Hardware-in-the-Loop System for Testing Automotive Ecu Diagnostic Software

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to testing ECU diagnostic software using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). The increasing complexity of embedded software for automotive electronic control units (ECUs) requires a convenient and flexible environment for system testing. On-board diagnostic software represents a significant proportion of ECU software and consequently, the effort, in terms of time and manpower required to determine the validity of ECU software is becoming excessive. The process for validating on-board diagnostic software is traditionally achieved using tests carried out with actual vehicles. Some tests are difficult and expensive to perform in vehicles. Automated testing offers an approach that can improve the validation process whilst providing the potential for cost saves. Since JLR utilises ECUs from different suppliers, the development of a generic approach to automated testing is vital.