Industrial client · under NDA
Automated HIL test environment for control units
Reusable test steps, integrated measurement and stimulus hardware and plain-language test reports – so every result can be understood without follow-up questions.
- Python
- NI TestStand
- HIL test bench
- Instrumentation
- Test reports
- Version control
Challenge
New software releases of a control unit were to be verified automatically on a HIL test bench. The client needed a test environment that reliably brings together the device under test, measurement and stimulus hardware and test sequences – with results that colleagues can understand even if they did not write the test themselves.
Approach
- A library of reusable test steps from which new test sequences can be assembled quickly
- Integration of measurement and stimulus hardware and of the device’s communication interfaces
- Automated signal evaluation, for example of indicator and status lights
- Plain-language test reports: every step records what it did and what it expected – even when everything was fine. Instead of a bare “PASS”, the report reads, for example: “The ignition was switched on. The control unit was ready after 2.5 s – as expected.”
- Version control and documentation of the test environment so the team can extend it independently
Outcome
The organisation saves valuable time when reviewing test runs. Especially when a test fails and a decision has to be made, the report shows at a glance which steps behaved as expected and where the behaviour deviated – without re-running the test or reading the source code.