FLIR Systems, ANSYS partner to enhance safety for assisted driving and autonomous vehicles

January 7, 2020 | AUVSI News

With a goal of giving automakers the ability to deliver “unprecedented vehicle safety,” FLIR Systems Inc. has partnered with ANSYS to deliver “superior hazard detection capabilities” for assisted driving and autonomous vehicles (AVs).

FLIR says that it will equip ANSYS’ leading-edge driving simulator with a fully physics-based thermal sensor to facilitate the modeling, testing and validation of thermal camera designs within an “ultra-realistic virtual world.”

By optimizing thermal camera placement for use with various tools such as automatic emergency braking (AEB), pedestrian detection, and within future AVs, the new platform is expected to reduce the development time of original equipment manufacturers, the companies say.

“By adding ANSYS’ industry-leading simulation solutions to the existing suite of tools for physical testing, engineers, automakers and automotive suppliers can improve the safety of vehicles in all types of driving conditions,” says Frank Pennisi, president of the Industrial Business Unit at FLIR Systems.

“The industry can also recreate uncommon corner cases that are exceedingly difficult to replicate in physical environments, paving the way for improved neural networks and the performance of safety features such as AEB.”

According to FLIR, a variety of conditions present challenges to current AV and ADAS sensors, including darkness or shadows, sun glare and inclement weather such as most fog. Objects can be effectively detected and classified, though, in these conditions using thermal cameras.

Thousands of driving scenarios across millions of miles can be simulated in just days thanks to ANSYS VRXPERIENCE being equipped with FLIR’s thermal sensor. This ultimately allows engineers to simulate difficult-to-produce scenarios where thermal provides critical data, including detecting pedestrians in crowded, low-contrast environments.

“FLIR Systems’ recognizes the limitations of relying solely on gathering machine learning datasets in the physical world to make automotive thermal cameras as safe and reliable as possible for automotive uses,” says Eric Bantegnie, vice president and general manager at ANSYS.

“Now with ANSYS solutions, FLIR can further empower automakers to speed the creation and certification of assisted-driving systems with thermal cameras.”