Applications of Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation in Automotive Embedded Systems 2020-01-1289

Hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) simulation is an advanced technique for development and testing of complex real-time embedded systems. This technique has greatly developed in the last decades and has been more and more used in the automotive industry for algorithm and software development, hardware validation, safety validation, and fault investigation activities. Plant simulation model executes in HiL simulator to provide a virtual vehicle that interacts in an open-loop or closed-loop fashion with the embedded system that is under test. Compared to in-vehicle testing, HiL simulation provides benefits of low cost, high availability, high flexibility, repeatability, and test automation capability. HiL simulation reduces the risk caused by control failure, which is especially important for self-driving control system development and testing. The HiL simulation system is more application specific. Hardware configuration and plant simulation model should be developed in a way to fulfill the application requirements. In this paper, several HiL systems have been presented for powertrain Electronic Control Units (ECU) validation and verification (v&v), autonomous driving algorithm development, propulsion and battery ECU tests for hybrid and electric vehicles. Application requirements, HiL simulator configuration, plant simulation implementation, HiL system capabilities, and key behavior test examples have been discussed in the paper.