Using hardware-in-the-loop simulation technique in the robust system development and applications

Hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) technique is a kind of real-time simulation technique containing some hardware components that it allows us to test the real Embedded Control Systems (ECS) under different real working loads and conditions. Other simulation techniques do not allow us to test the real embedded control system as a complete system. Often the controller part, which is only about 20-30% of the ECS software, or the other software and hardware components are tested independently. HILS makes it possible to test the complete ECS as a whole in system-level.The aim of this project is to construct a HILS environment in order to perform the test processes of the controllers used in critical, hazardous and costly applications. With this simulation environment ECS can easily be tested in a practically, cheaply and unhazardous way. The performance of this simulation environment will be evaluated by implementing a few control applications in the area of the electrical drives. This system will be used to implement electrical machinery driver systems that are very difficult to be tested in laboratory environment. Moreover, the structure of the HILS environment which will be constructed in this project will be in modular form so as to test any different application in other areas in future. The mentioned simulation environment can be thought a complementary step for the other ECS projects that are only attracted to the development a new one.