Stellantis Develops Multidisciplinary Analysis Ecosystem for Vehicle Modeling
Flexible Simulation Ecosystem Reduces Physical Testing
“90% of these models are developed in MATLAB and Simulink. MATLAB and Simulink are enough for our high-fidelity models also.... Stellantis actually reduces physical test means from conception to launch of the entire vehicle development with these models.”
Key Outcomes
- Simulink enabled the creation of a modular architecture that simultaneously enables the simulation of complex powertrain architectures and cosimulation with multiple tools
- STLASim enabled support through the entire V-cycle and reduces the need for physical prototyping
- An intuitive GUI made it simple for noncoding subject matter experts to effectively use STLASim
STLASim can be used to analyze and model many different parts of the V-cycle, including architecture selection and rerelease validation support (see video link at the end of the story).
Stellantis is a global automaker providing advanced electrification technologies in its vehicles. Formed by the merger of Fiat Chrysler and PSA, the company faced the task of combining their respective vehicle simulation tools.
Using MATLAB® and Simulink®, Stellantis created a unified and intuitive vehicle modeling tool called STLASim that brings these analysis tools together in one place. With STLASim, users have freedom of choice when developing a vehicle model. They can choose to evaluate different vehicle subsystems—such as propulsion and thermal systems—at different levels of fidelity in a single simulation environment. This flexibility makes it possible for multiple teams along the V-cycle to use the model from conception to validation, and it reduces the need for physical test resources and prototypes. The Stellantis team also used MATLAB to develop an easy-to-use GUI to make it possible for nonexperts in vehicle modeling to design experiments and set up simulations without an extensive coding background.
Using MATLAB to develop the STLASim interface offered superior integration for the Simulink environment as well as data processing, cross-platform support, and version control. This also enables collaborative development within STLASim. The STLASim team is currently integrating this tool into the cloud to further improve its efficiency and has further plans to add AI tools to enhance simulation capabilities.
