Off-Highway Tier 1Virtual Validation for Off-Road Transmission Systems

Long story short

CTRL Engineering supported a gearbox manufacturer in the off-highway construction and agricultural machinery industry in modernizing how they develop and validate transmission control software. The aim? Allow virtual tuning and calibration for multiple vehicle platforms—without physically building every variant. Through simulation-driven engineering, the company now adapts its software to machine-specific dynamics early in the process, improving speed, quality, and efficiency.

🔧 “Virtual calibration lets our clients optimize control software early ⏱️, saving time and costs 💰 across multiple platforms.”
Mathieu Dutré, Managing Director at CTRL engineering

The Challenge: One Gearbox, Many Machines

The gearbox is integrated into a wide variety of machines from multiple OEMs, each with unique dynamics, use cases, and performance expectations. A single, universal control strategy wasn’t feasible. The engineering team needed a scalable way to validate and tune software for each vehicle type—long before integration or field testing. Their goals were ambitious: reduce prototyping, cut time-to-market, and boost software robustness without building and commissioning every possible machine variant.

Our Approach: Digital Twins Meet Modular Control Design

CTRL Engineering implemented a structured, model-based development approach combining physical system simulation with modular control logic.
Using Simcenter Amesim, we created a high-fidelity model of the gearbox, capturing its mechanical, hydraulic, and load interaction behavior. Parallel to this, control algorithms were developed in Simulink and Stateflow, following a clean, modular architecture that supported independent verification of each function block.

Through co-simulation, we connected both domains—mechanics and control—into a realistic closed-loop environment. This setup allowed engineers to simulate full system behavior, calibrate control loops, and fine-tune machine-specific parameters based on the actual dynamics of each configuration. The entire workflow followed a V&V-compliant structure, ensuring correctness and traceability at every stage of development.

Results: Faster, Smarter, and More Predictable

The introduction of a virtual development and co-simulation platform marked a turning point. Engineers could now tune and validate their transmission control software for multiple vehicle configurations entirely in a simulated environment. This eliminated the need to build physical prototypes for every variant, freeing up time and engineering capacity. Field testing became a final validation step instead of a debugging session, and software behavior proved more consistent and predictable across all supported platforms. By shifting calibration and optimization earlier in the process, the manufacturer gained a clear advantage in delivering faster, more tailored solutions to its OEM partners.

Why it matters to you? Scalable Development for Complex Systems

For developers of gearboxes, drivetrains, and embedded control systems in complex, multi-OEM environments, this case illustrates the power of simulation as more than a tool—it becomes a foundation for smarter engineering.

CTRL Engineering enables you to bring structure and foresight into your development cycle by virtually testing, calibrating, and validating control software long before it ever touches hardware. This not only accelerates development and reduces risk, but also results in software that is better adapted to each machine, more reliable in the field, and easier to support. Rather than reinventing the wheel for every configuration, you can build confidence into your product line from day one.