New tools ease ECU development

Why Hewlett-Packard and ETAS are pressing for open standardization of tools in powertrain ECU design and testing.

n today's engineering environment, the "Dilbertization" of time management - so precisely captured in the phrase "pressure makes diamonds" - puts a premium on prioritization. This is increasingly true in the development of electronic control units (ECUs).

As available computing power and the functional complexity of ECUs rise, engineers face a problem - the lack of standardized tools (software and hardware) needed for ECU development. Two companies -Hewlett-Packard (H-P) and ETAS - claim open architecture will allow automotive electronics suppliers and …