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A variety of methodologies to use embedded multicore controllers efficiently has been discussed in the last years. Several assumptions are usually made in the automotive domain, such as static assignment of tasks to the cores. This paper shows an approach for efficient task allocation depending on different system modes. An engine management system (EMS) is used as application example, and the performance improvement compared to static allocation is assessed. The paper is structured as follows: First the control algorithms for the EMS will be classified according to operating modes. The classified algorithms will be allocated to the cores, depending on the operating mode. We identify mode transition points, allowing a reliable switch without neglecting timing requirements. As a next step, it will be shown that a load distribution by mode-dependent task allocation would be better balanced than a static task allocation.

Recently, vehicle networks have increased complexity due to the demand for autonomous driving or connected devices. This increasing complexity requires high bandwidth. As a result, vehicle manufacturers have begun using Ethernet-based communication for high-speed links. In order to deal with the heterogeneity of such networks where legacy automotive buses have to coexist with high-speed Ethernet links vehicle manufacturers introduced a vehicle gateway system. The system uses Ethernet as a backbone between domain controllers and CAN buses for communication between internal controllers. As a central point in the vehicle, the gateway is constantly exchanging vehicle data in a heterogeneous communication environment between the existing CAN and Ethernet networks. In an in-vehicle network context where the communications are strictly time-constrained, it is necessary to measure the delay for such routing task.

This paper makes a contribution toward a more efficient chassis durability process for the development of passenger cars, in which the simulation of relevant load data is a time-consuming part. This is especially due to the full vehicle model complexity which is usually determined by the demands of rough road simulations. However, for the load calculation on a racetrack, time saving model approaches that are more simplified might be sufficient. Our investigation comprises two levels of vehicle model complexity: one with all chassis parts modeled in a multibody system environment and one characteristic curve based model in an internal simulation environment. Both approaches consider an original chassis control system as a Software-in-the-Loop model. By the evaluation of real-world experiments the main influence factors in terms of durability are demonstrated. With the help of those highly sensitive durability criteria the measurement and simulation results are then compared.

While the market share for diesel engines for LD vehicles in Europe has grown continuously in the past years, the market share in North America is still negligible. Until now, it has been possible to fulfill the limits for nitrogen oxides (NOx) both in Europe and in North America by engine measures alone, without using an active NOx aftertreatment system. With the introduction of Tier II Bin 8 and Tier II Bin 5 emissions legislation in the US in 2007, most new diesel applications will now require NOx aftertreatment. One of the possible technologies for the reduction of nitrogen oxides in lean exhaust gas is the NOx storage catalyst which has become the generally-accepted choice for engines with gasoline direct injection systems and which is also utilized in the current diesel Bluetec I systems from Daimler. For heavier applications urea-SCR is the preferred technology to fulfill NOx legislation limits.

The economic challenges and environmental imperatives facing the trucking and automobile industries today all point to a pressing need to improve fuel efficiency. Due to increasing volatility of fuel supplies, prices and a growing interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, fuel efficiency has taken on new urgency. In the long-haul trucking industry this is especially important given the fact that fuel accounts for a significant share of fleet operating costs. To this end Daimler and NAVTEQ have developed a system to improve fuel economy and reduce CO₂ emissions through the integration of digital map data into Advanced Driver Assistance Systems or ADAS. Digital road map attributes, especially road slope have been demonstrated to enable powertrain controls to anticipate road inclination changes and use this information to predictively enhance load management optimization versus the reactive approach afforded by current technology.

In terms of modern technical systems, the automotive sector is characterized by escalating complexity and functionality requirements. The development of embedded control systems has to meet highest demands regarding process-, time- and cost-optimization. Hence, the efficiency of software development becomes a crucial competitive advantage. Systems design engineers need effective tools and methods to achieve exemplary speed and productivity within the development phase. To obtain such tools and methods, semiconductor manufacturers and tool manufacturers must work closely together. Within the joint efforts of ETAS and Infineon, the software tool suite ASCET-SD was enhanced to generate efficient C code for Infineon's TriCore architecture mapped on ETAS's real-time operating system ERCOSEK. The processor interface to application & calibration tools was realized using the ETK probe based on a JTAG/Nexus link at very high bandwidth.

The recent improvements in automotive electronics have had a tremendous impact on safety, comfort and emissions. But the continuous increase of the volume of electronic equipment in cars (representing more than 25% of purchasing volume) as well as the increasing system complexity represent a new challenge to quality, post-sales customer support and maintenance. Identifying a fault in a complex network of ECUs, where the different functions are getting more and more intricate, is not an easy task. It can be shown that with the levels of reliability common in 1980, an upper-range automobile of today could never function fault-free. On-Board-Diagnostics (OBD) concepts are emerging to assist the maintenance personnel in localizing the source of a problem with high accuracy, reducing the vehicle repair time, repair costs and costs of warranty claims.

A mechatronic approach to implementing a BLDC motor drive control system is described. The partitioning method used allows the motor power to be scaled from around 100 watts to 1 kilowatt. The chosen approach maps the required electronic functionality to different existing front-end technologies. By drawing on vast experience with back-end technologies, especially chip-on-chip assembly, it is possible to implement a system in a one-package solution. The advantages of each technology are used to achieve a cost-effective, space-saving solution.

Digital or virtual prototyping by means of a multibody simulation model (MBS) is a standard part of the automotive design process. A high-fidelity model is built and often correlated against test data to increase its accuracy. Once built the MBS model can then be used for high fidelity analysis in ride comfort, handling as well as durability. Next to the MBS model, current industry practice is to develop a reduced degree of freedom model for the design and validation of control or intelligent systems. The models used in the control system design are required to execute in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations where it is necessary to run real-time. The reason for the creation of the reduced degree of freedom models so far has been that the high-fidelity or off-line model does not execute fast enough to be used in an HIL simulation.

The signal delivery and quality of sensor data is of growing importance for modern automotive control applications. Sensors tend to be calibrated subsystems that are designed to stay in a defined tolerance and thus can easily be modeled. Compared to this deterministic behavior the transmission channel is time variant due to EMC and aging of contacts for example. The use of analog signaling, which is the actual state of realization in many cases, is sensitive to the time variant effects mentioned before. This time variance is hard to consider for the control system development. In this paper we will analyze the role of the sensor in the signal supply chain and discuss approaches for digital sensor-ECU communication and their potential to establish a link, which allows neglecting low level effects of the channel.

Tire mark analysis is an important factor in accident reconstruction. A precise determination of pre- and postcrash speeds as well as longitudinal and lateral accelerations from tire marks contributes significantly to a reliable accident reconstruction. Continuous advancements in tire and vehicle technology – in particular with respect to modern control systems such as anti-lock braking systems (ABS) – raises the question what role tire marks play in accident reconstruction today. Moreover, this accompanies the question to what extent potential interventions by vehicle control systems such as the electronic stability program (ESP®) resp. the electronic stability control (ESC) can be identified in a tire mark. The widespread use of these systems today makes them increasingly important in accident reconstruction.

Software complexity of vehicles is constantly growing especially with additional autonomous driving features being introduced. This increases the risk for bugs in the system, when the car is delivered. According to a car manufacturer, more than 90% of availability problems corresponding to Electronic Control Unit (ECU) functionality are either caused by software bugs or they can be resolved by applying software updates to overcome hardware issues. The main concern are sporadic errors which are not caught during the development phase since their trigger condition is too unlikely to occur or is not covered by the tests. For such systems, there is a need of safe and secure infield diagnosis. In this paper we present a tool software architecture with remote access, which facilitates standard read/write access, an efficient channel interface for communication and file I/O, and continuous trace.