Toyota plans to launch 30 new electric vehicles by 2030 .

That kind of variety can put a strain on a development team – unless certain features are carried over from one EV to the next, according to an industry expert from the Munich, Germany-based simulation provider Siemens.

“What is happening in our customer base is that they are sharing models, components, subsystems, and reusing the model more in multiple vehicles,” said Steven Dom, Director Automotive Industry Solutions at Siemens Digital Industries Software, who spoke in a live Tech Briefs presentation in late 2021.

With this “model-based” approach, a company like Toyota can use a limited number of established subsystems to efficiently build vehicles with different architectures and body variants – say, 30 of them, in just a few years.

But does a model-based approach change simulation strategies?

A Tech Briefs reader had the following question for Katrien Wyckaert, another Siemens pro, during the live Q&A:

How do you see the role of simulation evolving in regard to the trend of model-based systems development and engineering?”

Katrien Wyckaert, Siemens

Read the edited response below from Wyckaert, VP, Strategy and Innovation at Siemens Digital Industries.

Katrien Wyckaert, VP, Strategy and Innovation, Simcenter, Siemens Digital Industries Software: The trend of model-based systems engineering originally was very driven by the controls community. The purpose was to “front load” and consider the systems aspect early in the process of putting together mechatronic systems.

But we have seen the role of system simulation evolve from a performance, certification, and validation perspective to a detailed and scalable model of the mechanical side of the systems, combined with the controls modeling side of the system; that is an area that we have seen evolving enormously during the last year.

Originally, these systems-evaluation tools were used in individual departments — the transmission department, engine department, battery department.

What we see now, more and more, is this pressure to have more shared environments, to bring together component models from all over these systems into an interactive model — to bring it together in a systems model. The shared environments enable, on the one hand, supplier and OEM interaction, but also a proper interaction between the different engaging departments in the OEMs — bringing the different design departments together with the controls domains.

Yes, we have seen that evolve dramatically. [Today’s collaboration projects] really relate to an evolution towards a more global system-simulation environment support for the vehicle development process.

Do you agree? Share your questions and comments below.

Watch the Tech Briefs presentation: Simulation and Testing: The Driving Forces for Engineering the Vehicle of the Future

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