Integrating electric vehicles intosoftware engineering project based education

Abstract

Vehicle Systems are becoming increasingly dependent on microcontrollers and integration of computer systems. The average car currently uses between 30 and 45 microcontroller based electronic control units (ECU)1. Projections show number of microcontrollers in an average automobile increasing to greater than 70 by 2020. As the number of microcontrollers increases, so does the complexity of the microcontroller, transitioning from 8 bit to 16 bit, and then from 16 bit to 32 bit. The multiple microprocessor supported subsystems also require increasingly complex communication infrastructure. Automotive computing is trending toward vehicle personalization, smart freeways, and higher efficiency standards2. This increase in raw computing power coupled with higher levels of software based logic abstraction is moving vehicle borne computer systems into the realm of software engineering. Software engineering in the automotive industry provides a strong platform for student exploration. One key hurdle for integration of automobiles into a software engineering curriculum is that of access. Vehicles based on classic internal combustion (IC) engine power sources require special laboratory space, have harmful emissions to deal with and are hard to keep clean. In addition to space issues, it is difficult to build bench test systems if the power plant is an internal combustion engine. Electric vehicles (EVs), on the other hand, provide a unique opportunity as a platform for software engineering systems. EV mechanical systems can be easily scaled down to create small versions of vehicle operational systems. With the EV as a software systems deployment platform, several aspects of vehicle based software can be developed as software engineering projects, with the ultimate end result being a "drivable" software system. This paper looks at the use of EV technology as a platform for a software engineering projects involving student teams. Different aspects of vehicle systems and application to software engineering projects will be discussed. The use of an EV platform in a three term project will be explained describing the different systems involved, how the project was supported, construction of bench test systems, and final deployment result. Student involvement and success in the project will be presented. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.