EPSRC recently invested £120,000 to upgrade the existing AVL PUMA powertrain test bench to enable it to connect "everything". The resulting X-in-the-loop provides an ideal platform to connect the real-time digital model to the real vehicle and powertrain, and to the virtual driving environment and driver-in-the-loop equipment. It also allows connection to powerful computing resources in the cloud. The platform will be used to optimize the performance of the vehicle in real driving.
Fig. 1: X-in-the-loop testing platform
X-in-the-loop testing platform combines the software-in-the-loop (SiL), hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) and driver-in-the-loop (DiL) to enhance the testing credibility.
Fig.2. Connected Laboratory
State-of-the-art modelling software (e.g. MATLAB/Simulink, IPG Carmaker, AVL Cruise, Model.Connect) is used to model dynamics of vehicle/powertrain systems. This enables real-time computation with real hardware/driver in the loop.
Fig.3. Upgraded V-Cycle development
Combining the various facilities to build the industry-level development process to enhance the practical validation in the real application.