Ansys Collaborates with Sony Semiconductor Solutions

Ansys is collaborating with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp. (Sony) to improve perception system validation in advanced driver assistance systems/autonomous vehicles. Ansys AVxcelerate Sensors provides real-time multispectral lighting simulation capabilities, enabling evaluation of different lighting scenarios and weather conditions including rain, snow, and fog. By using Ansys simulation, OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers can expedite and validate thousands of on-road driving hours in less time, Ansys reports.

ADAS and AV systems rely on camera, radar, and LiDAR sensor-based perception systems to accurately evaluate the environmental surroundings and conditions that inform navigational decisions, Ansys explains. Ansys and Sony address these factors by enabling a high-fidelity simulation of camera sensors.

The AVxcelerate Sensors platform generates a virtual environment with varied lighting, weather, and material conditions to simulate how light travels through the environment, the camera lens, and then hits the imager. Coupled with Sony's sensor model, this simulation can reproduce pixel characteristics, signal processing functions, and system functions of Sony's HDR imager with predictive accuracy, according to ANsys. This simulation model enables users to conduct robust, scenario-based testing—with predefined inputs or real-time feedback—for Sony's HDR imager-based perception systems.

To minimize on-road testing, combined simulations can inject images into advanced software-on-chip perception systems. Simultaneously, an electronic control unit, used to control functions like engine management and transmission, is integrated into this simulated environment to test its performance.

“Achieving full autonomy involves OEMs working with leading technology providers like Ansys to enhance the accuracy of the integrated tools used to validate AV systems,” says Tomoki Seita, general manager, automotive business division, Sony Semiconductor Solutions. “Through this collaboration, customers can confidently verify their systems using highly reproducible, predictively accurate simulations. This is especially useful for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers that run actual camera simulations to verify recognition algorithms and vehicle control software.”

In addition, the AVxcelerate platform is compatible with many customer-specific simulation toolchains, including open-source or other commercial simulators, is scalable, and is cloud-enabled for improved computational power and broad accessibility. This workflow allows designers to generate realistic images to assess performance before the sensor is assembled or generate a virtual training dataset at scale.   

“Meeting safety compliance is a top priority for our OEM customers, but it is incredibly difficult to achieve due to the number of scenarios that need to be tested,” says Shane Emswiler, senior vice president of products at Ansys. “Ansys offers a breadth of multiphysics simulation solutions to make AVs safer and more reliable while accelerating the development process. With AVxcelerate Sensors, users can replicate on-road decision-making in a high-fidelity virtual environment, enhancing predictive accuracy and transforming the way companies design and test AVs.”

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.

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