Hardware-in-the-loop simulation for testing of embedded control systems
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation has proved to be an efficient tool for validation and verification of safety-critical embedded control systems. Testing acitivities are conveniently carried out by connecting the control units to a real-time simulator directly to the control unit via its hardware interface. A HIL simulator provides a virtual environment for the control unit, which can be exposed to a wide range of simulated test cases and scenarios. HIL simulation technology has been widely applied and accepted within the aerospace, process and automotive industries, boosted by the availability of graphical simualtor configuration and automatic code generation tools, as well as off-the-shelf hardware platforms and integrated testing software. The presentation will give an overview of HIL simulation technology with particular emphasis on applications such as marine automation. We describe the CyberSea Simulator, which can be used for testing of dynamic positioning systems. In particular, the hydrodynamic modelling, simulator architecture, and software platform of the simulator is described. Furthermore, it is outlined how third party HIL testing of marine automation systems can be completed throughout their life cycle, at Factory Acceptance Tests, Customer Acceptance Tests, sea trials, and after upgrades, thereby supporting classification societies and vessel owner in the testing of the system and vessel.
