SMART PROTOTYPES SUMMIT 2026

TBA

Filippo Mantovani

General Manager Ride & Handling, ADAS and autonomous driving, Alpine

TBA

TBA

TBA TBA

TBA, Applus+ IDIADA

TBA

Simulation‑Driven Calibration of Vehicle Control Systems for High‑Performance Vehicle

Pietro Caresia

Vehicle Dynamics Engineer, Brembo

Gianluca Vaini

Vehicle Dynamics Engineer, Brembo

This work presents a virtual calibration workflow applied to the Sensify vehicle control suite – Brembo’s distributed braking system – developed for a high-performance vehicle application. 
The activity starts from the OEM-provided vehicle and tyre models, which were integrated with Brembo’s state-of-the-art Sensify virtual environment.
A MIL environment was employed to calibrate EBD, ABS, and state estimators through extensive offline simulations, while DIL testing setup was used for ESC calibration, combining both objective metrics and subjective driver evaluations.
The proposed methodology accelerates development cycles by ensuring consistency across real and virtual environments and by aligning quantitative KPIs with driver feedback prior to track testing.
Furthermore, the robustness of the calibration was assessed by evaluating multiple tyre specson the same vehicle configuration within the presented virtual workflow.

TBA

TBA TBA

TBA, Concurrent Real-Time

TBA

TBA

Cristina Petrucci

ADAS Technical Project Leader, Automobili Lamborghini

Claudio Annicchiarico

CEO, Meccanica 42

TBA

100% Virtual Development of a Vehicle Motion Controller using VI-grade Driving Simulators

Tim Wright

Development Engineer, Porsche Engineering Services

This paper presents the development strategy for Porsche Engineering’s Motion Domain Controller (MDC), a centralized chassis and drivetrain controller. The MDC is developed using a 100% digital process, running in a Model-in-the-Loop (MiL) setup within digital prototypes at development centers in Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania, and Shanghai. The process relies on an extensive simulator program alongside traditional offline simulation techniques. This paper provides an overview of the tools and methods used to develop MDC functions, demonstrating how a fully digital workflow enhances efficiency, accelerates innovation, and refines vehicle dynamics control strategies.

TBA

TBA TBA

TBA, Saginomiya Seisakusho

TBA.

From emotion to innovation: Crafting next level vehicle motion control with EDAG Zero Prototype Lab

Jonas Groetzinger

Senior Expert Vehicle Motion & Performance Vehicles, EDAG Group

This project presents the development of a Vehicle Motion Controller (VMC) aimed at elevating vehicle performance and driving experience. Using the EDAG Zero Prototype Lab (ZPL), the development integrates simulation, rapid prototyping, and a representative test vehicle to enable efficient and realistic controller design. Detailed actuator representation and high fidelity damper model ensure accurate system behavior.
The resulting VMC features vehicle control and multi actuator usage strategies that ensure robust, fail operational behavior and performance optimized operation. System performance is evaluated through objective simulations and Driver in the Loop assessments, demonstrating the effectiveness of Zero Prototype Lab for next generation vehicle dynamics development.

Probabilistic Fatigue for Reliability Simulations. Case Study of Automotive components

Marco Bonato

Power Division Reliability Manager, Valeo

Structural simulation is increasingly used in the automotive industry to validate component designs without extensive physical prototyping. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) identifies stress concentrations and predicts fatigue damage, enabling durability estimation.
To address the limits of deterministic models, stochastic fatigue simulations incorporate variability in fatigue behavior. This study applies these methods to automotive components under mechanical reliability tests, using Monte Carlo simulations with Latin hypercube sampling and correlating results with physical failure tests through Weibull analysis.
Two case studies, a supporting bracket and a heat exchanger, demonstrate how probabilistic FEA results can be linked to real reliability tests, supporting faster validation and reducing reliance on physical testing.

Modal Based Approach and Random Vibration Method, different perspectives in Fatigue Life Prediction

Giuseppe Ieropoli

TBA, Iveco

With the improvement of the computational power of the electronic calculators, the possibility to go beyond the traditional limits of the design for fatigue has been realized. The traditional fatigue strength method for evaluating the capacity of a component to survive over a certain duty load has been evolved into a more complete concept for the fatigue life analysis.
The innovation concerns in the possibility of analyzing or designing systems by breaking down their dynamic behavior into natural frequencies, damping, and mode shapes. This is possible by using the modal based approach with the perturbation given in the time domain or in alternative the Random Vibration Method with the perturbation given in the frequency domain.
The study presented in this document shows how it’s possible to perform a Fatigue Life Prediction on a component using both the methods, considering as input a defined time signal (base time history) for the modal based approach and a PSD with a proper exposure time for the Random Vibration Method. This PSD and the relative exposure time are calculated with the the modern Digital Signal Processing techniques, starting from the base time history.
The aim is to demonstrate how it’s possible to observe the same fatigue phenomena by two different point of view, obtaining comparable results.

Merging the physical and virtual worlds through digital twins. Application to mechanical equipments to optimize design, monitoring and maintenance.

Mohamed Bennebach

Project Manager, CETIM

A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical system or process, combining a digital model with its real counterpart. It can represent geometric, multiphysical, functional, or behavioral aspects and is used to optimize control, safety, and production. For mechanical equipment, digital twins enable monitoring, performance evaluation, and data-driven design improvements.
This work presents the state of the art of digital twins in industry and a use case for fatigue evaluation and predictive maintenance of a pressure vessel. Such equipment faces harsh operating conditions, strict regulations, and safety risks, making traditional maintenance challenging. Real-time monitoring with digital twins can reduce downtime and maintenance costs, though implementation requires careful consideration of loads, materials, geometry, and environment.
The methodology, applicable to other mechanical components, involves: designing the physical twin with optimized sensors, conducting fatigue tests under representative loads, and building the digital twin by hybridizing physical and data models.

Durability assessment comparison using frequency domain (PSD) and Modal time histories approach.

Alberto Signorini

Enlarged Europe – Durability, Strength & Misuse – Body, Closures, Exteriors Structural Validation Manager, Stellantis

The transition to EV platforms adds significant battery mass, lowering body resonance frequencies and making dynamic analysis essential. Vehicle electronics like the BMS are analyzed in the frequency domain using PSD loading.
Load histories come from measurements or numerical twins, which simulate forces and accelerations through the vehicle and components, enabling faster development and “what-if” scenarios. Traditionally, car bodies were simulated in the time domain using modal approaches, but frequency-domain PSD methods can dramatically reduce analysis time. This work validates PSD loading by comparing fatigue life results for metal sheets and spot welds across two FEA solvers.

PODIUM DISCUSSION: Smart Testing Through Data Intelligence – Connecting Virtual Simulation & Physical Validation to Build Better Products

PODIUM DISCUSSION ARGUMENT: Smart Testing Through Data Intelligence

Feat: Applus+ IDIADA, Porsche Engineering, Valeo, CETIM, .

• Moderator:
  • Thomas Funder | LinkedIn
• Panelists:
  • Guido Tosolin | LinkedIn
  • Tille Karoline Rupp | LinkedIn
  • Marco Bonato | LinkedIn
  • Mohamed Bennebach | LinkedIn

Durability and Reliability User Group

TBA TBA

TBA, VI-grade

Join us for a half day on Friday morning for a dedicated nCode User Group Meeting that brings the full Smart Prototypes story together - where simulation, test data, and actionable insights connect. Expect a fast-paced mix of practical tips & tricks, customer-driven examples, and technical walkthroughs you can immediately apply in your own day-to-day work. We’ll explore emerging areas that matter to modern engineering teams - from test–CAE correlation and connected vehicle data, to advanced fatigue analysis techniques including welds and frequency domain fatigue, new products like Advantage Insights, and our evolving approach to AI and machine learning.
You’ll also have a unique opportunity to engage directly with our product management team - sharing feedback, discussing challenges, and influencing what you’d like to see next in nCode. If you’re looking for practical ideas, real user insights, and a chance to help shape the future direction of the tools you rely on, make sure you stay for Friday’s session.

NVH User Group

TBA TBA

TBA, VI-grade

Join us for a focused half day session dedicated to the latest in smart NVH development utilizing VI-NVHSim, where you'll join with your colleagues and VI-grade's NVH experts to exchange insights on current successes, challenges, and the evolving state‑of‑the‑art. This is your chance to share feedback directly with VI-grade's product management and technical experts to influence the future of VI-NVHSim, and to level-up your expertise with VI-NVHSim in your daily work. We’ll share updates on the NVH Simulator offerings, highlighting recent enhancements and a look ahead to what’s coming next across the VI‑grade NVH product line. The session will also feature real-world case studies and additional technical contributions from both VI-grade and HBK, offering practical examples and inspiration you can apply directly to your day‑to‑day NVH engineering work.

Ride & Handling (DiM) User Group

TBA TBA

TBA, VI-grade

Join us for a focused half day session dedicated to the latest advances in ride and handling development and driving simulation. Connect with fellow users and VI-grade experts to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and explore best practices across VI-DriveSim, VI-CarRealTime, and VI-WorldSim. The session will offer product and release updates, highlights from the latest enhancements, and a look ahead at future developments across the VI-grade simulator and real-time portfolio. It will also include practical examples and technical contributions from VI-grade and HBK, giving you useful insights you can apply directly to your daily vehicle dynamics and simulator workflows.