How the VMC Team Works

How the VMC Team Develops and Validates Motion Control Functions

The Vehicle Motion Control (VMC) team develops and validates control functions that shape how a vehicle moves and responds. Its work ranges from early algorithm design and simulation to hardware-in-the-loop testing and vehicle validation on the test track. In this way, motion-control concepts are translated into functions that can be assessed under realistic technical conditions.

Developing functions for next-generation vehicle control

The VMC team works on control approaches for assisted, automated, and highly integrated vehicle functions. Its development scope includes topics such as path following, stabilization control, autonomous parking, adaptive cruise control, and coordinated motion control across multiple actuators.

What connects these fields is a common objective: to develop control functions that are technically robust, systematically validated, and suitable for increasingly integrated vehicle architectures. This requires expertise in control theory, mathematics, software development, and vehicle dynamics – combined with a development process that allows fast iteration without compromising engineering discipline.

From problem definition to system architecture

Each development starts with a clearly defined control problem. This may involve, for example, stabilizing vehicle behavior in critical situations, designing a yaw-rate controller, or coordinating steering and torque vectoring to improve path accuracy. Based on that starting point, the team analyzes the underlying requirements, reviews relevant research, and develops an initial control architecture.

This early phase is critical. It defines which signals, states, and interfaces the function will require and helps identify the trade-offs that need to be managed during later development. A well-structured architecture creates the basis for targeted testing and more efficient implementation in the next stages.

From first equations to simulation models

The first development steps are analytical. Initial ideas are formulated through equations, simplified models, and control concepts that help describe the essential system behavior. These early models are then implemented in MATLAB and gradually extended to reflect increasing levels of vehicle complexity, including relevant tire and dynamics effects.

This staged approach allows the team to validate assumptions early, understand key system interactions, and refine algorithms before moving into more complex environments. It supports both speed and technical clarity by adding detail only where it improves insight and model quality.

Virtual validation and hardware-in-the-loop testing

Once an algorithm performs as intended in simulation, it enters a structured validation process. The first step is testing in a detailed virtual vehicle model, where behavior can be analyzed systematically across a wide range of scenarios. This is followed by hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) testing, in which the real control hardware is connected to a vehicle simulator and evaluated under real-time conditions.

HiL testing is an important bridge between simulation and vehicle testing. It helps identify issues related to timing, interfaces, and hardware constraints before the function is transferred to the vehicle. This improves development efficiency and reduces risk in the subsequent validation stages.

Vehicle validation on the test track

After virtual and HiL validation, the function can be transferred to the team’s electric Lotus Evora test vehicle for track testing. At this stage, the focus shifts to real-world behavior: engineers assess how the function performs under dynamic conditions, compare measured data with simulation results, and refine the calibration accordingly.

Test-track validation is essential because it reveals effects that cannot be fully captured in simulation alone. It also allows objective data to be evaluated alongside driver feedback – for example in relation to steering feel, transition behavior, stability, and overall controllability. This combination is particularly important in motion control, where system quality depends not only on numerical performance, but also on consistent and predictable vehicle behavior.

Fast iteration within a structured development process

One strength of the VMC team is its ability to move efficiently from concept to vehicle testing. This is made possible by a development process that follows a clear sequence: problem definition, modeling, simulation, HiL testing, and track validation. The advantage is not speed alone, but speed within a controlled engineering framework.

For thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology, this approach is important because advanced motion-control concepts need to be assessed not just for technical feasibility, but also for robustness, repeatability, and system-level integration maturity. A structured process helps ensure that development results are relevant beyond the initial concept phase.

Developing coordinated vehicle behavior

When motion-control functions perform well, the result is a vehicle response that feels stable, precise, and predictable. Achieving that outcome requires more than optimizing individual functions in isolation. It depends on understanding how multiple subsystems interact and on coordinating their contribution to overall vehicle behavior.

This is where the VMC team’s development process creates value. By combining analytical work, simulation, hardware testing, and real-vehicle validation, the team helps translate isolated control ideas into integrated motion-control functions. That is increasingly relevant as modern vehicle architectures rely on closer interaction between steering, braking, propulsion, and software-based control logic.

From concept to validated function

What distinguishes the VMC team is not only the range of topics it addresses, but also the consistency of its development approach. Functions are not treated as isolated prototypes; they move through a defined process that supports repeatable learning, continuous refinement, and growing system understanding over time.

For thyssenkrupp Automotive Technology, this means that motion-control development is approached as a disciplined engineering task: from the first control concept to validation under realistic conditions. It is this combination of method, speed, and technical depth that supports the development of integrated vehicle-motion functions for future mobility.