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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 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.

Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing is indispensable in the software development process for control units and has been an integral part of the software development process for years. Large HIL systems for integration tests are used to test the correct behavior of distributed functions and the communication between the control units. The vast development programs that are involved require building duplicates of such test systems or parts of them, due to the fact that the tasks are distributed between different companies or different departments within a company. However, there is an alternative to duplicating a test system. Instead of using a cloned system, coupling HIL systems over large distances is an alternate approach. This paper presents what requirements this coupling must fulfill and and describes a path-breaking method to fulfill them. In addition, results of an implementation are shown.

To make the development of complex aircraft systems manageable and economical, tests must be performed as early as possible in the development process. The test goals are already set in advance before the first hardware for the ECUs exists, to be able to make statements about the system functions or possible malfunctions. This paper describes the requirements on and solutions for test systems for ECUs that arise from these goals. It especially focuses on how a seamless workflow and consistent use of test systems and necessary software tools can be achieved, from the virtual test of ECUs, which exist only as models, up to the test of real hardware. This will be shown in connection with a scalable, fully software-configurable hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) technology. The paper also covers the seamless use of software tools that are required for HIL testing throughout the different test phases, enabling the reuse of work products throughout the test phases.

This paper presents an overview of a project called “Modelling and Simulation Tools for Systems Integration on Aircraft (MISSION)”. This is a collaborative project being developed under the European Union Clean Sky 2 Program, a public-private partnership bringing together aeronautics industrial leaders and public research organizations based in Europe. The provision of integrated modeling, simulation, and optimization tools to effectively support all stages of aircraft design remains a critical challenge in the Aerospace industry. In particular the high level of system integration that is characteristic of new aircraft designs is dramatically increasing the complexity of both design and verification. Simultaneously, the multi-physics interactions between structural, electrical, thermal, and hydraulic components have become more significant as the systems become increasingly interconnected.

Hybrid test systems are gaining more and more significance in the aerospace industry. At the heart of these systems is a standardized communication infrastructure. There are many challenges when designing the communication infrastructure. For example, it requires very specific knowledge to boot a hybrid system, manage its configuration process, and start and stop the execution of applications, such as simulations, panels or recorders. Likewise, when testers use a heterogeneous test environment, they cannot commit themselves too much to every single test means and its special characteristics. Nevertheless, testers must always be able to monitor and control every test system. This means, they must be able to determine the current overall system status and the current status of its components and parts. Examples for this are hardware components, such as real-time processors and I/O boards, as well as software applications, such as real-time simulations models on the test system.

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.

Increasing productivity along the development and verification process of safety-related projects is an important aspect in today’s technological developments, which need to be ever more efficient. The increase of productivity can be achieved by improving the usability of software tools and decreasing the effort of qualifying the software tool for a safety-related project. For safety-critical systems, the output of software tools has to be verified in order to ensure the tools’ suitability for safety-relevant applications. Verification is particularly important for test automation tools that are used to run hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests of safety-related software automatically 24/7. This qualification of software tools requires advanced knowledge and effort. This problem can be solved if a tool is suitable for developing safety-related software. This paper explains how this can be achieved for a COTS test automation tool.