NISSAN: ETAS rapid prototyping revolutionizes MBD development environment and accelerates towards the future

At Nissan, the "CMF (Common Module Family)" concept, which involved redesigning all parts and units from scratch, was applied to the software development domain in the 2010s, making a fundamental review of the MBD process an urgent matter. The specific challenges the company faced were as follows:

• Inefficiency due to fragmented tools: Using different tools for each development phase required rebuilding the environment for every evaluation. This rebuilding process hindered smooth and seamless process transitions, leading to an increase in indirect tasks that encroached upon the time for core design and verification work.
• Performance limitations: As control models became larger and more complex, the existing evaluation environment could not keep up with practical requirements in terms of processing speed and data communication, leading to serious concerns about performance inadequacy.
• Lack of established evaluation methods: There was no established method for efficiently evaluating and verifying large-scale ECU application models that integrated multiple modules.

To address these challenges, ETAS proposed and implemented the following integrated solutions, based on the concept of "seamless development":

• Rapid prototyping using the bypass method:
  The "bypass method" was applied, which allows application models to run co-operatively on an external prototyping module without modifying the ECU software itself. This made it possible to evaluate entire application models, which was previously difficult.
• Introduction of high-performance hardware:
  The prototyping module "ES830" was introduced for high-speed simulation of large models, along with "XETK" for high-speed data communication with the ECU. This eliminated performance bottlenecks and established an evaluation environment capable of meeting practical requirements.
• Automation of environment setup:
  The "INTECRIO" tool for building and executing rapid prototyping environments was utilized to automate the environment setup process using scripts. This significantly reduced the effort required for setup, allowing developers to focus on their core tasks.

By implementing the ETAS solution, Nissan achieved the following remarkable results:

• Realization of full bypass evaluation for large models: Early verification of entire application models became possible, significantly advancing the frontloading of development.
• Significant reduction in defects during development: The ability to thoroughly verify model quality in the early stages of development drastically reduced rework in later stages, improving the overall quality of development.
• Accelerated and streamlined development processes: The seamless development environment and automation significantly reduced traditional indirect tasks, successfully shortening development lead times.
• Contribution to cutting-edge technological development: This solution has been utilized in the development of highly advanced and complex control systems, such as the "Third generation e-POWER" and the "All-New LEAF," proving its effectiveness.