Control Software Verification Using Plant-Coupled System Models
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for testing control software in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) fail to reliably detect system bugs that arise from the collaboration of multiple electronic control units and plant behavior, leading to potential safety issues due to the focus on individual control unit behavior rather than system-level interactions.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for testing control software using a system model that combines control software code data with plant simulation code data, enabling symbolic execution to simulate and verify the behavior of multiple electronic control units and the plant, thus identifying bugs that occur in specific collaboration scenarios.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If Hardware-In-The-Loop (HIL) approach is used to test control software, then control software behavior can be verified, but system bugs related to plant behavior and multiple control unit collaboration cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges control software code data with plant simulation code data to create an integrated executable program. This combination allows the testing system to simultaneously verify control software behavior and detect system bugs related to plant behavior and multiple control unit interactions, resolving the limitation of HIL approaches that only focus on control software in isolation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a plant simulation model as an intermediary component that bridges the gap between control software testing and actual plant behavior verification. This intermediary enables the testing system to simulate plant responses and detect system bugs without requiring physical plant hardware, thus extending the versatility of HIL testing.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional HIL testing is performed on individual control units, then control logic can be verified, but collaboration bugs between multiple control units remain undetected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple control software code data from different control units into a single integrated executable program that also includes plant simulation code. This merging enables comprehensive system-level testing that detects collaboration bugs between multiple control units while maintaining a unified testing process framework.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal testing system that can simultaneously perform multiple functions: verifying individual control unit logic, detecting collaboration bugs between multiple control units, and simulating plant behavior responses. This multi-functional approach enhances reliability without significantly complicating the testing process.
3Reliability
If system model includes both control software code data and plant simulation code data, then system bugs can be reliably detected, but testing system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges control software code data and plant simulation code data into a single integrated executable program. This consolidation reduces testing system complexity by eliminating the need for separate testing frameworks while maintaining high reliability in system bug detection through comprehensive simulation of control-plant interactions.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method and a system for testing control software of a controlled system, the controlled system comprising one or more electronic control units, one or more actuators, and one or more sensors, each sensor being adapted to input a respective sensor signal to at least one of the one or more electronic control units and each actuator being adapted to act responsive to respective control signals input from at least one of the electronic control units, and each electronic control unit being configured to execute a respective executable control program based on control software code data to output one or more control signals to the one or more actuators on the basis of input sensor signals. The control testing process comprises providing control software code data for each of the one or more electronic control units, providing simulation code data for the controlled system, creating a system model based on the provided control software code data provided for each of the one or more electronic control units and the provided simulation code data, creating an executable program based on the created system model, and performing a software verification process on the basis of the executable program.