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Testing of in-vehicle electronic control units (ECU) has made dramatic leaps in the last five years. As the demands placed on them grow, the need for testing ECUs with high-fidelity simulations of target power-train, chassis and body systems has driven the development of HIL simulators to the point where they can now be tested long before the vehicle is built. |
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Testing using Simulation
Instead of waiting for the test vehicle to be available in order to run long, laborious road tests, ECU designers can now develop and prototype their controllers with a virtual test vehicle. Without leaving the lab they can 'drive' it through extensive simulated test circuits, while calibrating and optimizing the ECU. This allows them to deliver the finished product in a fraction of the time and cost it would have taken just three or four years ago.
Fault Testing
But what if a fault should occur in the vehicle's electrical system? How does the ECU behave, and how does it ensure the safety of the driver and passengers?
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For instance, the yaw sensor shorts to ground as the vehicle makes a left turn at 100 km/hr - is the vehicle still stable? Or what is the chain effect when a steering angle sensor fails but the signal is transmitted to three other ECUs?
Fault Insertion
These types of real-world scenarios can now be tested using the range of Genix Fault Insertion products from add2 Ltd, integrated into the Genix Target system with RT-LAB from HIL Simulation Test Systems Technologies. This allows the ECU developer to gain a much better understanding of the effect of electrical faults on the dynamic behaviour of the controller/component subsystem, or even the entire vehicle. |
