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In the aerospace industry, methods for virtual testing cover an increasing range of test executions carried out during the development and test process of avionics systems. Over the last years, most companies have focused on questions regarding the evaluation and implementation of methods for virtual testing. However, it has become more and more important to seamlessly integrate virtual testing into the overall development process. For instance, a company’s test strategy might stipulate a combination of different methods, such as SIL and HIL simulation, in order to benefit from the advantages of both in the same test process. In this case, efforts concentrate on the optimization of the overall process, from test specification to test execution, as well as the test result evaluation and its alignment with methods for virtual testing.

The application of a communication infrastructure for hybrid test systems is currently a topic in the aerospace industry, as also in other industries. One main reason is flexibility. Future laboratory tests means (LTMs) need to be easier to exchange and reuse than they are today. They may originate from different suppliers and parts of them may need to fulfill special requirements and thus be based on dedicated technologies. The desired exchangeability needs to be achieved although suppliers employ different technologies with regard to specific needs. To achieve interoperability, a standardized transport mechanism between test systems is required. Designing such a mechanism poses a challenge as there are several different types of data that have to be exchanged. Simulation data is a prominent example. It has to be handled differently than control data, for example. No one technique or technology fits perfectly for all types of data.

Over the last few years the introduction of explicit system and software architecture models (e.g. AUTOSAR models) has led to changes in the automotive development process. The ability to simulate these models on a PC will be decisive for the acceptance of such approaches. This would support the early verification of distributed ECU and software systems and could therefore lead to cost savings. This paper describes an implementation of such an approach which fits into current development processes.

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.

In future cars, mechanical and hydraulic components will be replaced by new electronic systems (x-by-wire). A failure of such a system constitutes a safety hazard for the passengers as well as for the environment of the car. Thus electronics and in particular software are taking over more responsibility and safety-critical tasks. To minimize the risk of failure in such systems safety standards are applied for their development. The safety standard IEC 61508 has been established for automotive electronic systems. At the same time, automatic code generation is increasingly being used for automotive software development. This is to cope with today's increasing requirements concerning cost reduction and time needed for ECU development combined with growing complexity. However, automatic code generation is hardly ever used today for the development of safety-critical systems.

Automotive technology is rapidly changing with electrification of vehicles, driver assistance systems, advanced safety systems etc. This advancement in technology is making the task of validation and verification of embedded software complex and challenging. In addition to the component testing, integration testing imposes even tougher requirements for software testing. To meet these challenges dSPACE is continuously evolving the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) technology to provide a systematic way to manage this task. The paper presents developments in the HIL hardware technology with latest quad-core processors, FPGA based I/O technology and communication bus systems such as Flexray. Also presented are developments of the software components such as advanced user interfaces, GPS information integration, real-time testing and simulation models. This paper provides a real-world example of implication of integration testing on HIL environment for Chassis Controls.

The essential task of a battery management system (BMS) is to consistently operate the high-voltage battery in an optimum range. Due to the safety-critical nature of its components, prior testing of a BMS is absolutely necessary. Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation is a cost-effective and efficient tool for this. Testing the BMS on a HIL test bench requires an electronics unit to simulate the cell voltages and a scalable real-time battery model. This paper describes a HIL system that enables comprehensive testing of BMS components. Hardware and software solutions are proposed for the high requirements of these tests. The individual components are combined to make a modular system, and safety-critical aspects are examined. The paper shows that the system as developed fulfills all the requirements derived from the different test scenarios for BMS systems.

Embedded software in the car is becoming increasingly complex due to the growing number of software-based controller functions and the increasing complexity of the software itself. Model-based development with Simulink combined with TargetLink for automatic code generation helps significantly to improve the quality of the embedded software. The development of large-scale Simulink models in distributed teams is a challenging task, especially when developing safety-critical software that must fulfill requirements stated in the ISO 26262 [1] safety standard. In practice, many questions on how to avoid the pitfalls of distributed model-based development remain open, such as how to define an appropriate model architecture, handle model complexity, and achieve compliance with ISO 26262. The intent of this paper is threefold. Firstly, we summarize those requirements of ISO 26262 that are relevant for developing complex software in a distributed environment.

The number of electrical and electronic components in modern vehicles is constantly growing. Increasingly, functionalities are being distributed across several electronic control units (ECUs). While suppliers themselves are responsible for ensuring that individual ECUs function properly, only the OEM can test distributed functions. Moreover, with the volume of testing steadily growing, automated sequences are absolutely essential. To test electronic networks in the vehicle, Ford Europe is using platform-based hardware-in-the-loop simulation with integrated failure insertion. The company is setting up a uniform, project-independent procedure, from standardized test definition to automated test sequences on a virtual vehicle, right through to structured evaluation.

In recent years, the concept of hybrid test systems consisting of real and virtual parts emerged in the aerospace industry. The concept features a communication infrastructure that provides the standardized transport mechanisms required for interoperability. For example, this allows system integrators to easily reuse and exchange laboratory tests means, even if they originate from different suppliers. The “Virtual and Hybrid Testing Next Generation” (VHTNG) research project aims at creating a standard for such an infrastructure. One central aspect is the unified monitoring and control of the test equipment. So far, VHTNG has primarily focused on monitoring and controlling related aspects of the test bench in a local environment. However, recent events have repeatedly shown that it becomes increasingly important to monitor and control test benches remotely.