TruckMaker
Real-time simulation of heavy-duty vehicles and mobile machines
Whether for commercial vehicles such as trucks, mobile machines such as tractors, or other heavy vehicles – our TruckMaker simulation solution provides a cross-sector, end-to-end solution for developing heavy, multi-axle vehicles. With our tools, expertise and services, we bring pioneering concepts safely and reliably onto the road.
Who benefits from TruckMaker?
- OEMs and function development engineers for commercial vehicles such as all types of trucks, construction site vehicles, buses, and agricultural machinery
- Development teams working on control units, assistance systems or powertrain architectures that require a real-time capable simulation solution at various integration levels
- Developers who, beyond conventional passenger car simulation, want to simulate one or more of the following elements typical of commercial vehicles:
- Non-integrated or spring-mounted driver’s cab
- 2, 3 or 4 axles
- Air suspension
- Braking via retarder or air brake
- Complex drivetrain and pneumatic architectures
- Semi-trailers, fifth wheel or conventional trailers
What is TruckMaker?
- TruckMaker is a simulation solution for the development of trucks, buses, agricultural and construction machines, and more
- TruckMaker uses virtual test driving specifically for end-to-end development, calibration, testing, and validation of components or entire systems in realistic scenarios
- TruckMaker can be used across all development stages (MIL, SIL, HIL, and VIL)
How can TruckMaker be used?
- Setup and simulation of detailed and real-time capable virtual prototypes (digital twins) for hybrid, electric, and conventional combustion engine vehicles
- Use of adaptive driver models in combination with complex and detailed road and environmental models, including road users such as pedestrians, to test functions in safety-critical situations
- Photorealistic test conditions, including weather effects, e.g. for testing sensors and validating ADAS
- Vehicle dynamics of commercial vehicles, e.g. through the option of coupling trucks with multiple trailers
- Highly detailed simulation of the passenger compartment, including the use of VR headsets to reliably test handover functions and more
- Automated test procedures in MIL, SIL, HIL, and VIL, with the option to run various test catalogs in parallel
- Various options for data analysis and assessment
Use cases
Virtual driving tests in the agricultural sector: VIL integration of tractors in TruckMaker
The DLG PowerMix is designed for tests in the agricultural field, such as plowing, cultivating, mowing or fertilizing. Conducting tests as early as possible in the development process helps improve reproducibility and allows for adjustments to the vehicle. This can be implemented using the vehicle-in-the-loop method. With TruckMaker, a real tractor can be virtually integrated into a test bench to reproducibly test the scenarios in a virtual environment.
Platooning in road freight transport: V2V communication for validating a model-predictive control concept
As road freight transport continues to increase, energy consumption and traffic density are rising. Platooning can improve safety and reduce fuel consumption by efficiently controlling the distance between vehicles. An intelligent control concept combines model-predictive control with vehicle-to-vehicle communication. Co-simulations with TruckMaker and a real-time capable driving simulator enable validation under realistic conditions.
Real tire measurement in a virtual test drive: HIL coupling of GRIPS and TruckMaker
The new GRIPS tire test bench at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) combines real measurements with vehicle dynamics simulation. Drive, braking and steering processes are generated virtually and reproduced on the real-life tire via a hardware-in-the-loop coupling with TruckMaker. The forces and torques measured are immediately fed back into the simulation, allowing the analysis of tire behavior under realistic conditions, and the improvement of specific aspects of vehicle dynamics, efficiency and emissions.
