The automotive world is constantly evolving and has shown continuous growth, reaching a production of approximately 85 million motor vehicles worldwide in 2022. Modern vehicles use software to manage their entire functions, ranging from engine control to ensuring safety and security measures. This software runs in a hardware, that together forms the Electronic Control Unit (ECU), responsible for managing diverse operations within the vehicle.

The ECU efficiently handles a substantial volume of signals at a time received from sensors while also controlling the actions of actuators. This functionality is done through a networking architecture that defines the connection between the ECU, the sensors, and the actuators. Vehicles are equipped with a variety of ECU types, including the Body Control Module (BCM), the Engine Control Module (ECM), and the Airbag Control Module (ACM), which range from 30 to over 150 ECUs per vehicle, each responsible for specific functions.

The big challenge in this part lies in producing a high series of products that meet the desired functionalities. This can be achieved through multiple testing stages, conducted repeatedly and iteratively, ensuring vehicle quality. Tests play a crucial role in minimizing waste and enhancing overall efficiency before production, ensuring compliance with safety standards required in the certification process. Several test processes can be conducted, such as Software In the Loop (SIL), Hardware In the Loop (HIL), Vehicle In the Loop (VIL).

In the process of testing and verification strategy, In the Loop simulations are conducted to establish a connection between the vehicle and the physical hardware or the virtual elements, assessing the vehicle’s response as in a real-word scenarios. This test type occurs in a simulated environment and does not require a complete vehicle to be established. In the case of Hardware In the Loop (HIL) testing, the main goal is to verify the functionality and performance of the ECU, thus ensuring its validity. After vehicle development and production process completion, when the vehicle is fully assembled, End Of Line (EOL) testing is conducted to guarantee the overall functionality and performance of the finished product.

One technique that has emerged as an external functional verification process to ensure safety is the fault injection method. This versatile tool can be applied to both hardware and software technologies for security purposes. It facilitates an in-depth error propagation study within systems, enabling the identification of issues before production and allowing for frequent changes before release. This can be achieved through the injection of faults, which function as stress tests or disruptive events, enabling the measurement of the system’s response, thereby aiding in issue detection and system improvement.

The HIL testing for ECU control systems consists of four primary sections: the I/O interfaces, the HIL simulator representing the environment surrounding the ECU, the fault injection unit (FIUs), and the device under test (DUT). The HIL simulator will enable real-time simulation capabilities by utilizing I/O interfaces to simulate signals interactions between sensors/actuators and the device under test (DUT). Additionally, the fault insertion unit (FIUs) section is used to switch to a fault condition (Hardware Fault Insertion).