A laboratory for real-time experiments and simulations

Every summer, LIST looks back at the success stories from the previous year. In 2021, we set up a laboratory capable of performing real-time simulations at the same speed as actual executions.

Thanks to this laboratory, a microsecond in the simulation field is executed in a microsecond in real life. This is particularly useful for evaluating the interaction of a real physical system with a virtual system simulated on a real-time computer. We call this integration of hardware into the simulation process hardware-in-the-loop (HIL).

Our laboratory can be used to evaluate the interaction of any generic physical system (mechanisms, reactors, sensors, etc.) with any generic virtual environment (operating scenarios, virtual test banks, disturbances, etc.). Due to its ability to evaluate the performance of real systems under generic and controllable operating conditions, with full monitoring of all signals, this type of laboratory is widely used for developing and testing systems in the aerospace, automotive, bioengineering and energy sectors, because it allows costs, time periods and risks to be reduced through the early detection of development errors in R&D projects.

Discover more success stories in the digital version of the LIST 2021 annual report, including videos, podcasts and links to more information, or download the PDF version, in English and French.