User:Neuriz/sandbox

dSPACE GmbH
Company type	Limited liability company ; (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung)
Industry	Automotive, aerospace, software, hardware, engineering
Founded	1988
Headquarters	Paderborn
Key people	Herbert Hanselmann
Revenue	€ 98 million (2008)
Number of employees	1000 (August 2012)
Website	www.dspace.com

This is the user sandbox of Neuriz. A user sandbox is a subpage of the user's user page. It serves as a testing spot and page development space for the user and is not an encyclopedia article. Create or edit your own sandbox here.

Other sandboxes: Main sandbox | Template sandbox

Finished writing a draft article? Are you ready to request review of it by an experienced editor for possible inclusion in Wikipedia? Submit your draft for review!

dSPACE (digital signal processing and control engineering) is a German company headquartered in Paderborn (North Rhine-Westphalia). It is one of the world’s leading providers of tools for developing electronic control units.^[3]^[4]

The company has Project Centers in Pfaffenhofen (near Munich) and Böblingen (near Stuttgart) and subsidiaries in the USA, UK, France, Japan and China. Various distributors represent dSPACE in other overseas markets.

Application fields

dSPACE provides tools for developing, testing and calibrating electronic control units (ECUs) in the automotive, aerospace and medical engineering industries, as well as in industrial automation^[5] (mechatronics)^[6]. In most cases, the process of developing and testing ECUs is based on the five phases of the V-cycle. dSPACE’s hardware and software cover four of these five phases, but not the first phase, control design.

Control design

The control design phase involves developing the control algorithms that will run on an ECU, usually by modeling them graphically. This process can be performed with Simulink, modeling software from MathWorks, and is outside dSPACE's application fields.

Rapid control prototyping (RCP)

In rapid control prototyping, control algorithms are taken from a mathematical model and implemented as a real-time application so that the control strategies can be tested with the actual controlled system, such as a car or a robot. Simulink is used as the input and simulation tool, and Simulink Coder, also from MathWorks, is used as the code generator. dSPACE provides the necessary hardware platform consisting of a processor and interfaces for sensors and actuators, plus the Simulink blocks needed to integrate the interfaces into the Simulink model (Real-Time Interface, RTI).

Production code generation / ECU autocoding

In a development process based on mathematical models, the models are designed with graphical software, and then automatic production code generators are used to translate the models directly into code for ECUs/controllers. When a model's behavior has been validated, the code generator has to reliably transfer it to the target processor, whose resources are usually designed for the greatest possible cost-efficiency. In other words, the final production ECU generally has less memory and processing power than the RCP system on which the algorithm was developed and tested. As a result, the C code (production code) generated for the target processor has to meet stringent requirements regarding execution time and efficiency. Since 1999, dSPACE markets its production code generator TargetLink^[7], which is integrated into Simulink, the environment for model-based development. In addition to performing the actual autocoding, including code generation for AUTOSAR software components, TargetLink also makes it possible for developers to compare the behavior of the generated code with that of the original Simulink model (by means of software-in-the-loop (SIL) and processor-in-the-loop (PIL) simulation).

Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL)-Simulation

In HIL simulation^[8]^[9], a simulator mimics the environment in which an ECU will function: a car, an airplane, a robot, etc. First the ECU’s inputs and outputs are connected to the simulator's inputs and outputs. In the next step, the simulator executes a real-time model of the ECU’s working environment, which can consist of Automotive Simulation Models (ASMs) from dSPACE or of models from other vendors. This method provides a way to test new functions reproducibly in a safe environment, before a prototype of the product has even been produced. As with rapid control prototyping, Simulink models are the foundation. The advantage of HIL simulation in comparison with ECU tests in real prototype vehicles is that the ECU tests can be performed very early during the development process. Errors are detected and eliminated very early and cost-efficiently.

Calibration / parameterization

Optimizing the control functions so that they fit specific applications is an integral part of ECU and controller development. To achieve this, the parameters of the ECUs are adjusted during ECU calibration. dSPACE's modular system of software and hardware performs this final step in the development process.

Company history

1988: dSPACE is founded by Herbert Hanselmann and three other research associates at the Institute of Mechatronics at the University of Paderborn, Germany
1991: First subsidiary outside Germany opens (dSPACE Inc. in Detroit USA)
2001: Subsidiaries are opened in France (dSPACE SARL, Paris) and the UK (dSPACE Ltd., Cambridge); and a second Project Center is opened (near Stuttgart)
2006: The Japanese subsidiary is opened (dSPACE K.K.). Initially in Yokohama, it relocates to Tokyo in 2007.
2008: The company's 20th anniversary. The dSPACE subsidiary in China (Shanghai) is founded, and Herbert Hanselmann receives the "Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008" award^[10]
2010: The company's headquarters relocates to the new corporate campus in Paderborn, Germany.

History of dSPACE products

1988: First real-time development system for control technology/mechatronics, based on a digital signal processor
1989: First hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulator is shipped
1990: First real-time development system with a floating-point processor is shipped
1992: RTI, first real-time system connected to MATLAB/Simulink
1994: First multiprocessor hardware for real-time development systems
1995: First turnkey (HIL) simulator for an ABS/ESP test bench
1999: MicroAutoBox, a complete prototyping system for in-vehicle use
1999: TargetLink, the first production code generator for ECUs based on MATLAB/Simulink
2003: CalDesk, a component of the dSPACE calibration system
2005: RapidPro, a modular system for signal conditioning and power stages
2005: Automotive Simulation Models (ASMs), real-time automotive simulation models based on MATLAB/Simulink
2007: SystemDesk^[11], tool for developing complex ECU software architectures based on the AUTOSAR concept
2010: MicroAutoBox II, second generation of the vehicle-capable prototyping systems
2011: SCALEXIO, the new hardware-in-the-loop system, including new ConfigurationDesk configuration software
2012: VEOS ^[12], offline simulator platform for PC-based offline simulation

Weblinks

Official website

References

[1] Integration tests at HondaJet test facility

[2] Company profile

[3] Frost & Sullivan-Award

[4] Founding member of ASAM

[5] Hybrid-drive development at Deutz and Atlas Weyhausen

[6] Mechatronics development and validation

[7] TargetLink 3.2 certified by TÜV SÜD

[8] Hardware-in-the-Loop-Testing at Visteon

[9] Hardware-in-the-Loop-Testing at Scania

[10] Winner of the "Entrepreneur Of The Year 2008" award

[11] Validating diagnostics in early development stages with Daimler AG

[12] Winner of the AEI Tech Award 2012

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]