Adaptation of a “Virtual Prototype” for Systems and Verification Engineering Development

The use of “Virtual Prototyping” technology for software development is becoming increasingly prevalent and critical to Electronic Control Unit (ECU) development in the semiconductor, telecommunications and automotive industries as an effective countermeasure to the increased size and complexity of software code, as well as, the increased quality expectations of the “end-customer”. The global expansion of the automotive market is also continuing to drive the need for engineering teams comprised of members from various countries and regions around the globe.

To date, the virtual prototyping simulation environment has been oriented in nature to the software engineer as the primary user of the technology. With the continued advancements in simulation and analysis technology, the capabilities now exist to expand the use of “Virtual Prototyping” to other engineering disciplines in the product development cycle, specifically targeting the systems and Independent Test and Verification (IT&V) engineers.