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Masterprojekt Fahrzeugbau

Ankit Sheladiya

Comparison and evaluation of


programs for Vehicle dynamics
simulation
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Ankit Sheladiya (2333722)


Comparison and evaluation of programs for vehicle
dynamics simulation

Fakultät Technik und Informatik Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science


Department Fahrzeugtechnik und Flugzeugbau Department of Automotive and
Aeronautical Engineering
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Masterprojekt eingereicht im Rahmen der Masterprüfung

im Studiengang Fahrzeugbau
am Department Fahrzeugtechnik und Flugzeugbau
der Fakultät Technik und Informatik
der Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften Hamburg

Erstprüfer: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dirk Adamski

Abgabedatum: 07.08.2018
Zusammenfassung

Vergleich und Bewertung von Programmen zur Fahrdynamiksimulation

Stichworte
Simulation Software, Fahrdynamiksimulation, Fahrsimulator, usw.

Kurzzusammenfassung
Für die Simulation der Fahrdynamik von Fahrzeugen stehen mittlerweile viele
Programme zur Verfügung. Im Rahmen diese Projektarbeit Zwei Programme
verglichen und für den Einsatz am Fahrsimulator des Departments
Fahrzeugtechnik und Flugzeugbau bewertet werden. Da beide kommerzielle
Programme eingesetzt werden sind, sind insbesondere die Kosten, die
Dokumentation, die Lizenzen und der Support sind betrachtet.

Für den Einsatz sind darüber hinaus die erforderliche Hard und Software, die
Bereitstellung von Beispielen, die Parametrierung der Fahrzeugmodelle, die
Bedienbarkeit, die Animation der Fahrzeugbewegung, die Kopplung mit externer
Hardware (Lenkrad, Pedalerie, VR-Brillen, usw.), die Echtzeitfähigkeit, die
Möglichkeit von User Funktion, Import eigener Grafikelemente, Export von
Animationen, Auswertung von Simulationsergebnissen herauszuarbeiten.
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Abstract

Comparison and evaluation of programs for vehicle dynamics simulation

Keywords
Simulation Software, Driving Simulator, Vehicle Dynamics, etc.

Abstract
Recently many softwares are available for Simulating the Vehicle dynamics of
Vehicles. As part of this project work, two softwares are compared and evaluated
for use on the driving simulator of the Department of Vehicle Technology and
Aircraft Design. Since both softwares are commercially available, focus will be on
Cost, Documentation, Licenses and support.

In addition, the required hardware and software, the provision of examples, the
parameterization of the vehicle models, the operability, the animation of the vehicle
movement, the coupling with external hardware (steering wheel, pedals, VR
glasses, etc.), the real-time capability to elaborate the possibility of user function,
import of own graphic elements, export of animations, evaluation of simulation
results are evaluated.

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Table of Contents
Table of Contents .............................................................................................. III
List of Figures .................................................................................................... IV
List of abbreviations .......................................................................................... V
1 Introduction................................................................................................. 6
2 Tool Requirements ..................................................................................... 7
2.1 System Requirements .................................................................................. 7
2.2 License and Cost .......................................................................................... 8
2.2.1MATLAB and Vehicle Dynamics Blockset .................................................... 8
2.2.2IPG CARMAKER .......................................................................................... 9
3 Support and Documentation ................................................................... 10
3.1 In MATLAB ................................................................................................. 10
3.2 In Carmaker ................................................................................................ 11
4 External Platform Support ....................................................................... 12
4.1 MATLAB with External Hardware Platforms ............................................... 12
4.2 IPG CarMaker............................................................................................. 13
5 Simulating Example ................................................................................. 15
5.1 Defining Vehicle Model ............................................................................... 16
5.2 Defining Vehicle Maneuver ......................................................................... 23
5.3 Defining Test Scenarios ............................................................................. 26
5.4 Starting Simulation ..................................................................................... 29
5.5 Test Manager ............................................................................................. 33
5.6 3D Visualisation .......................................................................................... 34
5.7 Driving Simulator ........................................................................................ 37
6 Conclusion ................................................................................................ 39
7 Reference .................................................................................................. 40

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List of Figures
Figure 1 MATLAB System Requirement ................................................................. 7

Figure 2 Support Dokumentation MATLAB........................................................... 10

Figure 3 Steering System Test Bench with Xpack4 .............................................. 13

Figure 4 ISO 3888 Double Lane Change Test Track............................................ 16

Figure 5 Simulink Start Page for Vehicle Dynamics Blockset ............................... 16

Figure 6 Vehicle Body Model in MATLAB ............................................................. 17

Figure 7 Double Lane Change Example in Simulink ............................................ 18

Figure 8 Passenger Vehicle Block ........................................................................ 19

Figure 9 CarMaker Main GUI................................................................................ 20

Figure 10 IPG CarMaker Vehicle Data set............................................................ 21

Figure 11 IPG CarMaker Model Parameter Check ............................................... 22

Figure 12 Lane Change Reference Generator Block............................................ 24

Figure 13 Linear Predictive Driver Block .............................................................. 25

Figure 14 IPG CarMaker Maneuver ...................................................................... 26

Figure 15 3D Engine Block ................................................................................... 27

Figure 16 IPG CarMaker Scenario Editor ............................................................. 28

Figure 17 Road Preview in IPG Movie .................................................................. 29

Figure 18 Virtual Dashboard in MATLAB .............................................................. 30

Figure 19 2D XY plotter MATLAB ......................................................................... 31

Figure 20 IPG Control 2.0.2 .................................................................................. 32

Figure 21 IPG CarMaker Instruments ................................................................... 33

Figure 22 IPG CarMaker Test Manager ............................................................... 34

Figure 23 Camera Position in Simulation window MATLAB ................................. 35

Figure 24 3D Simulation Window MATLAB .......................................................... 36

Figure 25 IPG Movie ............................................................................................. 37

Figure 26 IPG CarMaker for Driving Simulator ..................................................... 38


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List of abbreviations
FEM - Finite Element Method

MBS/MKS - Multi body System Dynamics

DOF - Degree of Freedom

HIL - Hardware-in-the-loop

GUI - Graphical User Interface

GCS - Global Co-ordinate system

ADAS - Advanced Driver Assist system

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1 Introduction
Vehicle development is a Complex Task which involves so many different tests under
different conditions. As an Automobile engineer one need to study the effect of this
different Conditions on Vehicle and passengers which is known as Vehicle Dynamics. In
other word it’s the vehicle’s behaviour to the drivers Command on a given road. This
includes the parameters such as Brake, Steering, Suspension, Aerodynamic Load, Drive
Train, Tires etc. Old method was to make the demo vehicle and Test those demo cars to
achieve the desirable goal for such Vehicle Dynamic Parameters. This method takes us
to near to real value, but it is expensive and take lots of time for testing and Constructions
of the demo Test vehicles. In this rapidly changing digital world thanks to advancement
of Computing technology we can simulate the vehicle dynamics in Software Environment.
Here the demo Vehicle is not needed, it is represented by the equations of motions of
Vehicle Model and its controllers in Real time. Here computer carries out the graphic
computations which generates the 2D or 3D output on screen and give the information
and Values of different useful parameters. In this way Engineers can rectify the issues
and solve it during the vehicle being developed, before the final Vehicle is fabricated and
made available for market. This way in Software Environment simulations can be carried
out to tune the vehicle Dynamics of Cars.

To serve this purpose, there are many software available in the market which are based
on the complex computations of Finite Elements Method (FEM) and Multibody System
Dynamics (MBS) (MKS in German). Some of those Software are ADAMS (MSC
Software), IPG Car Maker, Vehicle Motion (PLM Siemens), SIMPACK (Simpack AG),
DYNA4 (Tesis Dynaware), Cruden Panthera,etc. Apart from this MATLAB version 2018a
has included Vehicle Dynamics Blockset to allow user to simulate the Vehicle Models
inside the MATLAB environment using Simulink.

In this project focus will be on commercial Simulation Software from IPG Automotive
which is known as IPG CarMaker and MATLAB Vehicle Dynamics Blockset. Here as part
of this project work effectiveness of the Software environment as per user perspective
and ease of simulation will be discussed.

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2 Tool Requirements
Every software has some minimum system requirements to run the Application without
any trouble. It can be divided into two Category. Software and Hardware requirements.
Apart from this System requirements user need to have licence for this commercial
software to use these tools in their system.

2.1 System Requirements

As Vehicle Dynamics Blockset is part of MATLAB software Package, requirements of


MATLAB Package are also important to know. Here for this project MATLAB Version of
2018a is taken into consideration.

Figure 1 MATLAB System Requirement

Apart from Windows OS it can also be installed and used successfully on latest versions
of Mac and Linux OS with similar kind of system Specifications. As per the system
Specification user experience can be varied. Specifically, in vehicle Dynamics Blockset,
additional MATLAB Module Simulink and as recommended modules Simscape and
Stateflow are needed. As an Optional but interesting feature of Vehicle Dynamics, it
comes with a 3D Visualization Engine, which has its own hardware requirements as given
below:

 Graphics card (GPU): Virtual Reality (VR) ready with 8-GB on-board RAM
 Processor (CPU): 2.60 GHz
 Memory (RAM): 12 GB

IPG CarMaker on other Hand don’t have much higher hardware requirements. It is as
given below.

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CarMaker® Ver6.0 Minimum System Requirements:

 CPU:Core-i3/i5/i7 or AMD Athlon, 1 GHz or better


 Main memory:4096 MB RAM
 Free disk space:2GB (4 GB recommended)
 Graphics adapter:Adapter with OpenGL 2.1 hardware acceleration, 512MB
video RAM. For full functionality an adapter with OpenGL 4.3 support and
1024MB or more video RAM is needed, preferably NVidia GeForce / Quadro
or AMD based cards. Intel Chipsets: only Intel HD Graphics, HD 3000 or
better are supported.

 Screen resolution: 1280x1024 or better (1920x1050 / 1920x1200


recommended), 24/32-bit true colour Supported Operating Systems

 Microsoft Windows: - Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate, 32-bit and x64


edition - Windows 8.1, 32-bit and x64 edition

2.2 License and Cost

Theses both software tools are commercial one and are available in market for purchase.
In this part License and Subscription cost will be discussed.

2.2.1 MATLAB and Vehicle Dynamics Blockset

MATLAB is one of the widely used software by Engineers, Researchers and developers
for mathematical calculation and simulating applications in Computer environment. It
consists of different modules for every specific application, so cost of MATLAB license
can vary as per the number of extra modules needed.

Another factor is the buyer’s occupation and Purpose of using this software. As a student
and Education purpose price are reduced and for commercial use it is kept high. MATLAB
standard license can cost around 2000 € for perpetual license and 800 € for annual
license. For academic use this price is reduced to 500 € and 250 € respectively. For the
student version one need to pay 35 €, as an upgraded student suite version this price is
kept 69 €. As an individual home user can get the basic MATLAB license for 119 € with
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the freedom to buy add-ons as low as 35 Euro each as per the user requirements. So as
summary one can customize their MATLAB experience as per the need and by buying
selectively add-ons for the application such as Simulink for Simulation etc.

2.2.2 IPG CARMAKER

License cost of IPG CARMAKER license is not publicly available on their website. Like
MATLAB’s pricing policy they also have different price structure for Commercial and
Educational purpose. One can post query to get test version of the Software which can
be used for 6 weeks. Their query-based contact system is available to get information
about License. You can choose between test licenses, commercial network licenses and
Formula CarMaker licenses.

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3 Support and Documentation

3.1 In MATLAB

MATLAB is the high-level language and interactive environment used by millions of


engineers and scientists worldwide. The matrix-based language is a natural way to
express computational mathematics. This software consists of different modules for
different sets of applications, which increase the complexity of the Software environment.
To make it easy to understand and provide information for beginner MATLAB has
provided a Webpage Based Support documentation, which comes in use to navigate
quickly to the desired topics with ease of single click. They are explained with examples
and reference Blocks. Our focus is on newly launched Vehicle Dynamics Blockset, which
is also integrated in this support documentation.

Figure 2 Support Dokumentation MATLAB

To explain every feature of this Blockset they have provided tutorials with examples.
Which is lots of information at a glance. It might seem complicated in the beginning but
has covered all the aspects of the software environment. One need to know on which
topic they require help and search for the right keyword to get the needed Help. If
someone wish to get the Offline Documentation, they can get the PDF version of the
same Web based support content related to the Module or Blockset in appropriate order
with Index. But its more convenient to get needed Help over Web based support
documentation as it is easy to navigate through different topics quickly.

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Apart from this MATLAB has large userbase community where one can ask questions
related to software issues and get suggestions from its 250000+ contributing members,
which is known as MATLAB Answers. There are also some other unofficial MATLAB
communities on Internet which can also be Helpful to get some info and Tips for Custom
queries. Apart from this one can always contact MATLAB support team in case of any
difficulties regarding software.

3.2 In Carmaker

IPG Carmaker has included Quick Start Guide and User’s Guide to understand the
working of this tools in its Help Section. Quick start guide is intended to give a first
impression of CarMaker and how it can be used to perform simulations In CarMaker and
using Simulink. It serves the purpose of Tutorial to CarMaker. Other documents and
Manuals available in CarMaker Help section describe the software in much greater depth.
It consists of using, grasping and programming the CarMaker Software package. In quick
start guide one can follow steps given to create their first test run to get familiar with the
software interface. The support manuals are easy to understand and has used Images
from the CarMaker GUI interface to make it easy to understand. That way Documentation
in CarMaker is easy to understand when we compare it to Web based Documentation of
Vehicle Dynamic Blockset. One need to scroll a little bit to get to the needed information
as these manuals are in range of 500+ pages on average. Quick start guide consists of
120 pages.

If there are some specific queries one can also contact CarMaker service team on their
website by sending them support request. There is no official dedicated community to
help the user by sharing support and experiences. But that can be fulfilled by the
dedicated Carmaker Support Team.

In this parameter both software has unique way to explain their product to end user. As
new user MATLAB’s support documentation would serve better with Tutorials and
Examples. On other IPG’s simple quick start guide can make user familiar with the tool
instantly.

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4 External Platform Support


Both Simulation tools provides a Standard modal architecture, which can be applied
throughout the entire vehicle development process. It can be ride and handling analyses,
Chassis controls development, Software integration testing, Hardware-in-the-loop testing
and even vehicle in the loop system. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation, or HWIL, is
a technique that is used in the development and test of complex real-time embedded
systems.

4.1 MATLAB with External Hardware Platforms

In MATLAB with help of Vehicle Network Toolbox we can send, receive, encode and
decode CAN, CAN FD, J1939 and XCP messages in MATLAB functions and Simulink
Blocks. With this feature we can identify, and parse specific signals using CAN database
files and then visualize the decoded signals using CAN Bus monitor app. We can connect
to an ECU via XCP on CAN or Ethernet. This toolbox let us communicate with in-vehicle
networks and monitor, filter and analyze lice CAN bus data or log and record messages
for analysis and replay. This toolbox supports CAN interface devices from Vector, Kvaser,
PEAK-System, and National Instruments.

This toolbox provides MATLAB following capabilities…

1.Send and receive CAN and CAN FD messages from MATLAB and Simulink
2.Communicate over XCP protocol
3.Communicate over the J1939 protocol
4.Visualize CAN traffic
5.Use Vector CAN Database files
6.Use A2L description files
7.Work with MDF files
8.Use Virtual channels

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4.2 IPG CarMaker

CarMaker simulation software offers as an open integration and test Platform, versatility
in its Application. It supports many popular software and Hardware platforms as given
below.

 Supported IDEs (Integrated Development Environment):


o MS Visual Studio
o Eclipse

 Model interfaces:
o Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI)
o MATLAB/Simulink
o C code
o GT-SUITE
o AVL CRUISE
o TASS Delft-Tyre
o Tame Tire
o Cosin FTire

Figure 3 Steering System Test Bench with Xpack4

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 Tool interface:
o rFpro
o ADTF
o AVL CONCERTO
o ETAS INCA
o Google Earth

 Supported hardware platforms:


o IPG Automotive Xpack4
o National Instruments PXI Platform
o ETAS LABCAR
o dSPACE SCALEXIO and ds1006

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5 Simulating Example
In every Simulation, model building is very important Task and it can have its direct impact
on the Simulation Result and Quality of Simulation. Here with the simple example the
functions and ease of use can be compared between these two simulation tools. As
MATLAB has introduced Vehicle Dynamics Blockset with some detailed Examples to get
started with it. It will serve the purpose of this work. The focus of this work is to get idea
about working of this software and differentiate with each other. The same example will
be simulated in IPG CarMaker.

For this work the example Yaw stability on varying road surfaces is taken into
consideration. This simulation can be useful to analyse the vehicle yaw stability and
determine the Maneuver success. For this simulation double-lane change Maneuver on
different surfaces need to be performed in both available software.

This example has been designed to suit the ISO 3888-2 standards. It tests the obstacle
avoidance performance of a vehicle. Here driver need to do following tasks…

1. Accelerates until vehicle hits a target velocity


2. Release the accelerator pedal
3. Turn steering wheel to follow path into the left lane
4. Turns steering wheel to follow path back into the right lane

In real test boundaries are marked with cones. Test is considered successful if the vehicle
performs the Maneuver without hitting a cone.

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Figure 4 ISO 3888 Double Lane Change Test Track

Here the standard procedure will be followed for both the software. For the vehicle
simulation first, the vehicle model should be defined. That will be followed by Maneuver
conditions and variation in surrounding parameters. This way all needed steps will be
compared simultaneously.

5.1 Defining Vehicle Model

Vehicle Dynamics Blockset comes with 3 preloaded vehicle models. which are as
following. One can use the reference example and customize according to needs or use
the Vehicle body blocks in Simulink to implement 3DOF,7DOF, and 14 DOF vehicle
motion.

Figure 5 Simulink Start Page for Vehicle Dynamics Blockset

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Figure 6 Vehicle Body Model in MATLAB

In Figure 6 Vehicle Body 6DOF block is showed. It implements a six degrees-of-freedom


(DOF) rigid two-axle vehicle body model to calculate longitudinal, lateral, vertical, pitch,
roll, and yaw motion. The block accounts for body mass and aerodynamic drag between
the axles due to suspension and external forces and moments. It can be connected to
virtual sensors, suspension system, or external systems like body control actuators. This
way from scratch complete simulation setup can be performed. Vehicle Dynamics

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Blockset also offers Blocks for Powertrain, Steering and Suspension which can be
connected in Simulink to form a working virtual vehicle model.

Figure 7 Double Lane Change Example in Simulink

In this case as default 7DOF Passenger vehicle is taken, it can be swapped with 14DOF
Passenger Vehicle Block if needed. Specifications and Parameters of vehicle can be
defined by opening vehicle Block. Here knowledge of Simulink and MATLAB plays crucial
role, as everything is performed in MATLAB and Simulink environment. Here Passenger
Vehicle Block includes Engine, Steering, Transmission, Driveline, Brakes, Body,
Suspension and wheels. These parts of vehicle can be customized by replacing blocks
with own blocks or by making changes in existing Blocks in MATLAB Vehicle Dynamics
Blockset.

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Figure 8 Passenger Vehicle Block

In IPG CarMaker GUI makes things little bit easy and fluent in Compare to MATLAB
Vehicle Dynamics. To open vehicle model one can add available Demo Car Models from
CarMaker Library. CarMaker library have different types of vehicle models available,
which are pre-rendered for its IPG Movie. If the needed Car model is not available in the
library, then one can take default demo vehicle and customize it according to the
requirements.

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Figure 9 CarMaker Main GUI

CarMaker gives the power to user with its GUI interface to keep eye on the complete
simulation in one window. After selecting the Car Model one can see the parameter
attached to this demo vehicle and adjust it according the required data. By opening
Vehicle Data set one can see the different parameters attached to the Selected model.
Here vehicle tires and Load conditions can define from the main GUI directly. For this
project standard tires are taken into consideration and average Driver weight is added
into the system. With this vehicle model is ready for simulation, one need to check the
parameters in background used in this model. To Control and Check the vehicle Data and
parameters one can open Vehicle Data set and check parameters from GUI menu.

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Figure 10 IPG CarMaker Vehicle Data set

As shown in Figure 9 different aspects of Vehicle such as Body, Engine, Suspensions,


steering, Tires etc are given. Those values can be changed to match with taken vehicle
to get the correct results. It can useful to compare this data with Physical model of the
vehicle.

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Figure 11 IPG CarMaker Model Parameter Check

As shown in figure 10 one can check and correct model parameters before simulation.
Here it can be used to give limits to taken model. Normally its values are standard as
used widely. One can change the values if needed before taking vehicle model in
simulation.

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5.2 Defining Vehicle Maneuver

For double lane change Maneuver vehicle needs to perform tasks according to ISO 3888-
2 standards. First task is to achieve a target velocity and then take the left and right turn
simultaneously. For simulation Driver is given a Path and command to steer, Acceleration
and braking. In MATLAB Maneuver is defined with Simulink Blockset. In this example
Lane Change Reference Generator is doing this task. To define the Lane signals for the
Visualisation subsystem left and right boundaries are taken as the function of Vehicle
Width parameter. Lateral reference position breakpoints and Lateral reference data are
used to specify the lateral reference trajectory as a function of longitudinal distance. It can
be used by the Predictive Driver block as Velocity and lateral reference signals. Target
velocity is defined by Longitudinal entrance velocity setpoint. Distance after target speed
to begin reference can also defined in this block to start Maneuver after a specified
distance when vehicle has achieved the target velocity.

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Figure 12 Lane Change Reference Generator Block

In this reference application Predictive Driver block is used to generate normalized


steering, acceleration and braking commands that track the reference trajectory given in
reference generator Block. Here this Block has characteristics to implement an Optimal
single pint preview control model. The model is representing driver steering control
behaviour during path-following and obstacle avoidance Maneuver. Apart from predictive
driver Blockset provides Lateral Driver and Longitudinal Driver.

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Figure 13 Linear Predictive Driver Block

In CarMaker to define vehicle Maneuver one can give commands in Maneuver Window,
which can be accessed from Main GUI window of CarMaker. Here as one can see in
figure 11 Lane Change ISO Maneuver is given in Maneuver box. Every step can be
defined specifically with reference to time or distance covered. One can also Change
driver parameters from Longitudinal Dynamics or Lateral Dynamics block. CarMaker also
comes with some preloaded Maneuver for driver which can be imported from its
Examples Library. Here in this case Double lane Change Maneuver will be performed.
Here commands are given to achieve target velocity, release Gas pedal and Change
Lane to avoid obstacle and come again back in the previous lane. CarMaker has their
IPG driver to perform the task, which takes the input as from the Maneuver and perform
the task of driver. It has learning ability to adopt the vehicle and drive as per the response
from vehicle.

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Figure 14 IPG CarMaker Maneuver

5.3 Defining Test Scenarios

To test the vehicle property with different parameters such as different road surfaces or
change in tyre properties. In MATLAB, it can be done by changing value in Simulink
blocks 3D engine. There are some standards scenario given as default, one can
download custom scenario from Unreal Engine Products Support package. This way it
has endless possibilities to get the custom scenes from Unreal Engine, which is known
for their 3D engine for High end Graphic Games. By Default, 3D Visualisation Engine is
disabled with its high hardware demands keeping in consideration. One need to have
high specification system to use the 3D engine, which was discussed earlier. In addition
to 3D engine for low End System vehicle XY plotter is given.

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Figure 15 3D Engine Block

IPG CarMaker comes with Scenario Editor where one can open given Examples
Scenario from CarMaker Library, customize it or create new Test Scenario from Scratch.
Here the tools shown in Figure below are useful to include Trees, Signboard and traffic
as per the need. To make it more realistic objects such as Home, Bridge, Tunnel can also
be placed. These objects do not have any effect on Simulation results, it’s just to make
3D Visualization more realistic.

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Figure 16 IPG CarMaker Scenario Editor

In IPG CarMaker one can see the designed road preview in IPG Movie, it’s the same
window where 3D visualisation of Simulation will be displayed. With Road Preview one
can get idea about the vehicle scenario and do the required changes. This feature is quite
useful for making 3D visualisation more realistic. In below figure preview for straight Road
is shown with stop sign at beginning. In CarMaker one need to define the Route in this
step, without route simulation will not begin. For taken example Straight Road is chosen
to perform Double lane Change Maneuver.

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Figure 17 Road Preview in IPG Movie

5.4 Starting Simulation

After defining Road, vehicle and other Simulation Parameter next thing to do is start
simulation. In MATLAB it can be done by starting Simulink simulation. In MATLAB by
default 3D visualisation is disabled. As default results will be displayed on 2D plot. In 3D
visualisation mode, it will open Unreal Engine to show the simulation on screen with
Graphic support and scenarios as defined. More scenarios and Custom Graphics can be
downloaded from the Unreal Engine support site. Some default options can be useful to
define standard simulation Scenarios of simulation.

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Figure 18 Virtual Dashboard in MATLAB

Figure 18 shows the 2D dashboard in Simulink which includes all necessary output
quantities from vehicle to get idea about the current state of vehicle. In general MATLAB
Simulink is taking more time to perform simulation compare to IPG CarMaker. Apart from
that there is a 2D XY plotter generated the diagram of vehicle position in X and Y direction
to get the basic idea about the simulation.

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Figure 19 2D XY plotter MATLAB

In MATLAB Data inspection manager can be used to get the logged data to see and
compare different quantities and their changes with respect to time in simulation.

IPG CarMaker Simulation can be started from the main GUI by clicking Start or from the
IPG Movie screen with play button. One need to decide whether they want to save the
result or not. Which can be changed by selection appropriate option from Storage of
results section. By selecting Save all mode the results of the simulation will be stored in
project directory in SimOutput folder. Here IPG Control window can be used to get the
required quantity with respect to time or any other quantity. This results file contains the
information about the simulation. This result can also be worked with help of MATLAB.

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With this IPG Control one can also get required quantity in real time of simulations too.
Here Yaw and Yaw rate are shown in below figure.

Figure 20 IPG Control 2.0.2

Another very good feature of CarMaker its IPG Instruments where user can keep eye on
Instrument panel of vehicle such as Gear, Acceleration, RPM, etc during simulation. It will
show the real time information during the simulation. It is the virtual dashboard for vehicle
during simulation.

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Figure 21 IPG CarMaker Instruments

5.5 Test Manager

As part of Vehicle development tests are done with ‘n’ number of parameters to identify
the best quantity for the vehicle. It can be different sizes of Tyres or vehicle length, Centre
of gravity etc. In such kind of quantities which one is the right in favour of the project is
the main purpose of vehicle simulation. To find out with same vehicle configuration these
quantities are varied to achieve the targeted Specifications.

So, for performing series of Test Runs MATLAB has variant Manager where one can
perform the simulation with different variables and get the result in same window with
running simulation only one time for every variable. Output will be given in the same
diagram with different variable to find out the best result.

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IPG CarMaker on the other hand have Test Manager for this purpose. Which do the same
task as variation Manger in MATLAB. Here it transfers more information in one go. Every
test run is showed in Test Manager Window. One can see the test run performed in given
order. Here different test runs can be used to get results for quantities of a given vehicle
under different circumstances. This way results files can be generated through Test
Manger for chosen Quantities.

Figure 22 IPG CarMaker Test Manager

5.6 3D Visualisation

MATLAB use the Unreal 3D engine to perform 3D visualisation for its simulation. Here
Elements from the Simulink blocks are taken for making 3D Rendering. In Simulation
Window camera angel can be changed with number keys 1 to 9.

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Figure 23 Camera Position in Simulation window MATLAB

Thanks to Unreal Engine 3D visualisation in MATLAB vehicle Dynamics Simulation looks


high quality with depth in details. It got light reflecting effect on Vehicle Body and
Environment effects also looks great. With some extra packages from Unreal Engine user
can customize this experience and make it even better.

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Figure 24 3D Simulation Window MATLAB

IPG CarMaker has their own 3D visualisation engine which performs a decent job in
Rendering Vehicle simulation IPG Movie. Best part is one can change the camera position
with mouse for custom location or choose from some standard location to get the best
shot of vehicle. Test runs can be displayed from different angles simultaneously as well
as through various types of lenses or via mirrors. All active sensors as well as different
lighting effects created by headlights can also be modelled, contributing to a realistic
visualization. A reference vehicle can be displayed in addition to the test vehicle, it allows
user to compare two test runs at the same time.

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Figure 25 IPG Movie

IPG CarMaker allow user to export simulation images and video to use it for further
external use such as Presentation. The quality of Video rendering can be user defined.
As higher the data rate, higher the resulting video quality and good quality file will lead to
bigger size of file. The output rendering is file is mpeg4 compatible that means external
codec software for encoding and decoding the Frames of IPG movie to video player is
needed. As another very interesting feature, IPG movie can connect to google Earth to
get the Real Scenario of the World. Here GCS (Global Coordinate system) is specified in
Road parameterization. This 3D visualisation Tool perform without any lag without
demanding any higher hardware requirements. This way it makes it more efficient as
Compare to 3D Visualisation Engine in MATLAB Vehicle Dynamics Blockset.

5.7 Driving Simulator

MATLAB with help of its Simulink Module can be used as driving simulator with help of
MATLAB coding and external Hardware it can be used as Driving simulator. There is no
ready-made module to use it directly as Driving simulator, user need to design the
Simulator with vehicle Dynamics Blockset. With Unreal Engine its quality surely can be of
great quality. In this area MATLAB can be a new Solution for Developing driving
Simulator. So there is good possibilities to integrate this tool in driving Simulator with

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Hardware such as Steering Wheel, Pedals, Gears, etc and can be visualised with help of
Unreal Engine.

IPG CarMaker can be also used in driving Simulator with its capability to supply data for
controlling motion platform. IPG Movie for visualizing the test drives. With IPG Road can
be used to create custom test track for Test drive. To make it more realistic IPG Traffic
can provide test scenarios with pedestrians, vehicles, traffic lights, traffic signs, etc. With
external Steering Wheel and Gas and Brake pedal CarMaker allows user to create a
custom Driving simulator. Software also have a virtual Reality capability which can be
also implemented in Driving Simulator.

Figure 26 IPG CarMaker for Driving Simulator

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6 Conclusion
Both the softwares are commercially available and performs decent job in Vehicle
simulation. IPG CarMaker is a specialised software for virtual test during vehicle
development process. Its GUI makes things easy to understand, not much skills are
required to perform a test run using its quick start guide. On other hand MATLAB is a
bigger environment for complex platform to perform complex mathematical and
engineering tasks. Vehicle Dynamics Blockset is integral part of MATLAB and Simulink
environment. Here knowledge of MATLAB and Simulink modules are required to perform
simulation. Inclusion of reference application makes it easy to get started with MATLAB
vehicle Dynamics Blockset, but to start with a Custom Simulation can lead to some
difficulties. With heavy Graphic and Hardware requirements user to need to invest in
special System to use the features of Vehicle Dynamics Blockset.

Both softwares have promising capabilities to provide virtual test drive to develop systems
such as ADAS (Advanced Driver Assist system) and Self driving Vehicles without risking
anyone’s life. Here Software and Hardware both systems can be verified and further
developed. User Friendly GUI of CarMaker makes it more convenient for user. It got
smooth procedure to run simulation. It’s Examples Library makes things easier to get start
with. IPG Road allows user to create their own custom scenario, inclusion of IPG traffic
makes it more realistic. Users who are used to work with MATLAB and Simulink will enjoy
the introduction of Vehicle Dynamics Blockset. It got a higher grade of Customizability.
Everything is shown in Simulink blocks which can be accessed easily and changed when
needed. Output from this tool can be worked in MATLAB environment and further
enhanced to achieve the Target Value.

Purpose of this work was not comparing the quality of simulation results but to analyse
the user friendliness and Customization capability. MATLAB has bigger Customization
Number, but in ease of use IPG CarMaker gets more number.

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7 Reference
1. IPG Automotive GmbH: User’s Guide: Version 6.0.2. 2017
2. MATLAB r2018a Support Documentation
3. Adamski, D. Simulation in der Fahrwerktechnik: Einführung in die Erstellung von
Komponenten- und Gesamtfahrzeugmodellen. Wiesbaden. Springer Fachmedien 2014:
ISBN: 978-3-658-06536-2; DOI: 10.1007/978-3-658-06536-2
4. Modeling of Double Lane Change Maneuver of Vehicles, ISSN:1229-9138;
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-018-0026-z

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