This year’s Automotive Testing Technology International Awards have been presented at a ceremony held alongside the Autonomous Vehicle Tech Awards at Messe Stuttgart, Germany, the venue for Vehicle Tech Week Europe.
With five categories for 2026 – Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year, Testing Software Innovation of the Year, Simulation Innovation of the Year, Facility of the Year and Supplier of the Year – the awards are more prestigious than ever.
The awards are coordinated by Automotive Testing Technology International magazine and judged by a panel of 15 international experts from across the automotive industry.
Rachel Evans, editor of ATTI and chair of the ATTI Awards, said, “It will come as no surprise to learn that we once again received a raft of entries for the Testing Software Innovation and Simulation Innovation categories, making the shortlist particularly difficult to narrow down. The Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year category also attracted a high number of contenders.”
With entries spanning acoustics testing, ADAS and AV analysis, active and passive safety development, and connectivity testing, it was Humanetics that won the Testing Hardware Innovation of the Year category with the THOR-5F. The company has been collaborating with NHTSA over the last few years to build the new female ATD, which is meant to fill the gaps and provide the means for accurate female crash testing.
As Graham Heeps, former editor of ATTI and awards judge, put it, “More accurate representation of female occupants in vehicle crash testing is decades overdue.”
Each year, nominations in the Testing Software Innovation of the Year category grow, with entries ranging from automation systems and data-handling solutions to CI/CD technology and more. This year, Tracetronic’s one:cx, a groundbreaking end-to-end continuous integration/continuous development platform, took the top honor. The solution redefines how vehicle software is integrated, validated and approved.
Dr Ahmed Abada, a jury member who spoke on stage with Evans earlier in the day, noted, “The agentic testing direction is forward looking and aligns with where testing is headed.”
The shortlist for Simulation Innovation of the Year focused heavily on battery technology and, despite the slowdown in the rollout of AV technology, self-driving vehicle evaluation. This highlights the importance of virtual development in enabling the widespread adoption of alternatively powered vehicles and automated driving. Taking home the trophy was WeRide for Genesis – a general-purpose simulation model combining physical AI and generative AI for AV analysis. By bridging the real and simulated worlds, Genesis enables rapid and realistic scenario generation.
Said Evans, “Sometimes it’s relatively clear who the winner will be but I couldn’t call this one. It was refreshing to have Waabi’s mixed-reality application on the shortlist as it’s a little bit different. However, Genesis by WeRide ultimately won by a clear margin of 20 points.”
Facility of the Year featured a particularly diverse field of entries, nominated for a variety of reasons: DSD for its powertrain test service offering; Metrosert for its unique driverless vehicle facility; Mercedes-Benz for its world-first light test center; RISE for its 6G edge computing hub; Toyota for the refinements to its Arizona proving ground that will greatly improve the customer experience; and Hyundai for its sprawling new German hub.
Deservedly, it was DSD that took home the trophy, with the jury noting the measurable impact of its support and services. Operating as a development partner, Drive System Design’s engineers integrate seamlessly within customer teams, delivering adaptive, data‑rich testing that supports high‑fidelity model correlation and robust digital twin development.
“We’re absolutely delighted to receive the ATTI Facility of the Year award,” said Rob Smith, head of development and test at DSD. “It’s a fantastic recognition of the expertise, dedication and collaborative spirit that underpin everything we do at Drive System Design.”
He continued, “We’re proud to be supporting the development of next-generation propulsion systems across a wide range of sectors, from automotive and commercial vehicles to aerospace, defense and beyond. By bringing design, development and testing together within a single, integrated environment, we can move seamlessly from concept through to validation, helping customers tackle increasingly complex engineering challenges with confidence while accelerating development and reducing program risk.”
Winning the Supplier of the Year title was Diversified Technical Systems, which was recognized for its sheer graft in bringing to market new technologies that push boundaries. In the past year, DTS has launched five key products, acting as an end-to-end solutions provider and enabling efficient setup, reliable power distribution, synchronized data capture and streamlined communication across increasingly complex crash-test environments.
“DTS is honored to receive the Supplier of the Year award. We view this recognition as validation of our global team’s ongoing commitment to developing the most innovative data acquisition systems on the market,” said Chad Ivan, sales and applications manager at DTS. “Supporting automotive and aerospace testing where ‘failure is not an option’ is at the core of everything we do. That’s one reason our technical support and development teams are always looking for ways to make our customers’ experience as seamless as possible, today and in the future.”
For 2026, the Vehicle Tech Week Trailblazer Awards were introduced, recognizing the personal achievements of some remarkable individuals. Handpicked by the editors, ATTI’s trailblazer is Santiago Reyes, product manager at GRAS Sound & Vibration. He was nominated for his contribution to shaping modern automotive acoustic testing – an important and growing field – including his exceptional leadership in advancing the development and introduction of the GRAS 45BD AutoKEMAR platform.
Evans concluded, “As we know, the vehicle testing field is extremely diverse, with niches within niches. Very often, there is a clear theme within some categories and across the sector as a whole. This year, however, there was a particularly wide variety of entries. That has been fantastic to see, as it demonstrates innovation happening in all corners of the industry. It is also especially rewarding for us to recognize businesses from very different areas, of all sizes and types.”
Look out for more on the winners in the September 2026 edition of Automotive Testing Technology International.
ATTI will continue to report on the news and insights from Automotive Testing Expo Europe, which runs until 3pm tomorrow (June 25). Click here to book your free expo pass to Vehicle Tech Week Europe 2026
See the full ATTI Awards 2026 shortlist here
