Function-in-the-loop testing for ECU control functions

Abstract

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HiL) testing systems have become standard fare in most areas of electronic systems development. By simulating a host of aspects related to driver, vehicle, and environment, they facilitate in-lab testing of the diagnostic behavior of electronic control units (ECUs). And yet, when it comes to testing those control functions that have no relevance to the ECU's electrical interface, there is really no need for the complex electrical connection native to the HiL system. It provides a powerful ECU interface to enable a direct connection between the plant model and the control function embedded in the ECU. In all of this, an essential task falls to the indispensable software hooks, for which Etas engineers have developed forward-looking concepts.