It is the policy of OMNI Engineering Services Inc. not to disclose customer names and/or proprietary details of projects without the client’s release to do so.

Design a "black box" Engine Control Unit (ECU) software tester for earth-moving vehicle controllers. The goal was to produce a "retargetable" tester that could be quickly and easily reconfigured for different ECUs. The tester must simulate vehicle sensors, actuators, and communications so that the ECU will "think" it is in a real vehicle.

National Instruments LabWindows was used as the tester software development platform, and National Instruments SCXI components and a CAN card were used for the hardware and communications interfaces. Each targeted controller used a custom wiring harness and a set of SCXI connectors, as well as some custom hardware for load simulation, which then plugged into a common SCXI card cage configuration.

The project was highly successful. Testers were developed for two different controllers. Retargeting the tester for the second controller took less than one month of software development time and harness construction. ECU software developers were able to rapidly set up and simulate vehicle conditions, which resulted in more complete testing, better test repeatability, and ultimately higher quality ECU software.

National Instruments LabWindows
Various National Instruments SCXI Data Acquisition Components