VI-grade and Multimatic to Establish Advanced Vehicle Development and Driving Simulation Center

NOVI, Michigan (May 15th, 2019) ― VI-grade and Multimatic are pleased to announce SimCenter, an advanced vehicle development and driving simulation center to be located in the greater Detroit area.

Optimized to meet customer demand for rapid, cost-effective development of next-generation vehicle systems with features such as driver assistance and autonomous operation, SimCenter will offer both software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) integration into an overall driver-in-the-loop (DIL) virtual world.

Bridging the gap between simulation and real-world testing, SimCenter is the result of an expanded partnership between VI-grade and Multimatic and will house North America’s first industry-leading VI-grade DiM250 (Driver-in-Motion) series motion platform.

VI-grade’s DiM250 motion platform is based on a revolutionary, patented mechanism that incorporates nine motion actuators, delivering an enlarged workspace with high operating stiffness. This platform’s resultant ability to accurately reproduce both low and high frequency excitations makes the DiM250 stand out as an exemplary engineering tool, suitable for evaluating vehicle ride and handling dynamics in the virtual world as never before.

“Multimatic’s operating philosophy, ‘Strength Through Technology,’ is what drives us towards innovation and product excellence every day. SimCenter is the next evolutionary step in the development of our company and its products. The technology that VI-grade has been able to develop with their Driver-in-Motion system is extraordinary and Multimatic couldn’t be more excited to bring DiM to the United States. Multimatic is looking forward to the continued technical partnership with VI-grade as we leverage their technology for future innovation in a highly competitive market” said Michael Guttilla, Executive Vice President of Engineering, Multimatic.

Multimatic, a global leader in vehicle dynamics engineering, will operate the new facility as an extension of its current driving simulators in Canada and England. The facility will also include a VI-grade Compact Static Simulator.

“The adoption of our driving simulation technology at Multimatic is a direct consequence of our long-lasting partnership and will for sure bring mutual advantages to our companies”, said Juergen Fett, Vice President Partners and SimCenters, VI-grade. “DiM 250 represents our best performing driving simulation platform to date and we are extremely excited about having the chance of giving North American automotive and motorsport customers the possibility of directly experiencing the advantages of this technology through the establishment of this new SimCenter.”

SimCenter is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2019.

About Multimatic Inc.

Multimatic is a privately held, global enterprise supplying engineered components, systems and services to the automotive industry. Multimatic’s core competencies include the engineering and manufacturing of complex mechanisms, body hardware, suspension systems and body structures, as well as the design and development of lightweight composite automotive systems. In addition, Multimatic delivers niche vehicle design, development and production for road and race applications. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Multimatic has manufacturing divisions and engineering facilities in North America, Europe and Asia, and alliance relationships with partners around the world. Multimatic is comprised of three operating groups: Multimatic Mechanisms, Multimatic Structures & Suspension and Multimatic Engineering. For further information, please visit www.multimatic.com.

About VI-grade

VI-grade is the leading provider of best-in-class software products and services for advanced applications in the field of system level simulation. Established in 2005, VI-grade delivers innovative solutions to streamline the development process from concept to sign-off in the transportation industry, mainly automotive, aerospace, motorcycle, motorsports and railways. With office locations in Germany, Italy, UK, Switzerland, Japan, China, and the USA, and a worldwide channel network of twenty trusted partners, VI-grade is a dynamic and growing company with a highly skilled technical team. For further information about VI-grade please visit www.vi-grade.com.

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