Ansible Motion, which develops driver-in-the-loop (DIL) simulators featuring advanced computational and mechanical performance capabilities, has expanded its partnership with Penske Autosport with the delivery of four new Theta Seat Sport simulators. Following the deployment of Ansible Motion’s Delta S3 DIL simulator to Penske Autosport in 2024, the racing team now has a multi-sim testing and development center.
This new five-simulator setup enables the driver of the existing Ansible Motion Delta S3 simulator at DS Penske – featuring full dynamics, 48K image rendering, a full 360° wrap-around screen and real Formula E cockpit – to interact virtually in real time on-track with four drivers in separate Theta Seat Sport simulators.
Phil Charles, deputy team principal and team president at DS Penske, said, “Having already experienced the superlative capabilities and engineering benefits of operating the Ansible Motion Delta S3 dynamic simulator – which we installed last year – we were keen to expand our simulator program to include multiple, simultaneous drivers in order to explore inter-vehicle and inter-driver situations. Ansible Motion’s new Theta Seat Sport simulator suite is now enabling us to do this.”
The latest software from AVL Racetech enables a multi-sim setup, with a vehicle modeling network providing unified multi-simulator connectivity.
Guillermo Pezzetto, global sales and business development manager racing at AVL Racetech, said, “AVL Racetech partnered with DS Penske and Ansible Motion to supply our state-of-the-art vehicle dynamics simulation tool for this innovative application.
“DS Penske’s multi-simulator solution enables the customer to simulate highly realistic race scenarios including traffic, thus creating a unique testing environment for the development of race car setups and energy management strategies.
“To maximize the benefits of this setup, the vehicle dynamics simulation used must be capable of realistically modeling the physical effects of running in traffic, which is exactly what our AVL VSM Race software is doing.”
Theta Seat is a part of Ansible Motion’s range of static and compact DIL simulators intended for virtual system integration and vehicle product development. The newly-introduced Sport variant – the first in the company’s new motorsport product series – is designed specifically for motorsport applications, with a sophisticated, engineering-grade computational architecture that powers highly detailed vehicle and environment models, plus interconnection capacity for multiple networked DIL simulators.
Supported by a modular, plinth-based physical structure, Theta Seat Sport provides a scalable and reconfigurable architecture. It can easily be adapted to different race series and scale from affordable price point specifications with gaming-standard controls up to sophisticated, more immersive setups with multi-function racing steering wheels and upgrade kits for Ansible Motion’s existing supplemental cueing and active loading systems for steering torque, pedal actuation, harness tension, helmet force and high-frequency actuation.
