Horiba Mira opens £4m UK driving simulator centre
Horiba Mira has launched a Driving Simulator Centre at its UK head office in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
The £4m centre at Horiba Mira includes a driver-in-the-loop simulator technology with the UK’s first VI-grade DiM250 Dynamic Simulator. Use of the simulator significantly reduces the need for physical vehicle testing and prototypes, reducing associated carbon emissions.
The Driving Simulator Centre enables automotive companies to conduct virtual development across many automotive applications. Predominantly this is focused on the driven attributes: vehicle dynamics, noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH), and drivability, but also includes holistic engineering across capabilities growing in complexity and importance, such as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), human machine interface (HMI) and x-in-the-loop (XiL) applications.
The facility aims to support established automotive OEMs, new start-up vehicle manufacturers and tier one suppliers developing new vehicles, By using virtual tools, the new capability will deliver vehicle attributes more sustainably and at a reduced development cost.
Customers using the Centre will also get access to its VI-grade COMPACT simulator, acquired in 2021, conveniently located within the same facility.
The Driving Simulator Centre puts the human-in-the-loop at the very start of the virtual engineering series. Attribute development engineers can make accurate and unlimited comparisons quickly and at lower cost, often at the flick of a switch. This is especially important when working to balance conflicting attributes of a design to achieve an optimised vehicle, rather than waiting for a physical prototype – and in many cases can significantly reduce the number of prototypes required.
Alongside the Driving Simulator Centre, Horiba Mira has made significant investments in its propulsion and electromobility capabilities, as well as developing the Mira Technology Park in Nuneaton, which is now home to over 40 companies working on emerging technologies.
“Through the newly launched Driving Simulator Centre, the speed, cost and complexity of refining driven vehicle attributes to meet today’s changing customer expectations is significantly reduced. This new facility enhances our capabilities and is an enabler of its attribute-led development methodology, while also being a critical tool supporting complex engineering developments across ADAS, HMI and XiL,” said Declan Allen, Managing Director at Horiba Mira.
Guido Bairati, Managing Director at VI-grade said, “We are delighted that VI-grade and its simulators have been selected as the tools of choice for HORIBA MIRA and its Driving Simulator Centre. With a long and respected automotive engineering history, we’re excited that both VI-grade’s DiM250 Dynamic Simulator and COMPACT simulator will be supporting global automotive manufacturers and suppliers as they look ahead to future vehicle programmes and engineering challenges.”
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