ESI : How does virtual testing accelerate automotive vehicle development?

This is an adaptation of an original article published by Tom Gill for CIMdata on October 21, 2021, available at: https://www.cimdata.com/en/resources/complimentary-reports-research/commentaries/item/16947-esi-s-virtual-prototyping-accelerates-automotive-vehicle-development-commentary

Climate change, resource use, and toxic pollution are global issues in need of solutions. Consumer demand and government regulation are the main drivers for change and within the automotive market, improvements in energy consumption, safety, emissions, and reliability are the most important characteristics to be optimized. According to industry research, 60% of companies in the automotive industry have a clear sustainability strategy: They are striving to reach the "Mission Zero" targets for mobility products: zero accidents, zero injuries, zero emissions, and zero unplanned stops while providing hours of maintenance-free range. CIMdata has been observing sustainability trends for many years and is pleased to see solution providers enhance their design, simulation, and data management software to better support green goals.

ESI has been partnering with industry leaders for decades to leverage advanced digital technologies to achieve these bold Mission Zero goals. Automakers have started pivoting away from single-point numerical simulation to end-to-end virtual prototyping: they design, engineer, manufacture, assemble, and test new vehicle concepts completely virtually - reducing scrap and emissions while introducing more agile and safe processes. From a financial and business model perspective, numerical reference results from virtual prototypes are preferred over physical tests. Allowing engineers to make sense of analyses facilitates accurate performance predictions in the early development stages.