SILAB-News

We are proud to announce that the SILAB version 7.0 is available to our customers as of now. The new version contains the following new features:

- The urban environment has been completely redesigned. Now, there are over 150 new buildings, each of which can be shown in 90 colour combinations.

- New road users are also included: streetcars, trailers and agricultural machinery, among others.

- The character set of all texts has been changed to the Unicode (UTF-8) - HMIs, signs and text overlays can now be displayed in most languages of the world.

- Besides the new import function for OpenStreetMap and OpenDrive compatible data, numerous simplifications to the operation of SILABAEdit make it easier than ever to design scenarios.

- A model for the structure of road surfaces has been added to the SCNX database. The model is consistent with the graphical representation of road textures and realistically simulates the effect on heights and friction coefficients.

- The road surface information is used by the new vehicle dynamics DPUDYNCar to enable the realistic simulation of vehicle driving dynamics even in the limit range. All components of the vehicle (tires, chassis, powertrain) are freely configurable and can be adapted to the target vehicle (small car, sedan, van, etc.).

- Custom DPUs can now also be created in Python. Users have full access to information from the database and traffic simulation.

- Optimizations in the visualization SGE allow displaying three full HD views (or 1x 4K) via a single simulator computer.

- And much more...

     

The current SILAB version 6.5 is available and contains many improvements to scenery and simulation. Nine new vehicle models are included. Sound barriers, industrial areas and bicycle lanes can now be designed. Within the pedestrian simulation, you can now use emergency personnel (police, fire brigade, rescue service), as well as animations for interactions with other road users. A totally reworked, clearer and more user-friendly version of SILAB-AEdit makes it easier than ever before to create your own scenarios. The improvements are rounded off by supporting the newest VR hardware and additions to developer interfaces. 


If you are already using SILAB, please contact silab@wivw.de or your personal support contact to find out how you can upgrade your installation.

The WIVW bicycle simulator was further developed and now has a 360° panoramic view. The bicycle simulator runs on SILAB® with improved bicycle-specific driving dynamics also enabling the simulation of pedelecs. The list of features include an 11-speed electronic gear shift, a multi-function display, and a passive motion system.

WIVW handed over a driving simulator for emergency training to the Polizeiakademie Berlin. Core part of the simulator is the SILAB® Scenario package "Emergency Training" that provides a selection of over 60 specific traffic situations from which the trainer can compile customized training sessions. The simulator hardware was delivered by our cooperation partner SiFaT Road Safety GmbH (Berlin).

Polizeiakademie Berlin

For the next SILAB version 6.0, landscape graphics have been subject to extended rework efforts. Real 3D-models exist now for trees, bushes and other plants, and landscape generators have been improved largely, so that even spots of gras can be displayed. Fields, woods and street plants have become more realistic as well. The following videos illustrate the improvements:

HighwayDayDemo CityDayDemo CountryDayDemo

WIVW and VI-grade announced their co-operation as to the further development of the advanced WIVW motorcycle riding simulator, joining their technological expertise. Initially, the development of this dynamic motorcycle riding simulator was part of the ZIM funded project DESMORI, supported by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (KF 2012453RP3; partners: TU Darmstadt (FZD) and BMW Motorrad). In particular, the simulator is taking advantage of the real-time VI-BikeRealTime motorcycle dynamics simulation software from VI-grade. The simulator will be used for HMI-design, rider training as well as research on rider behavior in a broader sense (e.g. hazard perception or implementation of an autonomous brake assist). As a driving simulation software framework, WIVW SILAB will be relied on.

An extended version of the press release can be found here.

Within the research initiative DESMORI, new virtual reality display technologies are being developed for driving simulators. By employing a blue screen chroma key technology, real vehicle and motorcycle mock ups can be integrated into the virtual SILAB environment. At the moment, the new technology is put to a test with our motorcycle simulation.

1-Motorrad augmented oculusrift

P1060116 P1060121

 

 

 

 

The new Oculus expansion pack allows the use of OculusVR head-mounted displays. The integrated sensors for position detection allow the test driver to look around freely in all directions. The VR goggles are thus particularly suitable for simulators where the view is not restricted by a mockup, such as motorcycle and pedestrian simulators. The graphical output of SILAB has been modified to fit the optical parameters of the goggles in stereo 3D to deepen the sense of VR immersion.

Note: The expansion pack Oculus is available from version 4.0 of SILAB onwards.

android-geraetenSILAB has been expanded to allow Android apps to be integrated. The inputs and outputs on the device can be synchronized online with SILAB and thus recorded by SILAB synchronously with all the other parameters. This connection is used by SILAB to implement various secondary tasks on Android devices. All versions of Android are supported, which includes not only smartphones, but also tablet devices. The first application demonstrates a secondary task on a smartphone during which the user must make certain entries.

The SGE SILAB visualization has been expanded to include a more realistic representation of rain.

  • The background has been darkened and heavy rain clouds are in the sky.
  • Varying degrees of wet road surfaces can be modeled using road overlays.
  • The surroundings are then reflected on the wet road surface. Reflection mapping allows a very realistic representation of rain conditions.
  • Vehicles also realistically spray moisture from the pavement into the surrounding environment.

regensimulation

Note: the expanded representation of rain is available from version 4.0 of SILAB onwards.

The new Arduino expansion packet will allow communication with the Arduino microcontrollers.
Depending on the complexity of the application, two different communication methods will be supported:

  • For simpler applications, communication can be done via the USB interface and the emulated COM port. The DPUArduinoSerial allows any number of inputs and outputs to be defined and transmitted once per simulation step to the Arduino board. The corresponding Arduino SILABSerial library will facilitate access to the data transmitted from SILAB. This DPU will work with any Arduino device.
  • For more complex applications with large amounts of data being transferred, this can be done through the local network using an Arduino ethernet shield. The DPUArduinoNetIO allows direct use of all analog and digital inputs from SILAB. Input control will be done by the associated Arduino Sketch NetIO. This solution works best with the Arduino Mega 2560 extended with an ethernet shield.

arduino-paket

Note: The Arduino package is available from version 4.0 of SILAB onwards.

silabveranstaltung-5-8-14Currently, SILAB is being extended for complex traffic junctions. Starting with the next SILAB version 5.0, it will be possible to model viaducts and complex traffic junctions with SILABAEdit, such as crossings or highway junctions. The roads can be used with simulated traffic and pedestrians as well.