dSPACE Develops ECU Offline Simulator

By DE Editors

dSPACE has announced the development of its Offline Simulator, with which virtual electronic control units (ECUs) can be simulated on a PC. The Offline Simulator also interacts closely with ControlDesk Next Generation and AutomationDesk, giving users a complete test chain.

The Offline Simulator allows software architects to create virtual ECUs by using a special software base to integrate and compile the ECU’s application software, and then execute the virtual ECUs on a PC. This allows users to perform consistency tests, check the plausibility of interfaces, and verify task scheduling very early on. By testing ECU functionality at an early stage, it can be verified even before the first ECU prototypes are available.

The vehicle and component models, which are usually created with Simulink and used as environment models during offline simulation, can be reused in later development phases. The same applies to the layouts created for ControlDesk Next Generation or other software, and to the tests themselves. Moreover, tests can be designed on a PC and then validated and optimized by offline simulation.

For more information, visit dSPACE.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.