Ansys + Vitesco Technologies

Vitesco Technologies

Vitesco Technologies Group AG (known until autumn 2019 as Continental Powertrain), headquartered in Regensburg, is a German automotive supplier for drivetrain and powertrain technologies.

Vitesco Technologies was a business area of Continental AG until it became independent in September 2021. The company develops solutions for the electric drive as well as internal combustion engines.

With the boom in connected vehicles and the increase in the range of models, customers’ needs and requirements have evolved significantly. One example is the desire to integrate lighting systems into door handles. For automakers, light plays an essential role in practicality and comfort, but it also contributes to the visual signature of the vehicle by differentiating brands and making them recognizable.

In 2006, the company turned to optical simulation with the Ansys Speos software. Speos enables Vitesco Technologies engineers to model and validates all-optical systems of the handle that capture and guide the rays coming from the light source in order to guarantee lighting results that comply with specifications. With Speos, Vitesco Technologies teams can implement models of the various components (handle, light guide, etc.) to simulate them in their final environment and understand the interactions between light and materials in real lighting and use conditions. By combining light simulation and human vision capabilities with extensive material libraries and an optical optimizer, engineers can explore many lighting concepts and hypothetical scenarios, generating very realistic photometric and colorimetric visualizations of the results. 

Optical simulation gives Vitesco Technologies a predictive view of the optical performance of the systems. This view enables them to control the entire product design process in real-time, from concept development to validation to preparation for mold manufacture.