MUNICH; Germany — Automotive software development tool vendors dSpace GmbH (Paderborn, Germany) and VaST Technology (Sunnyvale, USA) have announced to collaborate in simulating automotive and Autosar-compliant software on virtual hardware platforms. The goal is to closely couple dSpace's TargetLink and SystemDesk auftomotive software tools with VaSTs Comet and Meteor virtualization tools.

The move enables TargetLink and SystemDesk users to simulate and validate their applications on virtual system prototypes instead of real hardware. This helps them to save time and effort in the development process, the companies said.

The combined development tools provide accurate timing and deeper performance visibility in the hardware and software operations for stand-alone as well as for networked ECUs. Many parameters such as execution time, scheduling and interrupt latencies can be analyzed and corrected or optimized at an early stage in the development process. This enables the designers to greatly optimize their hardware and software, the companies promise.

The TargetLink production code generator generates C code directly from Simulink/Stateflow models and is used in numerous production projects. Several modes for simulation support the development process, such as a processor-in-the-loop simulation in which the application code is executed on an embedded processor.

SystemDesk is a tool which supports users during modeling, planning and integration of complex distributed software systems. It can be applied to stand-alone ECUs as well as to networked ECU groups. The software system can be validated in different development steps by using offline simulations on a separate host computer. Both tools support Autosar-compliant software development.

Comet is a system engineering tool enabling the creation of virtual system prototypes (VSPs). With Comet, designers can create and simulate high-speed, cycle-accurate models of ECUs and networked ECUs, then analyze and optimize performance while running real software applications. Meteor is the respective interactive software development environment for VSPs created with Comet. It supports simulation, debugging and developing software early in the design process.