PADERBORN, GERMANY & LAS VEGAS --  dSPACE, one of the world’s leading providers of simulation and validation solutions, is expanding its partnership with the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) and will support its university racing teams not only with hardware, but also with simulation software in the future. The world’s fastest self-driving racecars have already been competing with on-vehicle computers from dSPACE at legendary racetracks around the world for more than a year. In the future, the university teams will also be able to use software-in-the-loop (SIL) solutions from dSPACE and receive training and engineering support. With the SIL simulations, the race teams will be able to train their AI Drivers to be more reliable, safer, and faster in a virtual environment.

As the official software-in-the-loop technology sponsor of the IAC, dSPACE provides its SIMPHERA solutions. SIMPHERA is a powerful framework that incorporates simulation models, test automation, test analysis, and a simulation platform and can integrate further components such as HIL simulators. The virtual test environments for desktop and cloud use offer teams full access to all components of the individually configurable framework. For example, components of the open simulation models can be replaced with your own models. In the cloud, the teams can simply upload their self-developed control software - AI-Driver - to the cloud and immediately carry out their first racing dynamics tests. In the future, the partnership will also focus on providing solutions for advanced sensor simulation.

dSPACE is already the exclusive on-vehicle computer technology sponsor of the IAC. For the past year, every IAC racecar has been driving with the dSPACE AUTERA AutoBox. The system has proven itself as a robust, reliable, and powerful central computer. It reads data from lidar and radar sensors and cameras as well as from buses and networks in the vehicle, processes it, and provides real time controls and commands for the full autonomous racecars with speeds up to 190 mph.

“In the first year of our partnership with the IAC, we were able to experience the competence and enthusiasm with which the teams use the pioneering technologies to further develop the racecars. Now that the AUTERA AutoBox has established itself as the brain of the IAC racecar, we are taking the next step and providing the top university engineers with a virtual racetrack. With the software-in-the-loop solutions, we equip IAC teams with powerful tools that enable them to gain insights early on and that make the difference in the end to win the IAC races,” explained Dr. Carsten Hoff, CEO of dSPACE.

“dSPACE has been a cornerstone partner for the IAC, playing a pivotal role in advancing our world’s fastest autonomous racecar. Increasing our collaboration, dSPACE will provide a customized version of its SIMPHERA SIL product, a best-in-class high-fidelity simulation tool that will offer our university teams a true digital twin of the next-gen IAC racecars and track environments. This partnership will enable true sim-to-real transfer learning and unlock the full potential of our teams’ AI Drivers to reach the pinnacle of safe high-speed automation,” said Paul Mitchell, President of the Indy Autonomous Challenge.

The next IAC competition is the Autonomous Challenge @ CES on January 11, 2024, on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during CES 2024, the world’s most influential technology event. dSPACE has its own booth (#4300) at CES and will also be represented at the IAC booth (#5901).