The invention relates substantially to a method for computer-supported development of an overall
system consisting of subsystems, in which a combination of real products and virtual behaviour models simulated in real-time are used in the phases of the right
branch of the V-model, wherein the development steps ''MIL'', ''SIL'' and ''VPIL'' each comprise an environment model, a reusable multiphysicsmodel and a
software, and the development step "HIL'' comprises, in addition to the environment model, another remaining
physics unit for
simulation of the parts of the hardware of a product that areonly virtually present. In this way, the method enables a temporally parallel and spatially divided integration and a corresponding test of components on various levels, i.e. the right-hand
branch ofa V-model, which can be performed to a large extent by the
system developer. Open-loop and closed-
loop control functions or processes for the overall
system level can already be developed in this wayfor example, even though all of the subsystems are not yet present. No parallel systems are required, on which new processes are run-in in advance. Safety-critical systems can, for example, be testedentirely in the laboratory, before a test of the real overall system is carried out in the real environment of same. Some of the key components of the development method according to the invention, such as real-time
multiphysics models from the
simulation and automatic system tests of development step ''HIL'', are advantageously reusable.