Harald Sporer, Georg Macher, Christian Kreiner and Eugen Brenner, Graz University of Technology, Austria

The replacement of the former, purely mechanical, functionality with mechatronics-based solutions, the introduction of new propulsion technologies, and the connection of cars to their environment are just a few reasons for the continuously increasing electrical and/or electronic system (E/E system) complexity in modern passenger cars. Smart methodologies and techniques have been introduced in system development to cope with these new challenges. A topic that is often neglected is the definition of the interface between the hardware and software subsystems. However, during the development of safety-critical E/E systems, according to the automotive functional safety standard ISO 26262, an unambiguous definition of the hardware-software interface (HSI) has become vital. This paper presents a domain-specific modelling approach for mechatronic systems with an integrated hardware-software interface definition feature. The newly developed model-based domain-specific language is tailored to the needs of mechatronic system engineers and supports the system’s architectural design including the interface definition, with a special focus on safety-criticality.

Embedded Automotive Systems, Hardware-Software Interface, Model-Based Design, Domain Specific Modelling, Functional Safety