The Virtual Car

While the predictions of flying cars and colonies on the moon have not quite come true, the cars we drive are becoming more technologically full than we know. While climate control systems and electronic safety systems are becoming ubiquitous on today’s new cars, what many don't realize is the extent to which computers are involved in designing their car before it even hits the roads.

This year, as the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan was unveiled at the Geneva Auto Salon, industry members have been flocking to Sindelfingen, the location of the Mercedes-Benz Engineering center. While Mercedes-Benz ran C-Class prototypes through an unprecedented amount of on-road testing (15 million miles), M-B had full running models long before rubber touched the road, thanks to one of the most sophisticated computer simulators around today.

In 1989, in one of the first computer simulations used for crash testing, contained 25,000 data points in total. For the new C, the computer model drew from 1.9 million points, for just the structural model. The exterior used more than 30 million points used for aerodynamic testing. In all, the W204 model C-Class used over 2130 gigabytes of data to produce a fully-functional virtual model that they ran over local roads using data pulled from a laser-scanner that ran over the roads, analyzed its surface, and downloaded that data to the simulator.

This ability to create a car without screwing anything together meant a lot less time adjusting the frame and chassis to meet crash-test regulations and more time to focus on the smaller things to make for a better compromise between sporty driving and smooth ride. Computers also help to speed up the design time of a new car, spending less time making the prototypes and more time fine-tuning these German vehicles.

Those who were invited to view this revolutionary system of car development were treated to a "ride" in a new C-Class before they were available to be test-driven. Using the vast amount of data collected, Mercedes engineers were able to create a huge simulator cabin that, thanks to precise hydraulics, could mimic the ride quality of the car on a variety of road surfaces.

Even though we aren't flying around George Jetson style, our cars are obviously becoming more computer based, both in design and execution. These computer models are speeding up the design intervals making newer models available sooner. We can only hope these massive computers can be put to use coming up with new ways to sustain our automotive passion.