Seamless testing, independent
of environment
functional testing
5 6
The combustion engine is com
plex, but not from the driver’s point
of view. They just step on the gas
and go. In the electric and auton
omous car, it is the other way round: The mechanical hardware
is less complex, “but the overall functional complexity is high
er,” says Gianluca Vitale, Business Segment Manager Functional
Testing and Virtualization at AVL.
Many new functions come with systems such as ADAS/AD,
connectivity, cybersecurity, and thermal management. Control
units need to communicate as more data flows in from sensors.
OEMs tend to deploy frequent software updates, requiring addi
tional functionality and performance testing. And for BEVs, envi
ronmental dependencies such as charging and networked power
train functions, are very challenging.
Thus, the question for functional testing is not what performance
the tested item delivers, but if it works. If you open the car door
while driving, will the gearbox go into P-position? Where is it
locked? That question requires interaction between subsystems: the
door, the safety belt, and the gearbox. There are thousands of sim
ilar questions in development, requiring thousands of tests. Func
tional tests are simpler than, for example, performance tests, but the
quantity and the software release cadence cause new complexity.
Function Beats Performance
AVL functional testing
expertise delivers a
competitive advantage
In the next decade the automotive
sector will undergo a profound
change and will focus on the soft
ware ecosystem rather than only on
the vehicle as a hardware product.
In this environment, in addition to
process efficiency, speed is an issue,
and at AVL we support our custom
ers in accelerating their processes.
Expertise in virtual testing and test
pipeline automation is an advantage
in this situation. “We can simulate the
entire system on the testbed,” says
Vitale. “Interaction with hardware
remains indispensable” to fulfill safe
ty and security system validation.
For us it is not just about providing
tools, like software variant manage
ment, automated testing, or virtual
ization, but rather end-to-end tool
chain integration. Vitale: “At AVL
we define ourselves as integrators –
that makes the difference.”