Test drive without a car: RWTH shows its hardware-in-the-loop lab for electric drives
Real control units, simulated surroundings: in a video, Prof. Jakob Andert presents the lab where control units, for example for battery management or e-machines, are tested.
Photo: Qwertzu111111 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Video: YouTube · RWTHAachenUniversity · youtube.com
RWTH Aachen University has released a video in which Prof. Jakob Andert presents the hardware-in-the-loop lab for mobile propulsion. Andert heads the Chair of Mechatronics in Mobile Propulsion. The video is titled "Praktisch lernen" ("Learning hands-on").
Hardware-in-the-loop (HiL) is a development and validation concept: a real control unit – such as a battery management system or the controller of an electric machine – is connected in real time to a simulated environment. Instead of building the whole vehicle or the complete drivetrain, a mathematical model computes the battery, machine, high-voltage on-board network and sensors. The control unit reacts to it as it would in the real world.
The advantage, according to RWTH: functions, edge cases and fault conditions can be tested in the lab safely, repeatably and without expensive hardware. The video was released on 9 October ahead of an information event on 12 October.