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The safety monitor is a high integrity control that monitors the health and performance of safety related computer controlled functions in vehicles. The integrity of the safety monitor code is critical to the overall performance of the control software. Traditionally, once monitor requirements are understood, then the safety monitor is hand coded or created in a modeling environment. New practices such as ISO 26262 prescribe formal or semiformal methods are used against certain classes of foreseeable faults. Recently, a new tool, which is capable of auto-generating C-code based on safety monitor formal functional requirements is available from BTC Company. Ford Motor Company investigated the tool using an application example from a powertrain control feature safety monitor.

Through the use of hybrid technology, Ford Motor Company continues to realize enhanced vehicle fuel economy while meeting customer performance and drivability targets. As is characteristic of all Ford Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), the basis for resolving these competing requirements resides with its Vehicle System Control (VSC) strategy. This strategy implements complex high-level executive controls to coordinate and optimize the desired operational state of the major HEV powertrain subsystems. To ensure that the VSC software meets its intended functionality, a software validation process developed at Research and Advanced Engineering has been integrated as part of the vehicle controls development process. In this paper, this VSC software validation process implemented for a next generation hybrid powertrain is presented. First, an overview of the hybrid powertrain application and the VSC software architecture is introduced.