Modelica Library for Real-Time Car Simulator

Presenter: Dario Mangoni, Engineering Professor, University of Parma

In the modern car industry, the advent of hybrid and electric vehicle systems is driving radical changes in the car electronics and software, demanding more and more advanced controlling techniques. Self-stopping, self-starting, ultimately self-driving cars are nowadays possible, because of the multitude of sensors, controller units and actuators making the vehicles “smart”. To simplify and make the interaction between the user and the machine more and more intuitive and user-friendly, a much broader and deeper investigation of different use scenario combined with the human interaction and intervention is critical. In this context, higher-detailed vehicle models are required to provide a valid prototyping tool which can be reliably used to test innovative controlling strategies, such as testing with the Man-In-the-Loop.

The Car Real-Time Modelica library proposed here aims at providing a highly valuable tool for the vehicle control system design and test. The key competitive advantages in this approach are in the Maple model-based compiler for supporting high-level of details modeling; the adoption of the Modelica language which allows a transparent and physical approach to the modeling activities and finally the Activate platform which offers real-time capabilities within an environment meant for the signal-based control design. To graphically validate the library results, a visualization framework for realistic real-time simulations that assures high-fidelity scenario in which to test user experience was also realized.