Volvo Cars have been pioneers in using and providing feedback during the initial development of RemotiveLabs tool for virtual development of vehicle topologies. The tool enables developers to iterate and perform integration tests directly on their laptops. This left-shifting approach significantly reduces dependencies on costly and scarce/unavailable hardware.
Automotive software development often relies on Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) rigs for integration testing. However, these rigs are scarce, expensive, require complex maintenance and are unavailable in early project stages, limiting early integration testing opportunities for software engineers. The challenge was to simulate the necessary vehicle topology to test a specific Usage Mode (UM) — driving in reverse. This was done using a virtualized environment that mimics a HIL rig, allowing early integration testing automatically on a developer’s Linux laptop or in a CI pipeline.
“We use RemotiveLabs tooling to simulate the topology of a Usage Mode. With the Docker Container setup, developers can start testing the core computer functionality early in an environment that closely resembles an actual Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) rig.”
– Pär-Olof Håkansson
Senior Software Engineer at Volvo Cars
With RemotiveTopology Volvo Cars has created a virtualized environment that allows engineers to mock the required ECUs for testing the required “Usage mode”. Using the framework from RemotiveLabs, engineers mocked each ECU and ran them containerized using Docker. The topology produces real CAN frames for the entire mechatronic rim and the test replicates the start-up sequence of a real vehicle. The solution is highly flexible, allowing developers to test the core functionality of the vehicle’s central computer early in the process without needing the physical hardware typically required for these kinds of tests.
The implementation of RemotiveTopology provides Volvo Cars with an advantage in their software development process. The ability to perform early integration tests on core computers accelerates development timelines and reduces dependency on scarce hardware. Running integration tests locally left-shift the testing effort with the result of identifying and resolving issues earlier in the development cycle.
Volvo Cars has been leveraging RemotiveLabs’ toolchain since the start in 2020, integrating it into software prototyping, development, and testing processes. This lightweight, open platform is gaining recognition within the company for setting its developers up for success.
“Virtualization of automotive software is becoming an integral part of our developer experience, providing tooling for easy, efficient and re-usable testing. Remotivelabs tools reduce dependencies on hardware, allowing our teams to iterate faster and more efficiently”.
– Alwin Bakkenes
Head of Software Engineering at Volvo Cars.
