Prototype Management
FEATURES

Introduction
The Challenge
How does the virtualized ADAS development and validation process fit into the PLM process in place? The definition of the use
cases and related test scenarios is driven by Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - objectivized results of the performed tests, no
matter if virtual, real or mixed. For different development processes, including ADAS development, AVL sets up a Function The AVL Solution
Prototype Management (FPT) framework which keeps track of the product prototypes from pure virtual concept all the way to
the in-use phase, manages prototype components, features, properties and parameters and derives comparable KPI sets along Case Study
the process. Continuous KPI monitoring provides an invaluable information about the target reaching status and the maturity of
the product and enables program managers to make early founded decisions based on objective criteria. Extending the Conclusion
monitoring process to the in-use phase, AVL empowers fleet owners to optimize maintenance and minimize cost-of-ownership.
Case Study: Platooning
FEATURES
The key features and benefits of AVL’s development and validation approach can be nicely illustrated with the relatively simple
use case of “platooning”. “Truck platooning” or “driving in the wind shadow” means linking two or more trucks in convoy, using Introduction
connectivity technology and automated driving support systems. The benefits of platooning are increased fuel efficiency due to
lower air resistance, reduced driver engagement and increased safety. The latter holds of course only true if the platooning
function is well designed, optimized, calibrated and tested.
The Challenge
The AVL Solution
1. Applying an open model-based development approach in the prototype phase we
rapidly set up a development environment using validated fuel consumption model with
AVL CRUISE™ M, simple C-code controls and an open source SUMO environment model. Case Study
Within shortest time, a first virtual evaluation can be performed giving a fuel
consumption estimation of 3-7%. Conclusion
2. Evolving the model to a MiL set-up with a detailed vehicle model in AVL VSM™, mature
controls in Matlab/SIMULINK and a detailed environment model in VTD Vires, function
optimization and safety trade-off analysis can be done in high fidelity, under realistic
scenarios, in a distributed computing environment.

3. Adding an RT/non-RT coupling element to Model.CONNECTTM, a complete MiL set-up

can be run in co-simulation with real truck on the vehicle testbed. This is where
integration, hardware and functional safety test are performed under the same
scenarios as in the previous stage.

4. Final verification and validation tests are still performed on the road but only in a
minimum necessary scope. Mission accomplished!
Conclusion
FEATURES

Introduction
• Mastering complexity and meeting development targets for ADAS/AD systems in terms of safety, comfort and The Challenge
efficiency is only possible by an extensive deployment of simulation aided virtualization along the whole
development and validation process. The AVL Solution
• Open model-based development platform combined with scenario-based validation and virtualized testing is the
key to the optimization of development efficiency and product quality. Case Study
• AVL provides a complete virtualized ADAS/AD development and validation framework including simulation tools, Conclusion
open MiL/SiL integration platform, scenario management, cloud computing, HiL/ViL testing environment, data
analytics, functional prototype management as well as development and in-use monitoring tools.

• The best development efficiency can be reached by a smart combination of virtual and real development and
validation environments within a seamless toolchain and development process, tailored for given applications and
organization specifics.
ABOUT AVL

AVL is the world‘s largest independent technology partner for the development, simulation and testing of
powertrain systems as well as innovative automotive solution concepts.

www.avl.com

CONTACT US

AST Marketing
ASTmarketing@avl.com
T: +43 316 787-0, fax: +43 316 787-400

AVL List GmbH

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8020 Graz, Austria

www.avl.com