Alexander Viehl

• Dr. rer. nat.
• Manager at FZI Forschungszentrum Informatik

In this paper we propose to exploit so called Mission Profiles to address increasing requirements on safety and power efficiency for automotive power ICs. These Mission Profiles constrain the required device performance space to valid application scenarios. Mission Profile data can be represented in arbitrary forms like temperature histograms or cu...

Designing software that meets the stringent requirements of functional safety standards imposes a significant development effort compared to conventional software. A key aspect is the integration of safety mechanisms into the functional design to ensure a safe state during operation even in the event of hardware errors. These safety mechanisms can...

In this paper, we present a new approach for mapping LLVM IR to binary machine code for overcoming the current limitations of host-based simulations of performance-critical embedded software imposed by compiler optimizations. Our novel, fully automated mapping approach even copes with aggressive compiler optimizations without requiring any modifica...

Based on the rapid development of a multitude of autonomous vehicles (AVs), their applications have risen and are currently studied globally to shape future mobility. Accordingly, real-life demonstrations at different scales are conducted or are in the making worldwide. Within the context of the Horizon2020 project SHOW (SHared automation Operating...

div class="section abstract"> Given the rapid advancement of connected and automated transportation, its applications have significantly increased. They are being studied worldwide to shape the future of mobility. Key promises are a more comfortable, efficient and socially adapted kind of mobility. As part of the EU Horizon2020 project SHared autom...

The popularity of environment simulations for fast assessment of autonomous driving functions is growing faster than ever before. But the creation of virtual environments to simulate real driving scenarios remains a challenge. Modeling objects by hand is a rather slow and expensive process. An alternative approach is procedural generation. Unfortun...

Connected embedded systems have a significant role in modern life. Prominent benefits of this new concept and how it eases our life is irrefutable. However, as this technology provides users remote connection, it opens new opportunities for attackers to get access to the system and perform malicious activities. In order to get full benefits of conn...

The German GAIA-X lighthouse project (COllabOrative Processes and sERvices for AeroNauTics and Space) is intend to accelerate the digitization processes in the space and aerospace industry with the aim of enabling more efficient working methods and development processes over the entire life cycle of spacecraft and aircraft in order to strengthen th...

The development of safety-critical software requires a significant additional effort compared to standard software. Safety mechanisms, e.g., for mitigating hardware errors, have to be designed and integrated into the functional code. This results not only in substantial implementation overhead, but also reduces the overall maintainability of the so...

Safety verification and validation of autonomous driving functions up to SAE level 5 pose enormous challenges for car manufacturers. The paper argues that efficient improvement opportunities arise by suitably combining iterative development and verification processes that use self-learning approaches and well-defined quality and convergence criteri...

The growing complexity of safety-relevant systems causes an increasing effort for safety assurance. The reduction of development costs and time-to-market, while guaranteeing safe operation, is therefore a major challenge. In order to enable efficient safety assessment of complex architectures, we present an approach, which combines deductive safety...

The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm has become important in many domains, ranging from smart home to medical and industrial applications. However, besides the outstanding advantages, comprehensive networking raises new security challenges. To benefit from IoT, secure embedded systems and resilient architectures are mandatory. Security-by-design i...

Increasing automation is ongoing in all areas of transport. This raises new challenges for the design and training of Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for different user groups. The EU-project Drive2theFuture investigates the needs and wants of transportation users, operators, passengers and passersby to gain their acceptance and to set the ground fo...

Fast and accurate predictions of a program’s execution time are essential during the design space exploration of embedded systems. In this paper, we present a novel approach for efficient context-sensitive timing simulations based on the LLVM IR code representation. Our approach allows evaluating simultaneously multiple hardware platform configurat...

In this paper we present MODELTime, a fully automated framework that enables the consideration of target platform-dependent timing during the model-based development of embedded applications using MATLAB/Simulink simulations. MODELTime extends the fast functional evaluation capabilities of MATLAB/Simulink with a fully integrated evaluation of timin...

Nowadays, product lines are common practice in the embedded systems domain as they allow for substantial reductions in development costs and the time-to-market by a consequent application of design paradigms such as variability and structured reuse management. In that context, accurate and fast timing predictions are essential for an early evaluati...

Semiconductor technology has to be qualified under the harsh temperature conditions required by the AEC-Q100 qualification standard before it is applied in the automotive sector. In this paper, we propose a framework to assess different semiconductor technologies for typical automotive electronics components considering both AEC-Q100 temperature sp...

Security by Design becomes a significant aspect for establishing the Internet-of-Things (IoT) paradigm. In this paper, we present an approach to utilize virtual prototypes (VP) at system level to enable security evaluation along the design process. The proposed VP-based penetration testing framework provides an approach for attack surface and attac...

This paper presents an ontology-supported approach to the management of design parameters in engineering. This approach aims specifically at enabling Change Impact Analysis through Requirements Traceability and acquainted expert knowledge of design parameters. The approach is suitable for both software and hardware designs. The activities and featu...

Intelligent and interconnected cyber physical systems are a key enabler for future cost-efficient, automated and flexible industrial production systems. Predictive maintenance and condition monitoring are important techniques in order to reduce costs associated with unnecessary maintenance or premature breakdowns. In this paper, we propose techniqu...

Software-intensive and networked embedded systems implement more and more security critical tasks. The following paper presents a framework to support security analysis along the design process using virtual prototypes (VPs). VPs describe the interconnection between different system components, include actual application codes and even integrate ex...

This article presents an ontology-supported approach to tackle the complexity of the Robustness Validation (RV) process of automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) components. The approach uses formalized knowledge from the RV process and stress, operating, and load profiles, so-called Mission Profiles (MPs). In contrast to the error-prone industrial...

Context-sensitive software timing simulation enables a precise approximation of software timing at a high simulation speed. The number of cycles required to execute a sequence of instructions depends on the state of the microarchitecture prior to the execution of that sequence, which in turn heavily depends on the preceding instructions. This is ex...

The development of increasingly complex systems with improved quality levels becomes more and more challenging. Engineering data frameworks with integrated system models have been developed to manage such systems. This paper presents the experiences that have been made in digital systems engineering in the aerospace domain and focuses on the roadma...

Engineering phase specific tailored views on data are required to prevent over-engineering and to discover missing elements. This paper presents an approach to enhance a semantic Conceptual Data Model (CDM) to define the specific behavior of engineering phases. Therefore, a CDM gets enhanced by an ontology profile to specify required and non-admiss...

We propose a novel torque vectoring concept for battery electric vehicles propelled by wheelindividual electric machines. Under consideration of vehicle dynamics and electric machine efficiency, this paper focuses on taking advantage of the provided degrees of freedom to reduce energy consumption. The proposed approach improves energy efficiency by...

Automated driving (A.D.) requires concurrent execution of multiple complex driving functions on automotive embedded platforms. In general, such systems can be partitioned into early stages including sensor processing, individual perception, and cognition functions and into later, more centralized stages that perform data fusion, planning, and decis...

To address the safety challenges arising from future mobility systems requirements, novel analysis methods and tools are needed. Besides the evolution and utilization of new hardware architectures, software development must address the increasing complexity of new highly automated mobility solutions. Consequently, the single most important roadbloc...

The growing complexity of safety-relevant systems causes an increasing effort for safety assurance. The reduction of development costs and time-to-market, while guaranteeing safe operation, is therefore a major challenge. In order to enable efficient safety assessment of complex architectures, we present an approach, which combines deductive safety...

The Software Intensive Systems (SIS) has become dominant in industry. The Product Lines (PL) approach offers significant cost reductions in customisation and rapid development of products targeting various market segments. However, Product Lines Engineering often times requires a complex modelling and co-evolution of multiple assets. That hinders t...

Model-based Systems Engineering requires an intuitive semantically strong data model to enable precise data specification and provide the foundation for fruitful data analyses during data evolution. This paper presents an approach to use the Web Ontology Language (OWL) for specifying a Conceptual Data Model (CDM) being transformed into a format und...

This paper presents an ontology-supported approach to tackle the complexity of the Robustness Validation (RV) process of automotive electrical/electronic (E/E) components. The approach uses formalized knowledge from the RV process and stress, operating, and load profiles, so-called Mission Profiles (MPs). In contrast to the error-prone industrially...

In this paper we perform a safety analysis while applying state-based power optimization strategies using the AUTOSAR energy saving mechanism partial networking. Based on a case study of a braking system of a production-class Electric Vehicle (EV), we first show which safety issues could be introduced by applying partial networking. Then, based on...

The development of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) towards automated driving comes along with an increased density of on-board sensor systems and more traffic participants using those systems. As a result, a highly increased amount of interference sources have to be expected on the future roads, while state-of-the-art frequency modulated...

In model-based systems engineering a model specifying the system’s design is shared across a variety of disciplines and used to ensure the consistency and quality of the overall design. Existing implementations for describing these system models exhibit a number of shortcomings regarding their approach to data management. In this emerging applicati...

The heating system, the second largest energy consumer after the power train in electric vehicles (EV), has a significant impact on the overall energy management. We propose an optimized control algorithm for minimizing the energy consumption of the heating system for the passenger cabin. The presented adaptive control strategy combining a learning...

In this paper we perform an impact analysis of the AUTOSAR energy saving mechanisms partial networking and pretended networking for automotive networks. We developed novel energy management strategies by exploiting these mechanisms. The strategies are integrated in a multi-level power management framework, which consists of three levels. Based on t...

Die noch immer geringe Reichweite von Elektrofahrzeugen im mittleren und unteren Preissegment stellt ein erhebliches Hindernis fuer die breite Marktdurchdringung der Elektromobilitaet dar. Haupteinflussfaktoren fuer Schwankungen der Reichweite sind — neben der Strecke, dem Verkehr und dem Fahrer — vor allem Umgebungseinfluesse, von denen insbesonde...

This paper presents a novel methodology for deriving Conceptual Data Models in the scope of Model-based Systems Engineering. Based on an assessment of currently employed methodologies, substantial limitations of the state of the art are identified. Consequently, a new methodology, overcoming present shortcomings, is elaborated, containing detailed...

This paper presents the design and usage of a language for Conceptual Data Modeling in Model-based Systems Engineering. Based on an existing analysis of presently employed data modeling languages, a new conceptual data modeling language is defined that brings together characteristic features from software engineering languages, features from langua...

We present a fast and accurate timing simulation of binary code execution on complex embedded processors. Underlying block timings are extracted from a preceding hardware execution and differentiated by execution context. Thereby, complex factors, such as caches, can be reflected accurately without explicit modeling. Based on timings observed in on...

Context-sensitive software timing simulation enables a precise approximation of software timing at a high simulation speed. The number of cycles required to execute a sequence of instructions depends on the state of the microarchitecture prior to the execution of that sequence, which in turn heavily depends on the preceding instructions. This is ex...

In this paper we propose an approach on energy management in automotive CAN networks based on static scheduling of AUTOSAR runnables. The approach exploits the energy saving potential of the pretended networking mechanism defined by AUTOSAR. The mechanism selectively turns the Electronic Control Units (ECUs) into a lower power mode while they are n...

In this paper, we present a novel runtime resource management approach that obeys automotive safety constraints. We specifically target emerging heterogeneous embedded plat-forms which promise potential to ease the ever-growing gap between demanded processing power and feasible efficient em-bedded realization of modern assistance systems by allowin...

This paper presents an approach on extending virtual prototyping, commonly used for system verification and design space exploration, for safety analysis. Virtual prototyping will enhance safety analysis, overcoming the challenges resulting from the ever-increasing number of safety-related, complex, interconnected electronic systems. The presented...

In this paper we propose an approach on energy management for optimizing the energy consumption of both electrical and conventional vehicle's board electronic. The pursued idea exploits degrees of freedom resulting from vehicle functions which are not permanently used during operation. The elaborated framework achieves this by a state-based power o...

We propose a novel torque vectoring concept for battery electric vehicles propelled by wheel-individual electric machines. Besides vehicle dynamic aspects, mainly addressed in other works, we especially focus on energy efficiency improvements. Our approach is based on a comprehensive four-wheel model taking the tires' nonlinear characteristics into...

Zusammenfassung—Funktionale Sicherheit gewinnt in der Entwicklung elektrischer/elektronischer Systeme im Kraftfahrzeug immer mehr an Bedeutung. Insbesondere die steigende Systemkomplexität erhöht den Aufwand zur Durchführung und Dokumentation simulationsgestützter Zuverlässigkeitsanalysen. Der in dieser Arbeit vorgestellte modell-basierte Ansatz zu...

Die stetig steigende Systemkomplexität erhöht die Vielfalt der Fehlereinflussmöglichkeiten. Gleichzeitig wird der Nachweis der funktionalen Sicherheit erheblich erschwert. Der im Forschungsvorhaben EffektiV entwickelte Ansatz unterstützt mit Hilfe von virtuellen Prototypen (VP) den Nachweis funktionaler Sicherheit unter anderem in den Domänen Indus...

The engineering of complex systems is more and more supported through computer-based models that rely on a comprehensive specification of their underlying data. This paper reflects on extensive industrial experience with a sophisticated application of conceptual data modeling, addressing requirements as they arise in the context of space systems en...

This paper presents a real-time capable battery aging estimation to enhance state-of-the-art eco-driving concept with battery maintenance strategy for potentially advancing electric vehicles (EV) sustainability. This methodology focuses not only on estimating battery aging according to the input parameters during driving and resting period also opt...

We present an approach to accurately simulate the temporal behavior of binary embedded software based on timing data generated using static analysis. As the timing of an instruction sequence is significantly inuenced by the microarchitecture state prior to its execution, which highly depends on the preceding control ow, a sequence must be separatel...

In this paper we present an embedded implementation of a Traffic Light Recognition (TLR) on a low-cost FPGA device with low memory usage.We follow a systematic approach where we thoroughly investigate computational hot-spots, and systematically partition the system into hardware and software components which we both optimize. Our implementation is...

In diesem Beitrag wird die Notwendigkeit des konsequenten Einsatzes von IT-gestützten Modellen im Systems Engineering, exemplarisch aus Sicht der Raumfahrtindustrie, motiviert und dabei auf aktuell existierende Anforderungen und Probleme eingegangen. Aus wissenschaftlich-technischer Sicht wird dabei auf Problemstellungen aus dem Bereich Big Data, i...

Das im Spitzencluster Elektromobilitaet Sued-West vom Bundesministerium fuer Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) gefoerderte Projekt „GreenNavigation“ verfolgt das Ziel, die nutzbaren Reichweiten von Elektrofahrzeugen zu optimieren. Neben Massnahmen, die direkt zu einer Vergroesserung der Reichweite fuehren, wie etwa die Erhoehung der Speicherkapazitaet v...

We present an approach for the determination of initial mapping configurations for embedded software components on modern embedded heterogeneous processor architectures. The presented work combines the advantages of component-based design and properties obtained from source-code analysis. The goal is a very fast estimation of execution costs for mu...

We propose a novel operation strategy for electric vehicles with axle-individual electric machines to improve their energy efficiency in typical driving situations. The developed algorithm is allocating a total torque requested by a velocity controlling system or the driver to the electric machines such that the energy loss is reduced compared to a...

The HVAC system is considered as the largest auxiliary power load in electric vehicles (EV). Therefore, this paper presents a detailed modeling of an EV-based HVAC system to support a priori prediction of HVAC system energy consumption under consideration of the EV users thermal comfort. This prediction is integrated into a navigation system to all...

Intelligent automotive electronics significantly improved driving safety in the last decades. With the increasing complexity of automotive systems, dependability of the electronic components themselves and of their interaction must be assured to avoid any risk to driving safety due to unexpected failures caused by internal or external faults. Add...

This paper presents an analysis framework based on virtual prototyping to support the comprehensive evaluation of distributed, network based automotive applications. The framework enables functional and timing verification, performance and reliability analysis while reducing its complexity. Additionally the framework supports design space explorati...

To overcome the verification gap arising from significantly increased external IP integration and reuse during electronic platform design and composition, we present a model-based approach to specify platform variants. The variants specification is processed automatically by formalizing and solving the integrated constraint sets to derive valid pla...

This document proposes a new strategy for decelerating a battery electric vehicle from an initial velocity to a final velocity with optimized recuperation of kinetic excess energy. Thereby, we demonstrate a possibility to increase the efficiency - and hence range - without altering the powertrain. The algorithm is implemented in an advanced driver...

In this paper we present a novel approach for mapping interconnected software components onto cores of homogenous MPSoC architectures. The analytic mapping process considers shared memory communication as well as the routing algorithm controlling packet-based communication. The software components are mapped with the constraints of avoiding communi...

To support the reliability assessment of safety-relevant distributed automotive systems and reduce its complexity, this paper presents a novel approach that extends virtual prototyping towards error effect simulation. Besides the common functional and timed system simulation, error injection is used to stress error tolerance mechanisms. A quantitat...

In this paper, we introduce advanced features of an industry-level logging and tracing framework for C-based designs. The developed framework requires only minimal changes of the original source code and supports many powerful features, such as the backtracking of simulation data. By completely redesigning the configuration and log data handling me...

The language SystemC [1] has proven itself to be an inevitable standard when virtual prototyping is used during the development of embedded systems. Besides methodologies as platform-based design SystemC was clearly designed in order to enable component-based design. Existing approches on HW/SW co-design such as [2] do not take into account full su...

Diese Arbeit präsentiert einen Ansatz zur statisch-analytischen Echtzeitbewertung verteilter, eingebetteter Hardware-/Software-Systeme. Im Gegensatz zu thematisch verwandten simulationsbasierten Vorgehensweisen ist der Ansatz in der Lage, harte Echtzeitanforderungen zu bewerten und einen garantierten Echtzeitnachweis zu erbringen. Das gewählte Whit...

In this paper, we present a novel approach for automated mapping of software processes onto the cores of MPSoC architectures using a regular packet-based communication infrastructure. During the mapping determination, the communication distance as well as the routing algorithm for packet-based communication are taken into account. The basic idea of...

In this paper, we present an approach to generate a virtual execution platform in SystemC to advance the development of software-intensive real-time embedded systems including early validation and verification. These virtual execution platforms allow the execution of embedded software with strict consideration of the underlying hardware platform co...

In this paper, we present a novel approach for automated latency-optimized mapping of processes onto cores of NoC-based MPSoCs. During the mapping determination, the routing algorithm for packet-based communication is taken into account. The basic idea of the presented approach is the reduction of communication conflicts on the communication networ...

Simulation-based approaches to evaluate the functional and non-functional properties of embedded software are in widespread industrial use for design space exploration and virtual prototyping. As simulation performance is usually the main concern for these tools, they often lack an accurate timing model of the underlying processor. On the other han...

This paper presents a demonstrator for a largely task-parallel implementation of an automotive Advanced-Driver-Assistance-System (ADAS). Targeting the Intel SCC1 [1] 48-core chip, we show the scalability of this application towards a configurable number of cores up to 25.

The limited range of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) is a major restraint for their market acceptance. This paper shows that efficiency - hence range - increase can be achieved by optimal distribution of driving and braking torque to the electric machines of an EV. Furthermore, a novel strategy for efficient recuperation of kinetic energy during th...

This paper presents a novel framework for tracing and logging C-based designs of embedded hardware/software systems. The development of this C-based Unified Logging and Tracing (CULT) framework was driven by the necessity of a common development support environment between different design disciplines and at different early design phases in which d...

This chapter presents an approach for back-annotating timing information determined from optimized binary code into the source code of the software. The annotated source code can be integrated into a SystemC-based simulation environment and allows a fast execution time estimation while preserving timing accuracy. In contrast to previous approaches,...