DARMSTADT, Germany, Dec 8, 2022 – VI-grade, the simulation and driving simulator company that accelerates product innovation by bridging the gap between simulation and physical testing, announced the 2023 edition of its popular Virtual Formula competition.
For over ten years, VI-grade has promoted this competition to encourage SAE and Formula Student teams to learn how to use professional vehicle dynamics simulation tools. Thanks to a new regulatory change, more engineering students from around the world are eligible to participate in the 2023 Virtual Formula. Prestigious technical sponsors Automobili Lamborghini, Bugatti Rimac and Multimatic Inc. are lending their support to VI-grade in this important student engineering endeavor, and thus, encouraging young engineers to sharpen their virtual design skillset.
Participation in the Virtual Formula Competition is free-of-charge with a registration deadline of January 15, 2023. Registered teams will have access to VI-grade’s state-of-the-art simulation tools, including VI-Motorsport, VI-grade’s motorsport simulation software, as well as a DESKTOP Simulator license including the VI-DriveSim and VI-GraphSim software products for real-time vehicle simulation and comprehensive driving simulator control.
More global engineering students will be eligible to participate in the 2023 Virtual Formula, thanks to new rules including the optimization and digital-twin categories. The optimization category provides teams without a physical prototype with an electric vehicle model from VI-grade. The competition consists of an offline phase and an online phase. The goal in the offline phase is to improve and fine-tune the model’s performance. Teams will then compete against each other using their own desktop simulator in an online race event.
The digital-twin category also comprises an offline and online phase. Teams will create a digital twin of their 2023 Formula Student race car in VI-Motorsport. As in the Optimization category, the performance of each team’s own vehicle model (internal combustion & EV) is optimized in a dedicated offline phase. Before moving directly to the online phase, the Digital-Twin category features a technical review phase in between the offline and the online phase. During this technical review, teams have the unique opportunity to present their design decisions directly to the technical sponsors. Once the technical review phase is complete, teams will competitively race their VI-Motorsport vehicle models in an online event, utilizing their own desktop simulator.
The winning teams in each category (optimization, digital-twin EV & digital-twin IC) who score the best lap time during the online race will win the competition. Winners will be awarded with either a hardware upgrade of their desktop simulator, or an all-expenses paid trip to one of VI-grade’s worldwide SimCenters.
“As the winner in the EV category of the 2022 Virtual Formula, I would like to express my congratulations to VI-grade for this competition. The software is easy to use, but at the same time it is so powerful and effective that we have decided without a doubt to continue applying it for the development of our vehicle and its control system,” commented Luca Massano, head of vehicle dynamics and control systems division at Squadra Corse (Formula SAE Team from Politecnico di Torino).
“We have participated in the last two editions of the Virtual Formula, having won in the 2022 Internal Combustion category of the 2022 competition. We have gained great value for our team from the participation. The Virtual Formula has significantly helped us test all areas of vehicle dynamics, even those that are more difficult for Formula Student teams to work on,” said Matteo Civale, dynamics division manager at UniBo Motorsport (FSAE team of University of Bologna). “We also use the software to develop our FSAE cars, so it’s a fundamental tool for the whole team. We’re looking forward to the 2023 edition of the Virtual Formula!”
Additional information, registration form, technical specifications and requirements and detailed schedule of the competition are available at http://virtualformula.vi-grade.com/.
About VI-grade
VI-grade is a leading provider of real-time simulation and professional driving simulator solutions that accelerate product development across the transportation industry. The company’s driving simulators range from static deskside solutions to full-scale driver-in-the-loop dynamic simulators, allowing OEMs, suppliers, research centers, motorsport teams and universities to reduce physical prototypes and accelerate innovation.
With a worldwide network of trusted partners, VI-grade delivers turnkey simulator solutions including proprietary software, hardware, services, and an open framework for customization.
With over 30 years’ experience in simulation, VI-grade is headquartered in Darmstadt, Germany with technology centers in Italy, UK, Japan, China, and the USA.
Since September 2018, VI-grade has been part of Spectris. The firm conducts business in four major segments – materials analysis, testing & measurement, in-line instrumentation and industrial controls – and serves a broad range of industries ranging from automotive and aerospace to electronics, energy, mining and pharmaceuticals.
For further information, please visit www.vi-grade.com.
