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Software plays a very significant role in automotive technology. The number and importance of mechatronic systems has increased greatly. The system functions and the vehicle's characteristics are being carried out more and more by the software. This trend is further encouraged by high-performance processor systems, which are becoming more affordable and offer ever more functions and increased storage space. However, more effort must be invested in software specification, implementation, testing and the validation of the entire mechatronic system. The various methods of generating software have not kept pace with the demands made on software systems, nor with the complexities created or caused daily by large development teams. The present project takes an alternative route in developing the software for an electrical central release bearing. The required control software is generated automatically by using TDC (Total Development Chain) by AFT.

High demands in fuel consumption, efficiency, and low emissions lead to complex control functions for current and future diesel engine management systems. Great effort is necessary for their optimal calibration. At the same time, and particularly for cost reasons, many variants exist on one individual type of diesel engine management system. Not only is it used for several base engines, but these engines are also used in different environments and for different tasks. For optimal deployment, their calibration status must also be optimized individually. Furthermore, the demand for shorter development cycles and enhanced quality lead to a catalogue of new requirements for the calibration process and the affiliated tool. A new calibration system was developed, which optimally reflects the new demands.

An effective development strategy is needed to implement short development times for mechatronic systems, which themselves are becoming increasingly more complex. Besides the ever-increasing use of advanced computer-based development tools, special attention must be paid to the validation of the functional behavior of the prototype during all phases of the development process. Using the example of systems for powertrain automation, this paper depicts the resulting advantages arising from the long-time observation of time-based values of open- and closed-loop controlled systems. The method of long-time observation introduced here is based on the acquisition and analysis of information in all phases of the development process. Where numerous vehicles are already in the hands of selected customers during fleet tests, these late phases in particular are covered thoroughly. It should be noted that newly developed systems are normally unobserved or only subjectively evaluated by the driver.

Rotational analysis plays an important role in many automotive engineering areas, such as design and evaluation of drivelines, timing and auxiliary drives. Previous developments have tended to focus on the analysis of the mechanical rotation system, with particular attention being paid to the dynamic behaviour of one or more rotating shafts and its elements. The control of these mechanisms by electronic control systems has become increasingly more apparent in today's industry. This is especially the case for the camshaft of the combustion engine, as this is ‘phased’ for performance and emission purposes. The approach introduced here enhances the classical methods of driveline rotational analysis, by integrating the control unit strategy as an additional point of interest. This expands the analysis of the complete mechatronic system.

Road to rig problems exist as long as vehicles are being tested. Many approaches and methods exist to produce test cycles for rigs or test tracks, in order to produce viable results for the generation of statements concerning such crucial aspects as durability and fuel consumption. Modern model strategies again demand shorter–than–ever development periods, whilst meeting better–than–ever the needs and demands of special target groups. Therefore, the testing methods must also be refined, in order to gain a closer correlation to the customer's vehicle deployment. The approach introduced here makes use of real–world customer data for obtaining a closer look at how the vehicle is used by different customer groups, in different countries. The data is collected by small and unobtrusive dataloggers installed in customer vehicles. As these customers are using their own vehicles in everyday life, being unaware of the acquisition process, a database of real customer usage is generated.

Road Load Data is an important source of information for quality improvements. Vehicle and component load information, such as driver behaviour and other characteristics of vehicle use in real world conditions, are the basis for many engineering tasks, including fuel economy and life-time optimization. This new approach in road load data acquisition is based on the increasing existence of data bus networks in modern vehicles, as well as further improvements in data acquisition technologies. The applications of which alllow smart, inobtrusive solutions and, increasingly, the collection of real world customer data. This methodology of data collection leads to a significant alteration of the company-wide data base, relevant for future engineering efforts. The growing share of real world customer data will result in a more optimized and customer-orientated range of solutions, for all areas of vehicle engineering.