Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) - Institut für Systemdynamik und Regelungstechnik

We design the mobility of tomorrow - climate-friendly, affordable and user-oriented.

The Institute of Vehicle Concepts (FK) of the German Aerospace Center (DLR) is internationally recognized for the design of future road and rail vehicles that enable climate and environmentally friendly mobility while being affordable and user-friendly. Automated driving and electromobility are two key technologies for the future of road transportation.

The Vehicle System Dynamics and Control Engineering department develops innovative technologies for highly integrated mechatronic chassis and powertrains as well as basic methods for modelling, analysis, optimization and control.

Vehicle System Dynamics and Control EngineeringThe department develops versatile and innovative approaches for mechatronic X-by-Wire chassis with the aim of simultaneously improving energy efficiency, driving safety and comfort. Research is supported by the continuous development of modeling and simulation tools. In particular, vehicle modeling and integrated controller development are among the core competencies that take full advantage of the multidisciplinary Modelica modeling standard.
The multiphysical models are used for the design, simulation and optimization of our vehicle control and estimation algorithms. These algorithms are implemented in model, software and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environments, validated and finally demonstrated experimentally on real vehicles.

Research areas

• Model and (hybrid) AI-based control systems
• Motion planning
• Chassis development and evaluation
• Vehicle dynamics and chassis control
• Intelligent chassis mechatronics
• Estimation of the vehicle condition
• Model-predictive overall vehicle control
• Active and semi-active vertical dynamics control
• Energy management
• Battery control and state estimation

Research infrastructure

• xIL simulators of the latest generation
• AI For Mobility: testing platform for innovative control methods based on artificial intelligence
• Mobile-modular measurement vehicle for real-world testing
• Near-series autonomous vehicle for chassis and driving dynamics control
• Robotic full-by-wire electric vehicle
• Automotive blog: www.vsdc.de