More than 500 delegates from automotive and non-automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers and global engineering companies attended the dSPACE User Conference India 2026 at the Marriott Whitefield, Bengaluru. Held under the theme “Software-defined. Test-verified.”, the conference examined how simulation and virtual validation can help engineers test software before physical hardware is available.
Discussions covered the growing role of software in product development and the need for repeatable testing across complex engineering systems. Murali Manohar of Ashok Leyland said, “The best defects are not the ones we solve quickly. The best defects are the ones we don’t allow to reach the vehicle.”
Technology demonstrations focused on workflows developed with dSPACE partners. These included generating DO-178C certification artefacts using TargetLink and partner products, simulating vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, combining cybersecurity penetration testing with simulation, and generating virtual electronic control units (ECUs) containing production software.
The conference also highlighted demand for locally designed and engineered test solutions for Indian programmes. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, domestic vehicle sales reached 28.3 million units in FY2026, an increase of 10.4%, while exports rose 24% to 6.6 million units. Nasscom estimates India’s engineering research and development services revenue at $63 billion in FY2026 and projects it will exceed $100 billion by 2030.
Participants discussed testing challenges across industries, including managing multiple vehicle variants, validating aerospace flight-control systems before flight testing, and conducting continuous regression testing for software-defined vehicles. Two technologies introduced for the Indian market were Neural Net Coder and dissecto HydraProbe. Neural Net Coder converts trained neural networks into deterministic, standards-compliant C code for safety-critical embedded systems. It includes post-training optimisation, verification and estimates of runtime and memory requirements. The dissecto HydraProbe is an electronic control unit security-testing tool that adds controlled penetration testing to existing hardware-in-the-loop systems.
Andreas Gau, CEO of dSPACE India Solutions Pvt Ltd said Indian engineering teams were combining partner technologies into deployable workflows and seeking solutions designed for domestic programmes. He highlighted Neural Net Coder as part of the company’s response to requirements for artificial intelligence in vehicle ECUs.
dSPACE provides simulation, validation and cybersecurity solutions for software- and electronics-based systems. Its applications cover automotive, aerospace and defence, agriculture, industrial automation, energy, rail and marine industries. Headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, dSPACE employs more than 2,900 people and operates regional companies and project centres across several international markets, including India.
