In 2020, Cruden announced the order for nine driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulators for BMW Group’s new FIZ Driving Simulator Centre in Munich. The simulators support and strengthen the virtual testing of a variety of car functions ranging from advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD) to HMI concepts and driving dynamics, using large numbers of human test participants, in virtual driving conditions that are safe, repeatable and reduce environmental impact.

Five of the nine simulators delivered to BMW featured innovative LED-wall solutions from ICT AG, in what we understand to be the first major implementation of LED wall visual technology in driving simulators. Our friends at ICT have put together a video, featuring Cruden’s Dennis Marcus, unveiling the simulators now they are fully operational in Munich. In the video, the features and benefits of this increasingly attractive alternative to projection visual systems are discussed.

LED panel technology has become increasingly attractive for driving simulators thanks to developments such as improved pixel pitch, which has decreased from 2.5mm to as little as 0.9mm. The use of Direct View LED technology provides unparalleled brightness, contrast, and colour uniformity and it eliminates image blending tasks associated with projectors. We’ve written a longer article about why we believe LED panel technology is the future, which you can find on our website, here.

The main advantages are:

• High brightness and contrast. The screens produce enough light to create realistic lighting, both outside and inside the car, in the same way LEDs wall are used to create virtual set backdrops in the movie industry. This means simulator rooms no longer have to be dark.
• Low latency and high frame rates due to flexibility in the IG computer architecture.
• Colour and brightness uniformity.
• No blend zones - like in projection visual systems
• Because there is no light path between a projector and projection screen, the risk of the simulator mock-up or motion platform blocking the visuals is completely eliminated. This brings much more flexibility in the size and shape of simulator hardware used. Mock-ups can be bigger, as can motion platforms, in turn delivering a larger workspace.
• The modularity of LED wall panels allows for the creation of screens in different shapes and sizes to effectively match the field of view requirements. Images can be shown in different shapes.

As with any driving simulator component, integration is key. LED wall visuals offer unique features, but also some unique integration challenges, which is why it makes sense to talk to a company that has decades of experience in simulator integration and also delivered the world’s first LED wall panel integration for a major automotive OEM!

If you would like to know more about the possibilities of LED wall visual systems for your existing or new simulator, please let us know!

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