Stephen P. Masticola
ABSTRACT
Mechatronics is the practice of creating systems that synergize electrical, mechanical, and software technology. With few exceptions, testing software that is embedded in mechatronics systems has historically been done only with the hardware in the loop (HIL). There are many disadvantages to HIL testing, including cost, schedule delays, and resource bottlenecks. Ironically, cost and schedule delays are also often seen by technical managers as impediments to simulating the mechatronics hardware.
We present a vision for agile simulation, with the intent to lower the cost and time barriers of simulating mechatronics hardware to test software. Some key ideas include: focus on validating the software alone, rather than the entire system; doing the minimum amount of dynamic modeling needed to test the software; work even with legacy systems that might not have been designed with testability in mind; leverage existing tools wherever possible; support stubbing out the hardware using agile techniques such as refactoring and test-driven development.
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Digital Library
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Index Terms
- Vision: testing of mechatronics software using agile simulation
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