In-vehicle communication network statistical analysis using VHDL-AMS behavioral models

In-vehicle communication networks are a complex and safety-critical system, in which system reliability is essential. Network tests and verification by means of behavioral simulations have been widely adopted by the O&Ms. Among a series of advantages, behavioral simulations allow the statistical analysis performance evaluation, which is important to assess the system reliability. Our objective is to perform the in-vehicle verification, including Monte Carlo analysis, using the developed VHDL-AMS behavioral models. With this objective, we have developed the implementation of the Monte Carlo analysis through VHDL-AMS functions. The main advantage of this approach is the feature portability since it allows statistical simulation in any VHDL-AMS simulator (even if the simulator do not support statistical analysis). This paper presents the Monte Carlo implementation and reports results of the feature applied to a Flexray in-vehicle communication network. This work is part of a research activity in the field of mixed-mode behavioral models applied to the test and verification of in-vehicle communication networks.