Continuous-Integration for Embedded Systems
► October 26, 11 AM CET
► Live demo webinar
► 30-40 minutes
Any small code change to an embedded system can have the most malicious effects. Moreover, if you find and fix the problems too late, the fix is very expensive.
Therefore, it should be possible to test every change to an embedded system within minutes. This is the only way to ensure that you can detect and fix the problems quickly.
For pure software projects, complete automation of the tests via Continuous Integration helps. Here, every code change automatically triggers the build and test of the complete software. This allows a full regression test to discover bugs in existing and new code within minutes.
But how can this be achieved for system or integration testing of embedded systems?
Hardware-in-the-loop tests (HIL tests) or manual system tests required for this are often difficult to automate.
- Real hardware parts in the test setup prevent automation and repeatability
- Only the “happy path” can be tested, but not error conditions
- The test bench is often too expensive to be available for automation for every project at any time
Lightweight hardware-in-the-loop testing with the miniHIL allows you to fully automate testing via Continuous-Integration.
How does it work?
- Hardware interfaces are only simulated on signal level, and therefore fit well into test automation
- Test hardware is largely replaced by software simulation
- Faulty behavior can be easily simulated and tested via faulty signals
- The necessary hardware is significantly simpler, smaller and cheaper than traditional HIL systems. A separate test setup for automation is available for each project at any time
Thus, any change can be tested automatically within minutes.
Only through complete and fast test automation can complex embedded software be developed effectively in teams.
