A New Process for Configuration and Application of Complex Validation Environments Using the Example of Vehicle-in-the-Loop at the Roller Test Bench

Due to the increasing complexity of modern vehicle concepts new methods to integrate simulation and test on each level of the validation chain are required. Especially for the development of advanced driver assistant systems with focus on safety and energy efficiency the interaction between the unit under test, the driver and the environment like traffic, road topology, etc. are very important and must be considered in detail. To meet this challenge IPEK - Institute of Product Engineering at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) developed the X-in-the-Loop-Framework for drivetrain systems. Based on this approach the Vehicle-in-the-Loop technology was developed at a roller test bench. On the one hand this allows doing highly reproducible and automated tests with the whole vehicle in the loop considering the influences of different driver types and different environmental situations. On the other hand the task-oriented configuration and application of such an environment is very difficult but necessary. Complex vehicle concepts cause more complex development and validation environments. The X-in-the-Loop-Framework and the Vehicle-in-the-Loop technology are established in many projects at the IPEK and were publicized in different papers. A challenge is to define a process for the configuration and application because of the very different application areas of such a technology. This paper shall answer the question how a validation environment can be specified in very early stages of the product development to save time and costs. Starting with a use case for a validation task a functional model for the structure and the behavior is defined based on the system modeling language SysML. This allows estimation for chances and risks and ensures a sustainability for established configurations in future projects. Based on the functional description the input/output specification, new models and interfaces were generated and implemented. This process is demonstrated exemplary using a concrete application example on the roller test bench with Vehicle-in-the-Loop technology: an energy efficient working adaptive cruise control (Green ACC) for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV).