Institute teams up with Jaguar in £10m virtual engineering project

Scientists from the university’s Institute for Transport Studies have joined forces with three other UK universities, car-maker Jaguar Land Rover and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to deliver the project.

Leeds’ researchers are working on a driving simulation which offers a realistic digital driving and passenger experience, in order to help with the vehicle design process.

Hamish Jamson, principal research fellow at Leeds University, said: “This is a very exciting, interdisciplinary project. We will be using one of the most advanced driving simulators worldwide, developed here at Leeds, with a view to streamlining Jaguar Land Rover’s vehicle design process.

“Undertaking preliminary vehicle testing of both handling and design in a virtual environment, we aim to support a more efficient vehicle design cycle, examining the extent to which interactive driving simulation can reduce the building of expensive physical prototypes.”

The five-year collaboration between Jaguar Land Rover and academics will develop the capability of the virtual simulation industry in the UK and will give car manufacturers access to new simulation tools and processes.

The university said it was the first phase of a 20-year strategic project that could put the UK at the leading edge of virtual simulation globally. The research will improve the quality and capabilities of simulation, using sights, sounds and even smells to make virtual simulation more realistic.