Virtual Electronic Control Unit as a Functional Mockup Unit for Heterogeneous Systems

Integrated framework to simulate electronic system (including digital and analog devices) with the mechanical parts of a heterogeneous automotive system is presented. The electronic system, consisting of many Electronic Control Units (ECUs), is modeled to simulate the mechatronic system functionality. The recently developed Functional Mock-up standard approach is used to have a model for a complex cyber-physical automotive system. The framework simulates real system including the Hardware (HW) and the Software (SW) to run on the ECUs. It allows Co-development of the automotive system SW and HW while the mechanical system is in the loop. Hardware and Software debugging is demonstrated using the developed methodology. The development cycle for the automotive mechatronic system could be greatly shortened using the proposed framework.