Test and measurement company Toyo Corporation has announced that a major US automotive manufacturer recently selected its vehicle-in-the-loop simulator (ViLS) to test and validate its next generation of electric and autonomous vehicles.
The ViLS allows automotive engineers to perform a wide variety of vehicle, environmental and road testing under real-world conditions but in a more cost-effective and safer lab-controlled setting. Toyo notes that the ViLS supports the CASE paradigm: ‘Connected’ cars, ‘Autonomous/Automated’ driving, ‘Shared’ and ‘Electric’.
The ViLS incorporates Rototest Energy chassis dynamometers, in addition to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and True Sim, a professional-grade driving simulator co-developed by Toyo and Iwane that features augmented reality functionality.
After a multi-month technical assessment of the ViLS with one of the auto maker’s EVs, the OEM established that it met its current and evolving needs. The auto maker particularly needed dynamometers capable of coping with the high-torque forces generated by EVs and observed that the Rototest system met this requirement.
The company has ordered two complete ViLS systems – the largest-ever order secured by Toyo for the ViLS in terms of value. The customer worked closely with Toyo’s US subsidiary, ToyoTech, through all phases of the procurement cycle. Delivery and deployment of the platforms are expected before the end of the year.
Bo Han, CEO of ToyoTech, commented, “A key to closing this transaction was the proof-of-concept (POC) evaluation that the auto maker took part in with our technology partner, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee. As a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory sponsored by the US Department of Energy, ORNL maintains a Toyo-supplied ViLS in DOE’s National Transportation Research Center at ORNL to support such endeavors. During the POC, the auto maker validated requirements and witnessed first-hand the ViLS in operation with its electric vehicle. We are grateful to ORNL for supporting the POC and look forward to assisting with the deployment and commissioning of the ViLS at the customer site.”
