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Digital Cube Test Center

Overview

Functional Drive Simulator
The Digital Cube Test Center (DCTC) of the Chair of Industrial Information Technology Department at the TU Berlin offers an immersive driving experience with its driving simulator, the Functional Drive Simulator (FDS).

The objective of the FDS is to establish a development environment for the functional testing of mechatronic vehicle functions, in which the environment, the human, and the vehicle are considered holistically under dynamic conditions. A dedicated motion plattform combined with a pneumatic system converts simulation models into haptic feedback for the driver, allowing a highly realistic driving experience.

The modular design enables virtual or real replication of vehicle components or characteristics. This is complemented by realistic simulations of the environment. As a result, the following objectives are achieved:

• Maximum Flexibility: Not only the surroundings, but also the entire vehicle is represented virtually. All characteristics of the physical vehicle – right down to the seats – can be simulated, varied, and flexibly adjusted.

• Holistic Perspective: The unique integration of people, vehicles, and the environment provides in-depth insights into their interactions.

• Early Validation: Complex mechatronic systems can be tested and subjected to systemic risk assessment in the early stages of development, well before a physical prototype is created.

Research Areas

Virtual Validation

A key focus of our research is the virtual validation of driver assistance systems.

Using our simulation environment, we evaluate the performance and safety behavior of automated systems under controlled and realistic conditions. This enables efficient and comprehensive validation of new driving functions early on in the development process.

Digital Twins

Realistic models of vehicles and their environment play a crucial role in the acceptance of simulations for vehicle testing.

We are therefore developing digital twins of vehicles and traffic environments to enable precise simulations that accurately reflect real driving situations. This also allows us to generate synthetic data that can be used to validate AI-based driving functions.

HMI

The interaction between humans and machines is at the core of modern product development.

By developing and testing innovative HMI concepts, we investigate how drivers interact with automated systems and how their behavior changes in diverse traffic scenarios. Thereby we integrate visual, acoustic, and haptic feedback systems to provide intuitive and safe vehicle control.

Sustainability

Using our simulation environment, we develop innovative solutions for sustainable mobility.

A particular focus is the Integration of V2X communication and digital twins for coordinating autonomous vehicles and optimizing traffic efficiency. In the future, our research will increasingly concentrale on the development of data-driven approaches to reduce emissions in the mobility sector.

Research Projects

SuSi3D

SuSi3D Projekt

The SuSi3D project focused on examining the subjective safety of cycling infrastructure at various intersection designs using a virtual reality bicycle simulator.

In studies involving test subjects, the design principles were evaluated in terms of subjective safety.

INNIKIP

Innikip Projekt

The INNIKIP project explored how driving simulators should be designed in order to provide reliable data that can be transferred to real vehicles.

The results showed that immersive perception depends not solely on motion cues alone, but rather on the interplay of multiple design parameters.

Mixed Reality Prototype

MR

The mixed reality prototype combines real elements such as the driver, steering wheel, and cockpit with virtual content such as the road, the vehicle and the vehicle interior.

This combination creates an immersive and highly realistic driving simulation that takes human-machine interaction to a new level.

KLAR

KLAR Projekt

The KLAR project involves investigating interactions between motor vehicles and bicycles. By linking our vehicle and bicycle simulators, real traffic situations can be recreated under controlled conditions and the behavior of both test subjects can be analyzed in detail.

Selected Publications