Over the last 18 months, the importance of simulation in the development of autonomous vehicle technologies has become widely accepted. Industry experts and analysts alike are claiming that enormous distances must be covered by self-driving systems to achieve safe operation in varied road conditions and environments. Meanwhile, certain weather conditions and traffic scenarios are extremely rare, resulting in limited test opportunities. The only way to cover the distances and reach the diversity required for the safe operation of highly automated vehicles is through testing these systems and their modules in virtual environments. The demands of simulation for self-driving cars are extremely high and not all simulators are created equal...

Read the details on why not from AImotive's Zoltán Hortsin in Benchmark magazine published by the International Association for the Engineering Modelling, Analysis and Simulation Community (NAFEMS). Download the article here. To download or purchase the full issue visit the NAFEMS website.