Virtual twins in vehicle development

As AI rapidly moves into the physical world across vehicles, robotics, and autonomous systems, traditional development models are struggling to keep up. Software development for robotics and vehicle applications is too often constrained by late hardware availability, fragmented toolchains, and limited access to realistic test environments. This bottleneck slows down the pace of deploying embedded AI at scale.

In this innovation project, RemotiveLabs AB and Arm are joining forces to demonstrate a scalable digital twin approach that allows teams to develop, test, and validate next-generation physical AI systems long before physical hardware is available.

By combining virtualized Arm®-based compute with RemotiveLabs' system-level simulation and cloud-native tooling, the project enables early testing and validation of complex software. The environment successfully runs Android Automotive on virtualized platforms in the cloud, utilizing infrastructure provided by Volvo Cars and Google Cloud.

From virtual hardware to production-ready systems

The project demonstrates a complete, end-to-end digital twin workflow for Android Automotive in a dynamic vehicle software development environment including:

• Android Automotive running on virtual Arm-based ECUs before target hardware exists
• Closed-loop and open-loop simulation using containerized vehicle topologies
• Playback of real-world drive cycles, signals, and video streams
• Modular integration of hardware ECUs (e.g. IVI, ADAS, connectivity)
• Environments ready for Continuous Integration (CI) for early and continuous validation

The platform is designed to scale seamlessly - from individual developers working locally to OEM-level integration and multi-supplier collaboration in the cloud.

In practice, the platform runs Android Automotive on virtual Arm-based ECUs using Cuttlefish, combined with containerized vehicle simulation and real-world data playback, including HERE Maps. This allows teams to validate infotainment behavior and system interactions in an environment that closely reflects production—without waiting for physical hardware.

A system-wide approach to digital twins

Rather than building all simulation capabilities in-house, RemotiveLabs acts as the orchestration layer that connects a system-wide approach with virtual hardware, simulation models, and vehicle data into a coherent digital twin. Building on this foundation, the Arm and RemotiveLabs collaboration within the Autoware Open AD Kit End-to-End AI project demonstrates how autonomous driving software can be developed, integrated, and validated pre-silicon. Using a virtual harness and target-aware platforms, developers can test complex AI workloads in environments that reflect both the vehicle system and the compute architecture they will ultimately run on.

This modern software approach makes it possible to combine different fidelity levels - from lightweight mocks to advanced simulation models – while maintaining a consistent, developer-friendly workflow across teams, tools, and organizations.

Enabling intelligent systems with the infotainment digital twin

By enabling early validation, continuous testing, and parallel development, the project aims to significantly reduce reliance on physical prototypes, shorten development cycles, and improve software quality.

This collaboration is the result of a joint effort led by Future Mobility, co-funded by Vinnova and the Swedish Energy Agency. The initiative is designed to foster partnerships and strengthen the research and innovation (R&I) network between Sweden and the United States to speed up the development of sustainable mobility.