Engineering news
Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick has launched a 3xD simulator in its International Manufacturing Centre building on the University of Warwick campus.
The simulator, currently one of the most advanced in the world, uses a laser scan of 30 miles of Coventry roads to test driverless pods as part of a research programme called Innovate Testing of Autonomous Control Techniques (INTACT).
For the project, Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) worked with RDM Group - the UK’s only designer and manufacturer of driverless pods - to test them on the simulator. The simulator was unveiled at the centre by Ralf Speth, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover, which has invested in the research for the project.
Speth said: “The unveiling of the simulator outlines the long-term commitment between Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, WMG and the university. We must renew not just the design and engineering of our vehicles but the way we work and that’s the benefit we get from working with WMG. New skills, collaboration and an excellent facility like this one will allow us to develop world-leading innovation.”
Professor Paul Jennings from WMG at the University of Warwick told PE: “The simulator will use a LIDAR scan which is essentially a high resolution laser scan of an environment of 30 miles of real roads around the city of Coventry to the test vehicles in the simulator, which can be configured so that different vehicles can be driven into it for testing, and the real world wireless environment will be recreated too. We believe both will be novel capabilities for such an advanced simulator.
“We need to test and evaluate autonomous technology but there are limitations and one of those is that we have no control over what happens in the outside world and the factors that may influence the safety of autonomous vehicles. Here we can bridge the gap between virtual and real-world testing and learn more quickly about the technology going forwards and how people will use, respond and react to the technology.”
Simon Brewerton, chief technology officer at RDM Group, told PE: “It will speed up the testing process considerably and help with the positioning of the sensors on the pods. Yet another example of how university and industry can work together to put the region and the country at the forefront of driverless technology.
“We use high-quality lasers, scanners and cameras to get a big colour point cloud from the world and run this on the simulator to give the whole environment including road markings, trees, and we then add random random people, cyclists, dogs to test the technology.”
Next year will see the opening of the National Automotive Innovation Centre at the university. The £150 million project, also backed by Jaguar Land Rover, WMG and the government, will become a base for advanced research, with academics and engineers working together. In addition, JLR has laid out expansion plans for the area worth almost £500 million, which it says will make Coventry the “hearts and brains” of the company.
JLR's Speth added: "JLR has 300 of its engineers and researchers based at WMG which we are looking to double next year when we open the National Automotive Innovation Centre.