Take vehicle control testing out on the road
A
The Mathworks product story
Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team
Jun 5, 2000
Cambridge Control is introducing the MicroAutoBox, a small box which permits in-vehicle test and development in the most realistic conditions possible.
MathWorks company, Cambridge Control is introducing the MicroAutoBox, a small, in-vehicle box that takes rapid prototyping onto the road.
By offering exceptional functionality in a package with very small dimensions, the MicroAutoBox permits in-vehicle test and development in the most realistic conditions possible.
It is ideally suited to space-critical applications such as presentation or test vehicles, and the low price means that it can be used to equip several vehicles or a whole test fleet in order to check the reliability of the control algorithm.
Designed for applications that do not require a flexible modular real-time system, the MicroAutoBox combines the benefits of a rapid prototyping system with those of an automotive ECU.
Its small size (200 x 225 x 50 mm) allows it to be installed virtually anywhere in a vehicle, and its robust, vibration-resistant aluminium casing allows it to be used in the conditions associated with the harshest road tests.
By bringing together a blend of real-time hardware and software, I/O, signal conditioning and a flight recorder, it can operate in exactly the same way as an ECU, without user intervention.
The MicroAutoBox contains a complete rapid prototyping system, a powerful floating-point processor for real-time calculation, a comprehensive memory unit, PC interface and a power supply.
I/O units provide A/D and D/A converters, connections to the CAN Bus and digital I/O.
In addition, the box contains signal conditioning for automotive signal levels, as well as an integrated flight recorder which provides long-term data acquisition.
The 2 Mbyte internal memory is supplemented by 16Mbytes of non-volatile flash memory, which hold the boot section, code section and flight recorder data.
Because the application program is stored in non-volatile memory, the MicroAutoBox starts up autonomously after power-up.
The box also as a built-in PCMCIA/ISA bus interface, which permits it to be connected to a PC or Notebook running Windows 95/98/NT.
This is normally used for program download and real-time data monitoring and analysis.
In-vehicle testing is a key application area for the MicroAutoBox; so, too, is bypass-based prototyping.
In a typical example, an automotive ECU would be connected to the MicroAutoBox via the ECU interface unit.
The original ECU will execute all the functions that will remain unchanged, while new algorithms are calculated in the MicroAutoBox.
The results will then be transmitted back to the original ECU.
This saves huge amounts of time and permits rapid prototyping in real time.
The MicroAutoBox is manufactured by dSPACE GmbH and distributed exclusively in the UK by Cambridge Control.
It operates with PCs running Windows 95, 97 or 2000.
Prices start at £15 per unit.
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