Design and Implementation of a Co-Simulation Framework for Testing of Automated Driving Systems

The increasingly used approach of combining different simulation softwares in testing of automated driving systems (ADSs) increases the need for potential and convenient software designs. Recently developed co-simulation platforms (CSPs) provide the possibility to cover the high demand for testing kilometers for ADSs by combining vehicle simulation software (VSS) with traffic flow simulation software (TFSS) environments. The emphasis on the demand for testing kilometers is not enough to choose a suitable CSP. The complexity levels of the vehicle, object, sensors, and environment models used are essential for valid and representative simulation results. Choosing a suitable CSP raises the question of how the test procedures should be defined and constructed and what the relevant test scenarios are. Parameters of the ADS, environments, objects, and sensors in the VSS, as well as traffic parameters in the TFSS, can be used to define and generate test scenarios. In order to generate a large number of scenarios in a systematic and automated way, suitable and appropriate software designs are required. In this paper, we present a software design for a CSP based on the Model--View--Controller (MVC) design pattern as well as an implementation of a complex CSP for virtual testing of ADSs. Based on this design, an implementation of a CSP is presented using the VSS from IPG Automotive (CarMaker) and the TFSS from the PTV Group (Vissim). The results showed that the presented CSP design and the implementation of the co-simulation can be used to generate relevant scenarios for testing of ADSs.