Supporting system level design of distributed real time systems for automotive applications

Abstract

Up to 70 electronic control units (ECU's) serve for safety and comfort functions in a car. Communicating over different bus systems most ECU's perform close loop control functions and reactive functions fulfilling hard real time constraints. Some ECU's controlling on board entertainment/office systems are software intensive, incorporating millions of lines of code. The design of these distributed and networked control units is very complex, the development process is a concurrent engineering process and is distributed between the automotive manufacturer and several suppliers. This requires a strictly controlled design methodology and the intensive use of computer aided engineering tools. The CASE-tool integration platform "GeneralStore" and the "E/E-Concept Tool" for design space exploration supports the design of automotive ECU's, however, GeneralStore is also used for the design of industrial automation systems and biomedical systems. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.