Reconfigurable real-time hardware-in-the-loop environment for automotive electronic control unit testing and verification

To satisfy the ever increasing needs for safety, comfort, and environment protection of today's vehicles, the Electronic Control Units (ECU) and various sensors are getting more and more complex. Therefore, developing new control algorithms and cost efficient verification tools for a new generation of ECUs and sensors has become a highly important issue. This paper deals with the design and implementation of a versatile automated Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test environment, which facilitates the development of control algorithms, calibration, and verification of state of the art sensors and ECUs. The environment is able to emulate the vehicles' dynamic behavior, reduces the time required for development and testing, and eliminates the need for using expensive real vehicles for testing purposes.