A new model architecture for customer software integration

Mixed-signal mixed-technology simulation increasingly being used in complex system design verification. Now, it has been adopted by many mixed-technology industries, including automotive and aerospace industries, for designing an electronic-control-unit (ECU). Micro-controllers are often used in ECUs for better features and performance. Design verification of micro-controller based ECUs is a significant challenge to simulation technology. A new model architecture is proposed in this paper. An embedded control system co-simulator, Saber(tm)MC, is under development based on this architecture. Simulation of an entire ECU can be performed with a set of intuitive commands. Software developer may use a debugger to debug the customer code while an entire ECU is being simulated. A brushless DC motor controller is used to illustrate the proposed model architecture and demonstrate that it fits in well in ECU design verification.