The modular Hardware-in-the-Loop testing platform is the biggest project our team has taken part in so far. The primary goal of this project was to develop a competitive testbed platform based solely on National Instruments’ hardware, with a feature set comparable to commercial solutions, but with a significantly lower price. The core of the testbed is the National Instruments PXIe simulator, controlled through the NI VeriStand user interface, and driven by LabVIEW simulation models. The individual peripherals of the HiL testbed are connected with the simulator using EtherCAT technology. Through the years of development, testbed modules for several automotive systems were developed as a part of the project, allowing its use in the comprehensive integration testing process.

The testbed was developed over the last 10 years in cooperation with multiple industrial partners, including Škoda Auto and Digiteq Automotive. The testbed has been actively used in integration testing and played a key role in the development of multiple car generations, including Škoda Fabia, Škoda Rapid, and Škoda Scala. Currently, this project has been completed and is not under active development. The last version of the testbed is currently being operated by Digiteq Automotive.