Calibrating Powertrain Control Systems with 32-bit ECUs

For more than a decade, automotive engineers have refined their techniques for developing control systems in automotive powertrain applications. One critical element of the product development process is real-time calibration of the control variables. Calibration of automotive powertrain control systems depends heavily on non-intrusive memory access for transparent data acquisition and calibration exercises during engine operation on the dynamometer and in-vehicle driveability testing.

This paper provides a brief background and description of the challenges that will be encountered on ECU design projects incorporating 32-bit microprocessors. The most promising solutions to this problem are presented and the tradeoffs associated with their implementation are discussed.