DSPACE Supplying In-Lab GPS Simulation System to DOT/NHTSA

October 2, 2014

Matthew Monaghan

Spectracom GSG series simulators generate the same RF signals that are broadcast by navigation satellites to test any device or system with a GPS receiver in a virtual environment.

The U. S Department of Transportation/NHTSA Vehicle Research and Test Center has commissioned dSPACE to supply an in-lab GPS simulation system. GPS simulation is used in the development and testing of numerous intelligent driving and traffic systems, including collision avoidance, advanced driver-assistance systems, navigation, and V2X communications.

Many of these applications rely on vehicle positioning technology to support driver warnings and precautionary actions. To fully test systems with integrated GPS data, as well as other electronic control units (ECUs) that relay and correlate this data in real time, these complex systems need to be tested under real-world conditions. dSPACE and Spectracom, a provider of GNSS signal management solutions, have created a solution using a dSPACE hardware-in-the-loop simulation system and a Spectracom Global Satellite Generator and Global Navigation Satellite Simulation. Together these tools enable real-time testing of GPS data and related ECUs in a virtual setting, resulting in development time and cost savings, dSPACE says.

Using vehicle models such as dSPACE Automotive Simulation Models, dynamics of a moving vehicle are re-created through the simulation of wheel speeds, steering angles, inertia measurement units, yaw rates, lateral and longitudinal accelerations, and CAN data to ensure that the system under test believes it is driving in the exact same conditions as in the real world. In parallel, the GPS constellations corresponding to the vehicle position are also simulated. Using this technology, various test drive conditions can be created in lab and critical functionality provided by the ECUs can be verified.