OpenECU-Rapid control prototyping to mass production

Pi Innovo (founded in 1990), headquartered in Michigan, USA, has many years of successful application experience in engine control, new energy vehicle control, chassis control and other fields. They have developed the rapid control prototyping series products, OpenECU, which is based on the Matlab/Simulink development environment and supports efficient automatic code generation and universal calibration tools. OpenECU provides effective solutions for engine, aftertreatment, vehicle stability systems and new energy vehicle control systems development，which is suitable for production, pilot production and mass production.

As Pi Innovo's partner in China, Polelink will provide customers with comprehensive support and efficient control strategy solutions.

OpenECU-Used for rapid control prototyping

OpenECU is a cost-effective rapid control prototyping solution. Its hardware is configurable, plug-and-liay and specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements of the automotive and defense industries. All OpenECU products feature  that input and output terminals meet the application area requirements of automotive electronics and can be directly connected to other components in the vehicle, and transfer from the lab testing to the real car testing easily. Each standard unit has an input/output configuration for the application area, which can be configured optionally and precisely for the specific application through software or hardware build options.

OpenECU control strategies include proven gasoline engine, diesel engine and exhaust aftertreatment systems, new energy vehicle control, electrification development of on-board power systems and chassis systems, and communication gateways, which provide a solid foundation for emerging new requirements. The control strategies are provided as Simulink® modules and are compatible with the OpenECU diagnostic module set. 

OpenECU-Series of hardware products

OpenECU hardware offers different-level products in terms of control functions and operating environments. ECU housings range from plastic housings for use in cab environments to aluminum alloy housings that meet military nacelle application specifications.

In the field of new energy vehicles (electric vehicle/hybrid electric vehicle), Pi Innovo offers a variety of solutions for different functional requirements, with the M220 and M250 meeting the majority applications of electric/hybrid electric vehicles.

With more pins and more functionality, the M670 can meet customers' needs for more IO, and the 96 of 154 pins can be customized to meet different application requirements. The fuel injector intelligent drive circuit can be adjusted by the software. Other engine features include: E-GAS monitoring security architecture with a sub-processor, functions of RPM/ignition/fuel injection/UEGO/knock internal diagnostic, 8-way intelligent ignition coil, 2-way UEGO(Bosch LSU4.9)，2-way HEGO oxygen sensor, 1-way Hall or magneto-electric crankshaft sensor, 4-way Hall CAM sensor, input signals collected over time or crankshaft position, etc.

The OpenECU M560 is designed for the functional safety processes of VCU(Vehicle Controller Unit) and VCCU(Vehicle Charging Control Unit) to support monitoring applications of the most demanding electric vehicle (EV)/ hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The integrated charging circuit eliminates the need for a separate charger interface module.

With a large number of customizable I/O, advanced microprocessors, a security-oriented architecture and a user-friendly OpenECU application interface in Simulink, M560 is an excellent rapid control prototype platform for a wide range of applications. Pi Innovo also provides a combined charging system (CCS) control algorithm that supports most EV/HEV/NEV architectures and complies with SAE J1772 and DIN 70121 standards. Using M560 or M580 vehicle controller unit (VCU) algorithm and combined charging system (CCS) control algorithm, customers can obtain a module containing the vehicle control unit (VCU) and charging management unit (CMU), namely there are two ECU functions in a single controller.

Functions of OpenECU hardware

Specifications of OpenECU Standard hardware

Specifications of OpenECU Standard hardware

OpenECU-Software development platform

The OpenECU Developer PlatformSim32 can efficiently develop control strategies by using modeling and simulating tool, MATLAB/Simulink. By using interactively graphical user interfaces, designers can focus only on the functional level and do not need to consider complex software implementation, thus greatly improves development efficiency. Customers can build OpenECU on mature platforms to further speed up the development of control strategy. Software development kit provides gasoline/diesel engine control and diesel engine exhaust emission control and so on. There is also a set of diagnostic modules that enable the strategy to be compatible with diagnostic criteria for passenger vehicle and heavy-duty vehicle applications.

The OpenECU diagnostic module set is OBD infrastructure software, which can realize the following functions: strategy package of fault management and detection, complex memory management, communication protocol of the service tool interface, DTL cycle management, etc.

Based on Simulink's OpenECU and OpenECU-FS Developer API, developers can develop model-based control applications directly on mass production-level target electronic control units (ECUs). OpenECU and OpenECU-FS are suitable for application development in electric vehicle, eVTOL ,heavy-duty or commercial vehicle.

 Simulink API for model development

When the development is completed, the system can startup the OpenECU automatic compilation directly after successing in simulating in the Simulink environment.

The process is that extracting the required components from the OpenECU software library to compile and generate an executable HEX or S37 file that is to written on the OpenECU control module and an A2L file, which in order to apply to the subsequent calibration and measurement. OpenECU is compatible with any brushing and calibration software of the industry including: PI Snoop,Vector CANape, ETAS INCA, ATI VISION, dspace ControlDesk.

Code generation and flashing

The flexibility of OpenECU platform and the professional of Polelink and PI engineering consulting team together win the favor of customers. Welcome customers to consult and communicate by phone call or e-mail.