A co-simulation framework for design of time-triggered automotive cyber physical systems

• The co-simulation framework centers on a network/platform model in SystemC.
• Model transformations are used to realize rapid prototyping.
• TT communication in terms of its end-to-end latency and jitter is validated.
• The framework is evaluated by using two automotive control system case studies.
• Design space exploration is demonstrated by concerning different design options.

Designing cyber-physical systems (CPS) is challenging due to the tight interactions between software, network/platform, and physical components. Automotive control system is a typical CPS example and often designed based on a time-triggered paradigm. In this paper, a co-simulation framework that considers interacting CPS components for assisting time-triggered automotive CPS design is proposed. Virtual prototyping of automotive vehicles is the core of this framework, which uses SystemC to model the cyber components and integrates CarSim to model the vehicle dynamics. A network/platform model in SystemC forms the backbone of the virtual prototyping. The network/platform model consists of processing elements abstracted by real-time operating systems, communication systems, sensors, and actuators. The framework is also integrated with a model-based design tool to enable rapid prototyping. The framework is validated by comparing simulation results with the results from a hardware-in-the-loop automotive simulator. The framework is also used for design space exploration (DSE).