SCANeR 2026.2 (Powered by Next), the latest major version of our automotive simulation software, is now available. It includes many new features and enhancements designed to meet the needs of the most challenging simulation applications for engineers and scientists.
Built on user feedback from the 2025 version, this release consolidates and improves its limitations, adding the missing elements that make everyday simulation faster and more reliable. The goal is a version that is more industrial and convenient to use, complementing SCANeR 2026.1 with capabilities that better match real engineering needs.
Two areas stand out in particular. First, a complete terrain workflow that turns real-world elevation data into simulation-ready 3D environments. Second, stronger AD/ADAS validation through support for the ADASIS v3 protocol in the Electronic Horizon model. Here is a closer look at both.
Stronger AD/ADAS validation with ADASIS v3
Modern ADAS functions increasingly rely on predictive, lane-level knowledge of the road ahead to make real-time driving decisions. In other words, they need to know what is coming, lane by lane. The more sophisticated these systems become, the more they need not just a description of the road, but a detailed understanding of each lane: its geometry, connectivity, boundaries, and associated regulations. To validate such functions in simulation, the test environment must be able to generate and deliver this view of the road ahead in a format the system being tested can actually read.
SCANeR 2026.2 introduces support for the ADASIS v3 protocol in the Electronic Horizon model. ADASIS v3 is a standardized interface, widely adopted across the automotive industry, that defines how this lane-level road information is structured and exchanged between two roles: an ADAS Horizon Provider (AHP), which supplies the picture of the road ahead, and an ADAS Horizon Reconstructor (AHR).
Within SCANeR, the Electronic Horizon model plays the role of the provider (AHP). It reads the road network defined in the scenario, based on SCANeR road data (.rnd), and generates a dynamic, sliding horizon ahead of the ego vehicle, meaning the road preview updates continuously as the simulated vehicle moves forward. This horizon is then sent as ADASIS v3 messages to external applications over a standard network connection (TCP).
The result is a reliable, standardized way to feed the road ahead directly into the systems being tested, ready for AD/ADAS validation.
A complete terrain workflow, from real-world data to 3D environment
Recreating accurate terrain is one of the most demanding steps in building a simulation-ready 3D environment, especially in mountainous areas where elevation directly affects both visual realism and the way the vehicle behaves in the simulation. SCANeR 2026.2 introduces a complete workflow that takes you from raw real-world data all the way to a fully drivable 3D terrain, in five steps.
1. Direct Digital Terrain Model (DTM) importation
Import one or several DTM files (.tiff), digital maps of the ground’s real elevation, directly into the Terrain editor. A Topography model is automatically created as the reference for all following operations, with adjacent files merged into a single continuous dataset.
2. Road altimetrization
Altimetrization simply means giving the roads their real height. With the Topography model in place, the Stick tracks to Topography feature drapes the road network onto the underlying terrain, assigning elevation and banking (road tilt in curves) from the DTM to automatically turn previously flat 2D roads into consistent 3D road profiles.
3. Road vertical-shape refinement
Real-world elevation data is rarely perfect. Aerial radar or lidar can accidentally capture the height of obstacles on the road, such as vehicles, instead of the road itself, and even a small positional offset between the road and the terrain data can produce bumpy, noisy results. A new Road Vertical-Shape Refinement tool cleans up these road elevation profiles at different scales, removing unwanted bumps and abrupt vertical transitions.
4. Hairpin correction
Imported roads are usually made of straight segments joined end to end, which creates sharp, unnatural angles instead of the smooth curves of real roads. On mountain roads especially, this produces tight, invalid bends known as hairpins that vehicles in the simulation cannot follow correctly. The new Hairpin Correction tool smooths these curves and replaces the problematic geometry with realistic, mathematically defined curves (such as Bézier or clothoid curves) to deliver a drivable, simulation-ready network.
5. Terrain generation from topography
Once the road network is corrected both in its horizontal layout (XY) and its elevation (Z), SCANeR 2026.2 generates a 3D terrain that reflects real-world altitude from the topography data, producing a realistic landscape particularly suited to mountainous environments where accurate elevation really matters.
Discover everything new in SCANeR 2026.2
The terrain workflow and ADASIS v3 support are just two highlights of this release, which brings many other enhancements across massive simulation, vehicle dynamics, VR & AR, HIL/VIL, and driving simulator integration. Together, they help you accelerate your ADAS, autonomous driving, and XIL workflows with greater consistency, efficiency, and confidence.
Want to see it all in action? Join our live webinar on September 8, with two sessions to fit your time zone:
🕘 9:00 AM (Paris time) — Register
🕓 4:00 PM (Paris time) — Register
