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Ansys is collaborating with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation (Sony) to enhance the validation of perception systems for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles (AVs). By integrating simulation capabilities with Sony’s imaging technology, this partnership enables more comprehensive evaluations of sensor performance under varied environmental and lighting conditions.
Key Highlights:
- Real-time multispectral simulations: Integrating camera sensors with dynamic lighting and weather conditions
- Predictive accuracy: Simulating pixel characteristics and signal processing to replicate real-world scenarios
- Accelerated validation: Significantly reducing on-road test hours by employing high-fidelity virtual environments
- Broad compatibility: Integrating seamlessly with multiple simulation toolchains and cloud-enabled resources
ADAS and AV systems rely on camera, radar, and LiDAR sensor inputs to interpret their surroundings. The inability to reliably verify these sensors can result in safety issues, regulatory hurdles, and diminished consumer trust. By leveraging Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors and Sony’s HDR Image Sensor Model, manufacturers gain access to scenario-based testing that improves performance, reduces risks, and streamlines development.
The AVxcelerate Sensors platform generates a virtual environment complete with varied lighting, weather, and material conditions. When combined with Sony’s HDR imager, the simulation recreates pixel-level responses with exceptional predictive accuracy. This approach provides users with flexibility, allowing them to define test parameters in advance or input real-time perception feedback. Ultimately, this thorough evaluation process bolsters accuracy, reliability, and safety within ADAS and AV applications.
Beyond sensor imaging, these simulations facilitate the injection of virtual images into software-on-chip perception systems. The integration of an electronic control unit into the same simulated environment ensures that all aspects of the vehicle’s decision-making process are tested cohesively. This methodology allows for early detection of potential issues and reduces the need for extensive on-road testing.
“Achieving full autonomy involves OEMs working with leading technology providers like Ansys to enhance the accuracy of the integrated tools used to validate AV systems,” said Tomoki Seita, general manager, automotive business division, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation. “Through this collaboration, customers can confidently verify their systems using highly reproducible, predictively accurate simulations. This is especially useful for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers that run actual camera simulations to verify recognition algorithms and vehicle control software.”
The AVxcelerate platform is also designed to accommodate customer-specific simulation toolchains, from open-source platforms to other commercial solutions, and is readily scalable and cloud-enabled. This versatility enables design teams to generate realistic training datasets before sensors are physically assembled, thereby expediting the entire verification process.
“Meeting safety compliance is a top priority for our OEM customers, but it is incredibly difficult to achieve due to the number of scenarios that need to be tested,” said Shane Emswiler, senior vice president of products at Ansys. “Ansys offers a breadth of multiphysics simulation solutions to make AVs safer and more reliable while accelerating the development process. With AVxcelerate Sensors, users can replicate on-road decision-making in a high-fidelity virtual environment, enhancing predictive accuracy and transforming the way companies design and test AVs.”
For those interested in learning more, Ansys will be exhibiting its automotive solutions at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, providing insights into how simulation technology is driving innovation in ADAS and AV systems.
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