Vehicle Modeling and Simulation in the Duisburg Mechatronics Laboratory

This paper gives an overview of the current industry based projects in the field of vehicle modeling and simulation in the Duisburg Mechatronics Laboratory. It shows the wide range of research fields covered in Duisburg, including vehicle systems, vehicle dynamics, occupant safety, adaptive cruise control, power steering, hardware in the loop, fault tolerant real time systems and tolerance analysis. 1 Systematic System Approach for a Car-Wide Web – where all the vehicle functions are in networking with each other Torsten Bertram Something historic is happening in the automobile business. It will affect the transportation world in the same way that the invention of the internal combustion engine affected personal transportation. The process is happening overnight and is influencing the whole industry. It involves an entirely new automobile development and manufacturing process. It requires a fundamental shift in thinking. From thinking of the car as a mechanical device that carries some electronic controls to thinking of the car as an mechatronic device (Figure 1.1). This means a device where the mechanical, electrical, and software parts are fully integrated (Dickinson 1996, DesJardin 1996). Figure 1.1: The automobile as a mechatronic device. visibility steer electrical supply system power unit body and interior vehicle motion vehicle coordinator engine