IPG Automotive – A real industry leader

Sustainable growth from deep roots

Having started as a spin-off from Karlsruhe University, today known as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, our focus has been sustainable research and development from the very beginning since 1984. We meet our clients’ challenges with well-founded professional expertise as well as openness and a great deal of pioneering spirit. It is our goal to assist them in the development of new technologies from the initial idea to series production – aided by our considerable experience. 

 

Would you like to know how it all started? 

Read the interviews with our two company founders, Dr.-Ing. Alexander Schmidt and Dr.-Ing. Andreas Riedel, which they gave on the occasion of our 30-year anniversary in 2014.

In conversation with Mr. Schmidt

In conversation with Mr. Riedel

Company

Ingenieurgemeinschaft Prof. Dr.-Ing. R. Gnadler GmbH is founded

We are a spin-off of the Karlsruhe University of Technology: Two research assistants, Alexander Schmidt and Andreas Riedel, together with Prof. Rolf Gnadler, found the company in order keep supporting their project partners in the field of vehicle dynamics.

1984
1989

The first IPG HIL-System is developed. IPG-CAR, a vehicle dynamics simulation model generated with MESA VERDE, is released.

1990

The driver model IPG-DRIVER is developed, which is able to realize different styles of driving autonomously.

1999

The software products are combined and marketed as a new product: CarMaker.

2001

A new simulation solution specifically tailored to the development of two-wheelers is introduced: MotorcycleMaker.

2002

The first Fail Safe Tester is sold, making the simulation of faults faster, more flexible, more powerful and reproducible. CarMaker for Simulink and for Windows is released the same year.

Renaming

The company is renamed to the current IPG Automotive GmbH.

2003

We set new priorities

Driver assistance and powertrain are joining vehicle dynamics as core application areas.

2004

First Open House and start of the Formula CarMaker program

The first Open House is held in 2005. In the beginning, we opened our doors for a glimpse behind the scenes. Today, the event has become an established international industry meeting for virtual test driving with several hundred participants.

Since 2005, we have supported academic racing, for instance with CarMaker licenses for Formula Student Teams. And we are constantly adding to the list of race series we support.

2005

First technology conference
“Apply & Innovate”

Our technology conference, later called Apply & Innovate, offers a platform for creative exchange about virtual test driving. International clients and partners present their applications with our simulation solutions.

2006
2006

We are offering our first own M-Modules, a Mezzanine standard that is used in industrial computers.

In addition, CarMaker/HIL now runs on dSPACE test benches.

New headquarters

There is now ample space for corporate growth in the field of software and hardware at the current headquarters on Bannwaldallee in Karlsruhe.

2007
2008

The fourth generation IPG HIL system, Xpack4, is particularly powerful and cost-efficient and can be combined in a fully modular way. We are ready for real-time simulation!

Introduction of our training programs

In the beginning, our engineers offered training courses for our products on the occasion of project handovers. Since 2009, general product training courses are held regularly. The first course in 2009 was a CarMaker User Training.

2009
2009

A new simulation solution specifically tailored to the development of heavy-duty vehicles is introduced: TruckMaker.

Opening of the Munich office

You can now find us in Munich in addition to our headquarters in Karlsruhe.

2012
2012

Since 2012, vehicle-in-the-loop offers the possibility to experience real-world vehicle systems in the virtual environment – a major step in the development process!

CarMaker/ HIL is now available for ETAS LABCAR.

Opening of the Wolfsburg office

Wolfsburg is now our third site in Germany.

2013

Our subsidiary company in Japan is founded and the first SimulOscar competition is held

We are taking our company global: IPG Automotive K.K. now offers local support for our Japanese clients.

The same year, IPG Automotive initiates a competition in order to encourage new talents to work on projects in the field of virtual test driving. Awards are now presented for outstanding student works.

2014
2014

The first Steering-in-the-Loop Test Bench is delivered and successfully put into operation at our client’s site.

New international offices are founded – now more than 100 staff members work at IPG Automotive

The company is growing on a global level and we are strengthening our presence in Asia and the USA with our new subsidiary companies in Shanghai and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Our team is growing as well! At the end of 2015, more than 100 staff members work at IPG Automotive.

2015
2015

CarMaker/HIL now runs on National Instruments test benches.

Our subsidiaries in Korea and France are founded

We are expanding in the Asian market by founding our Korean subsidiary. We are also strengthening our presence in Europe, where we are now also located in France.

2016
2016

CarMaker 5.1 is released, shifting our focus onto test automation for which we now offer Test Ware Packages.

The first training center for virtual test driving with the simulation solution CarMaker is opened at Kookmin University in Seoul, Korea.

2017
2017

With the release 6.0 of the CarMaker product family, we have enhanced our products especially for the development and testing of advanced driver assistance systems und automated driving functions, thereby setting new standards.

2018

The release 7.0 of the simulation solution CarMaker brings several updates such as detailed sensor models, RDE-compliant emissions tests, or the option of parallel simulation of countless test kilometers on high-performance computing clusters.

Products