Simulation Strategies for Autonomous Vehicle Validation: A Modular and Scalable Approach

As autonomous vehicle (AV) technology advances, validating complex behavior across diverse driving scenarios becomes increasingly critical. This paper presents a set of simulation strategies designed to rigorously validate AV systems using a modular, scalable, and automated framework. Drawing from real-world applications and tooling—including Simulation Data Inspector (SDI) and Simulink Test—we outline an approach to scenario generation, data management, performance metric definition, and automated analysis. Emphasis is placed on reproducibility, interoperability, and performance traceability, especially in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) and model-in-the-loop (MIL) environments. These strategies help accelerate development cycles while ensuring safety, robustness, and regulatory compliance.