Development, validation and rt performance assessment of a platform for driver-in-the-loop simulation of vehicle dynamics

Real-time (RT) simulation is a valuable tool in the design and testing of vehicles and vehicle parts, especially when interfacing with hardware modules working at a given rate, as in hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) testing. This scenario is typical when vehicles are equipped with active devices that provide the driver with driving assistance in critical conditions. A specific class of HiL simulation, also known as Driver-in-the-Loop simulation, is a powerful tool to test Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) through laboratory tests that actively involve the driver in simulated maneuvers. In this paper, the modular structure of a platform for DiL simulation of road vehicles is described, along with the hardware and the software components needed to enable the interaction of a human user with the simulated environment. The core of the platform is an efficient numerical model for vehicle dynamic simulation, which is developed by using a lumped-parameter formulation and validated by comparison against simulation results achieved with a high-fidelity vehicle model. An evaluation of the computational efficiency is also achieved by assessing the RT performance of the simulation model under a RT operating system.