  Autonomous vehicle (AV) algorithms need to be tested extensively in order to
make sure the vehicle and the passengers will be safe while using it after the
implementation. Testing these algorithms in real world create another important
safety critical point. Real world testing is also subjected to limitations such
as logistic limitations to carry or drive the vehicle to a certain location.
For this purpose, hardware in the loop (HIL) simulations as well as virtual
environments such as CARLA and LG SVL are used widely. This paper discusses a
method that combines the real vehicle with the virtual world, called vehicle in
virtual environment (VVE). This method projects the vehicle location and
heading into a virtual world for desired testing, and transfers back the
information from sensors in the virtual world to the vehicle. As a result,
while vehicle is moving in the real world, it simultaneously moves in the
virtual world and obtains the situational awareness via multiple virtual
sensors. This would allow testing in a safe environment with the real vehicle
while providing some additional benefits on vehicle dynamics fidelity,
logistics limitations and passenger experience testing. The paper also
demonstrates an example case study where path following and the virtual sensors
are utilized to test a radar based stopping algorithm.
