Technical Paper
Next-Generation Hardware-in-the-Loop Systems for Commercial Vehicle Applications
2008-10-07
2008-01-2713
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing of automotive control systems is a very mature methodology. Yet there are a number of reasons why it has not yet seen wide proliferation in the commercial vehicle industry. First, until recently, hardware-in-the-loop testing required the use of expensive special-purpose hardware solutions to achieve the needed real-time performance. Second, the development of highly accurate real-time-capable models of diesel engines, transmissions and complete vehicles was prohibitively labor-intensive. Third, the development of test cases required special programming skills. Fourth, the test cases were not portable from one controller program to the next, which limited their re-use. In recent years the performance and user-friendliness of commercial-of-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software products have changed to the point that they can now be used in very complex and sophisticated HIL test systems for automobiles and commercial vehicles.