ADAS software with cloud-native quality test automation solution ramped up
Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division has unveiled a new cloud-native solution to test, train, and validate Advanced Driver-Assisted Systems (ADAS) along with autonomous vehicle systems. The company seeks to take advantage of hyperscale computing and automation, with Virtual Test Drive X (VTDx) being able to validate the quality and function of software against thousands of real-world scenarios automatically.
The new technology accelerates the time it takes for a product to go to market. Software is playing an increasingly large hand in vehicle design, enabling innovations for customers around convenience and safety. Software-defined vehicles (SDVs) are applying more pressure to teams to deliver ADAS systems. The increase in sensors, AI, and other components is bottlenecking testing capabilities and limiting the amount of innovations making it onto market.
VTDx offers a comprehensive consumption-based service with the ability to scale up virtual prototyping and mitigate the delays, high cost, and safety risks associated with physical testing. The software is built bottom up to utilise the cloud computing power and automation of Hexagon’s Nexus digital reality platform. Software teams can build rigorous testing to take place alongside their continuous test, integrating workflows for ADAS and autonomous vehicle systems.
Using a web interface ADAS engineers can create and configure their system under test. Systems under test can be validated with highly accurate physics-based simulations using Hexagon’s environment simulation engine. When tests are conducted, both OpenDrive and OpenScenario standard compliant software-in-the-loop test programs run. Tens of thousands of simulations are run, or as many as needed, automatically and simultaneously, reducing delays in configuration.
Mahesh Kailasam, general manager at Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division, said: “We embarked on a journey to build our cloud-based ADAS simulation software from the ground up with CI/CT processes in mind, addressing the software development challenges our automotive customers face today. Whether aiming to increase test coverage, shorten test cycles, or automate workflows, our VTDx solution offers significant benefits.”
VTDx looks to address changes to ADAS including electrical/electronic (E/E) architecture being centralised and new stringent regulations coming into place. This can allow for new SDV testing strategies that align with modern software developments and practices.
The test design provides; continuous integration, continuous testing, seamless workflow integration, ease of use, scalability, cloud availability, and accessibility.
