Reconfigurable Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulator

• Main Authors: Suguna Thanagasundram, Ross McMurran, Alexandros Mouzakitis, Christian Matthews, Peter Jones
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publishing 2010-11-01
• Series: Measurement + Control
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1177/002029401004300902

The key innovation of the described Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator is the use of flexible and software reconfigurable signal-conditioning to establish connectivity between the HIL simulator and the prototype Electronic Controller Units (ECUs) in the Electronic Body System (EBS) of a vehicle. In the automotive industry, the electrical architecture of the car evolves through many development phases and iterations. At each design phase, changes are made in the software code of the ECU and the hardware interface may also be changed from one phase to the next. The full functionality of the ECUs is achieved only after several iterations. With the use of the software reconfigurable HIL simulator, interfacing the ECUs during the development stage becomes easier. As the ECU connectors change or when new pins are added, all that is required is to change the signal conditioning interface of the HIL system while leaving all the other connections intact. The paper describes a flexible and software reconfigurable HIL simulator in detail and the benefits it brings about in validating ECU functionality in the automotive industry.