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The enactment of FMVSS 126 requires specific safety performance in vehicles 4,536 Kg (10,000 pounds) or less using an Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system as standard equipment by 2011. Further, in 2012, the regulation requires vehicles that have undergone aftermarket modification to remain in compliance with the performance standard. This paper describes: • a brief overview of the standard and its implications • the collaborative approach used in the first successful approach in meeting that requirement by a lift kit manufacturer o a Hardware In the Loop (HIL) test alternative for establishing a reasonable expectation for a vehicle to demonstrate compliance after modification. • Collaborative challenges overcome: o aftermarket manufacturers seeking information sharing with OEMs and Tier One suppliers: o respecting the intellectual property of OEMs and Tier One suppliers o maintaining the integrity between tool competitors and their customers in cross-collaborative efforts

Given the current proliferation of active safety features on new vehicles, especially for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and Highly Automated Driving (HAD) technologies, it is evident that there is a need for testing methods beyond a vehicle level physical test. This paper will discuss the current state of the art in the industry for simulation-based verification and validation (V&V) testing methods. These will include, but are not limited to, "Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL)", “Software-in-the-Loop (SIL)”, “Model-in-the-Loop (MIL)”, “Driver-in-the-Loop (DIL)”, and any other suitable combinations of the aforementioned (XIL). Aspects of the test processes and needed components for simulation will be addressed, detailing the scope of work needed for various types of testing. The paper will provide an overview of standardized test aspects, active safety software validation methods, recommended practices and standards.

Real time dynamic simulation of mechanisms with kinematically closed loops requires solving systems of nonlinear differential algebraic equations (DAE). Examples of such mechanisms are racing car suspensions and certain robotic arms. Simulating such systems in real time requires significant computational power. This paper explores an alternative approach in an attempt to minimize computational effort. A hybrid, two-step approach is employed of first applying symbolic math methods followed by numerical simulation. Explored is the possibility of optimizing formulae and precalculating coefficients to speed up real time simulation. Quasi-linearization is suggested as a method of solving and simulating nonlinear DAE in real time. The equations of motion are linearized in every point of the state space. The result is a system of linear ordinary differential equations with varying coefficients.

The dampers of semi-active vehicle suspensions have a limited working region. They are only capable of delivering control force in phase with damper contraction/expansion. Without special measures the delivered control force may be switched on and off abruptly at the entering/exiting of the damper working region. This causes deterioration of ride comfort quantified by the derivative of vehicle body acceleration (jerk). Proposed is a control algorithm modification for smooth force transition at the borders of the damper working region. A time based force modulation is used. A predictor of the time to exiting the working region is proposed to lower requested force in advance. A hybrid controller is investigated combining level and time based force modulation.

Increasingly, the exchanges of data in complex ECM (Electronic Control Module) systems rely on multiple communication networks across various physical and network layers. This has greatly increased system flexibility and provided an excellent medium to create well-defined exchangeable interfaces between components; however this added flexibility comes with increased network complexity. A system-level approach allows for the optimization of data exchange and network configuration as well as the development of a comprehensive network failure strategy. Many current ECM systems utilize complex multi-network communication strategies to exchange and control data to components. Recently, Caterpillar implemented an HIL (Hardware-In-the-Loop) test system that provides an approach for developing and testing a comprehensive ECM network strategy.

Electric powertrains are quiet, efficient, and provide a better controllability over their conventional counterparts. There are also many other areas in off-highway and commercial vehicles that are beginning to apply Electric Drive technology. The heart of these systems is the Electric Drive control technology being done on ECUs. Due to the complexity of the systems and need for demanding control applications, these ECU systems require a level of closed-loop testing that previous standard bench test-methods cannot supply. The common approach to testing these systems is using Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems designed for electric drive. This paper describes a typical HIL simulation platform for testing control systems for electric powertrain. The scope of this paper covers the standard practices in HIL simulation of electric drives, giving a general overview of the necessary interfaces and simulation technology.

Model-based software development and automatic production code generation have become increasingly established in recent years. The aerospace industry and other industries, such as automotive, have widely adopted and successfully deployed these methods in many different series production programs worldwide. This brought various benefits, such as a reduction in development times and improved quality due to more precise specifications, and early verification and validation by means of simulation. Model-based development is a general purpose development approach which can be applied to a wide variety of applications. Safety-critical systems, like found in aerospace applications to a large extent, but also found increasingly more often in other industries, like automotive or medical devices, pose special additional requirements to this process. This paper describes how model-based design and automatic production code generation can be applied to the development of safety-critical software.

This presentation focuses on several examples of partnerships between tool suppliers and embedded software developers in which state-of-the-art tools are used to optimize a variety of electric and hybrid vehicle architectures. Projects with Automotive OEMs, Tier One Suppliers as well as with academic institutions will be described. Due to the growing complexity in multiple electronic control units (“ECUs”) inter-communicating over numerous network bus systems, combined with the challenge of controlling and maintaining charges for electric motors, vehicle development would be impossible without use of increasingly sophisticated tools. Hybrid drive trains are much more complex than conventional ones, they have at least one degree of freedom more.

This paper discusses our experiences on the implementation and benefits of using the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) systems for Powertrain control system software verification and validation. The Visteon HIL system integrated with several off-the-shelf diagnostics and calibration tools is briefly explained. Further, discussions on test automation sequence control and failure insertion are outlined The capabilities and advantages of using HIL for unit level software testing, open loop and closed-loop system testing, fault insertion and test automation are described. HIL also facilitates Software and Hardware Interface validation testing with low-level driver and platform software. This paper attempts to show the experiences with and capabilities of these HIL systems.

The Controls and Software Engineering Team at BorgWarner Drivetrain Systems has successfully employed model-based software development for the past several years. Their drivetrain system control software, developed using MATLAB/Simulink/Stateflow, and autocoded using TargetLink, is on the road in many passenger vehicle applications. Using these tools, BorgWarner has realized the widely recognized benefits of model-based design; such as increased speed to market, improved quality, and reduced complexity. Validating algorithms early through simulation and rapid prototyping, then translating them to production software through automatic code generation has proven very successful for BorgWarner. When starting with model-based design, the BorgWarner team focused on developing the core application control algorithms in the modeling environment. Lower-level software such as I/O drivers, the task scheduler, and communication logic was still hand-coded.

Currently, Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) testing is the defacto standard for ECU verification and validation at the majority of the Commercial Vehicle OEMs and Tier1 suppliers. HIL Testing is used to shorten development and testing time for both engine and machine control systems. In order to use this process, many of these companies have to develop and maintain expertise in the area of Model-based development (MBD). This paper introduces an approach which allows for the effective use of HIL systems without having to directly work in a MBD environment. Many HIL tests can be done with stimulus and response analysis of the ECUs, given core knowledge of the expected behavior of its control software and I/O subsystems. For hardware interface and diagnostics validation, this open-loop testing of the controller may suffice. It is important to provide the tester with capabilities to easily modify these stimuli and evaluate the responses.

It is not news anymore when somebody talks about increasing software content in today's vehicles, transportation systems and machinery. The software content and complexity has grown so tremendously and rapidly that even the most advanced product/software development techniques leave more to desire in view of evolving product life-cycles, feature content and need for development efficiency. Model-Based Design (MBD) techniques and V-Cycle based development processes address the significant need for managing complexity, and to some extent, efficiency in product development. Further efficiency in the development process can be achieved by enabling virtual validation of software components. The virtual validation environment for software not only has the ability to run the software component as a standalone unit for performance validation, but is also extended to the validation of the performance of the entire embedded software of an ECU, multiple ECUs and the entire system.

The Model-Based Development (MBD) process has been the key enabler of technical advancement. MBD helps manage complexity, while making product development faster by bringing clarity and transparency to the entire product development process, specifically software components. Developing software using MBD has required extensive, sophisticated toolchains, like the ones provided by dSPACE, that allow for efficient rapid controls prototyping, automatic code generation, and advanced validation and verification techniques with hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test systems. MBD is an efficient iterative process that allows engineers to improve quality and deliver on demanding needs of product variants in the current competitive environment. However, the MBD process described commonly using the ‘V-Cycle’ diagram leads to the generation of large volumes of data artifacts and work products. The iterative process, variants and versions of these artifacts lead to even larger amounts of data.

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing is an indispensable tool in the software development process for electronic control units (ECUs) and Logical Replaceable Units (LRUs) and is an integral part of the software validation process for many organizations. HIL simulation is regarded as the tried-and-tested method for function, component, integration and network tests for the entire system. Using the Model based design approach has further enabled improved and faster HIL implementations in recent years. This paper describes the changing requirements for HIL simulation, and how they need to be addressed by HIL technology. It also addresses the challenges faced while setting up a successful HIL system: namely the division of tasks, the total cost of ownership, budget constraints and tough competition and the adaptability of a HIL simulator to new demands. These requirements are discussed using a dSPACE HIL system architecture that was designed from the ground-up to address these needs.

Currently, hybrid and electric drive control systems are being developed for many types of platforms in the aerospace, automotive, and commercial vehicle industries. These systems also entail the use of Battery Management Systems (BMS) to handle their demanding power needs. However, the development of these technologies brings increased system complexity, evident in the platform variants and even more so in the control algorithms of various electronic control units (ECUs). There is also a greater need to handle system-level control strategies, via communication networks and command software. This increased system complexity poses new challenges for software design and ECU system validation, mandating the need for simulation tools that can easily handle the inherent system complexity, while providing cost-effective, industry-proven verification tools and processes.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) typically have complex interaction between different powertrain devices and incorporates complex electronic control unit (ECU) network. For the electrified vehicles of the future, comprehensive ECU tests are more necessary than ever before, as the complexity and amount of embedded software increases at a breathtaking speed. The V-cycle is a widely recognized approach in the development of ECUs spanning from offline controller development to the final implementation on production hardware. This paper describes a case study with a focus on electric drive components and electric drive controller development. The V-cycle for motor controller development involving phases control design, rapid control prototyping and target implementation is explained in detail. The model components needed for HEV simulation were selected from dSPACE Automotive Simulation Models (ASM).

The development of perception functions for tomorrow’s automated vehicles is driven by enormous amounts of data: often exceeding a gigabyte per second and reaching into the terabytes per hour. Data is typically gathered by a fleet of dozens of mule vehicles which multiply the data generated into the hundreds of petabytes per year. Traditional methods for fueling data-driven development would record every bit of every second of a data logging drive on solid-state drives located on a PC in the vehicle. Recorded data must then be exported from these drives using an upload station which pushes to the data lake after arriving back at the garage. This paper considers different techniques for curating logged data.

In the last few years, we have seen a tremendous increase in the rise in product complexity due to advances in technology and aircraft system functionality enhancement. The Model-based Design (MBD) process has helped manage the complexity of these systems while making product development faster by bringing more effective tools and methods to the entire process. Developing software using MBD has required extensive, sophisticated tool-chains that allow for efficient rapid controls prototyping, automatic code generation, and advanced validation and verification techniques using model-in-the-loop (MIL), software-in-the-loop (SIL), and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) for both component testing and integration testing. However, the MBD process leads to generation of large volumes of data artifacts and work-products throughout the V-Cycle.