Object Controller Digital Twin for Hardware-Free Rail Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high research and development costs, long development period, and resource conflicts in object controllers for rail transport systems due to their complex hardware requirements and limited laboratory environments hinder efficient development and testing.
Innovation Solution
A digital twin system for object controllers, comprising a system running layer, environment construction layer, test layer, and analysis layer, which simulates the object controller's operation on a host computer, allowing for hardware and software verification without real hardware, and supports multiple communication protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If object controller uses customized mother board with embedded software, then system functionality and reliability are improved, but research and development costs and customization period increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a digital twin copy of the object controller that replicates the customized mother board's hardware architecture and embedded software environment. This virtual copy enables complete R&D, testing, and debugging without requiring physical hardware, thereby eliminating the long customization period while maintaining system reliability through accurate simulation of the embedded kernel, register, memory, and instruction set.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the physical mechanical system (customized mother board hardware) with a software-based virtual system. The digital twin uses software to simulate the embedded kernel, CPU registers, memory allocation, and instruction execution, substituting physical hardware dependencies with virtualized equivalents that can be rapidly deployed and modified without manufacturing lead times.
2Reliability
If object controller performs hardware design correction, then system reliability is improved, but correction time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables preliminary action by performing complete system validation, hardware design verification, and fault detection in the digital twin environment before any physical hardware is manufactured or deployed. All potential design errors can be identified and corrected in the virtual environment, preventing the need for time-consuming hardware rework and ensuring system reliability is achieved during the design phase rather than during costly post-manufacturing corrections.
3Adaptability or versatility
If complex experimental environment is built to verify application scenarios, then system adaptability is improved, but hardware resources and laboratory space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal digital twin platform that can simulate multiple different application scenarios and object controller configurations within a single virtual environment. The system can dynamically load different binary codes, configure various hardware architectures, and replicate diverse operating conditions without requiring separate physical experimental setups for each scenario, thereby achieving high adaptability while reducing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses virtualization to create copies of the object controller and its operating environment in the digital twin system. Multiple virtual instances can run simultaneously on the same physical hardware infrastructure, each configured for different application scenarios. This eliminates the need for multiple separate physical laboratories and hardware resources, as the virtual copies provide the same verification capabilities in a consolidated platform.
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple real environments are built for development and testing, then system adaptability is improved, but resource conflict increases and project progress delays
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate development and testing environments into a single integrated digital twin platform. Multiple virtual object controllers and test scenarios can coexist and run concurrently on the same physical infrastructure, eliminating resource conflicts between different development teams and projects. This consolidation maintains comprehensive adaptability testing coverage while significantly improving productivity by allowing parallel development activities without hardware contention.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present application provides an object controller digital twin system, comprising a system running layer, an environment construction layer, a test layer and an analysis layer. The system running layer is used for simulating a running state of the digital twin object controller; the environment construction layer is used for implementing the construction of a system running environment; the test layer is used for transferring a test instruction to the system running layer so as to perform a simulation test in the system running layer; and the analysis layer receives test returned data transferred by the test layer, and performs fault cause analysis and recording on fault-related data in the test returned data. By simulating the running state of the object controller on a host computer, the object controller digital twin system of the present application enables embedded development work to no longer rely on customized hardware, so that when real hardware is not manufactured, the hardware design, software function and system performance of the system can be verified in advance, and design defects are optimized in time after the design defects are found, thereby reducing the number of iterations of product research and development, and saving research and development costs.