A Scalable Hardware-in-the-Loop System for Virtual Engine and Virtual Vehicle Applications

Over the last several years, the use of hardware in-the-loop (HIL) simulation for testing and design studies has expanded dramatically with OEMs and suppliers. It provides a means to experiment with new designs without having to depend prototype vehicles and a means to repeat test conditions that are either difficult or unsafe to achieve.

This paper describes the development of a scalable hardware in-the-loop system that takes advantage of fast evolving hardware and software technologies in the consumer electronics industry, in particular those from the PC platform. Compared to the traditional simulator designs, this new approach results in a significantly improved system in terms of processing power, scalability, as well as maintenance cost. In addition, it incorporates solver algorithms based on this system architecture to convert offline analysis models for real-time simulation.