A simulation approach for the design of safety-relevant automotive multi-ECU systems

Modern cars comprise tens of electronic control units, interconnected via automotive bus systems towards a specific system-of-systems inside the vehicle. Safety-relevant applications which are realized by these networked embedded controllers require a sophisticated process of system design. The appropriate choice of communication infrastructure and parameters at an early stage of system development significantly influences the overall application performance and reliability. Therefore, we propose the employment of distinct, well-proven system modeling techniques, using discrete event simulation and the Unified Modeling Language with real-time extensions. Our approach allows modeling the relevant aspects of in-car communication even before the first prototype vehicle is built up. Various design alternatives can easily be investigated without time- and manpower-consuming real-world system tests, yielding trustworthy results for a broad variety of aspects of automotive in-car communication. In cooperation with the German car manufacturer Audi, we applied our methodology for design of a networked airbag control system.