Data-driven and Integrated Engineering for Virtual Prototypes

The increasing usage of components in automotive systems is accompanied by complex dependencies of products as well as engineering and economic domains. Thus specialized analysis approaches and simulations are used to identify influences of domains and components on each other. Current research deals with database systems and data management approaches to integrate different engineering domains into a component oriented model. On the other side integrative management solutions made huge approaches in the field of computer controlled economic analysis and optimization. ERP systems and Data Warehouse approaches enable a wide range of data storage and analysis solutions. A challenging task is the interaction as well as the influence of different engineering and management disciplines on each other. In this paper a comprehensive solution for data driven and integrated engineering of prototypes in the automotive domain is presented. This approach enables early updates of concepts and structures as well as re-combination of virtual products including the planning process. Based on the description of challenges the field of domain expert integration, an integrative architecture is presented.