Virtual sanity

Can sophisticated driving simulators replace costly, physical prototypes? We visit the new £4m Horiba MIRA simulator complex to take a digital drive

- JOHN BARKER

COMPUTER-BASED VIRTUAL ENGINEERING Chas already helped compress vehicle development times and reduce costs. It allows complex engineering solutions to be packaged and tested before a physical prototype has been built, and many car makers now hold highly detailed digital models of their complete cars, and their tyres. Some anticipate that the next step will be to use these models to drive them virtually in a simulator instead of building early, physical engineering prototypes.

That's the view of Horiba MIRA, the research and development business based near Nuneaton in the Midlands, which has just opened a new £4million driving simulator complex. Its centrepiece is a VI-grade DiM250 Dynamic Simulator, pictured here, which is one of the world's most advanced multi-axis simulators.

Building the first physical, driveable prototypes of a brand-new model is both expensive and time-consuming, and the learning that results from driving and testing them is not definitive. This is because they are often hand-built from a combination of design intent and non-intent parts and so can be unrepresentative in significant areas such as structural rigidity. Also, if engine and gearbox development is ongoing, early drivetrains will also be unrepresentative, while chassis components may also be fabricated rather than 'off-tool' and the set-up will be best guess.

Yet despite their lack of maturity, these early prototypes are valuable for confirming proof of concept and may also highlight unforeseen issues. The first drive is a significant milestone in the development cycle of a new model, a real watershed moment, offering the first insight into the dynamic character of the car, how it performs against expectation, what areas are to target or on the right trajectory, and which will need more focus or even a rethink. You need to be able to see beyond the crudeness of the prototype to identify the potential, and that takes skill and experience.