×

Happy to Help!

This website doesn't store cookies. Enjoy the experience, without worrying about your data!

Great, thanks!

Category Archives: Others

  • 0

Development of ASIL B Compliant Electric Vehicle MCU Platform Software

About the Customer:

Embitel, a seasoned industry player with over 16+ years of expertise, developed this comprehensive in-house solution for potential tier 1 customers in the Electric Vehicle domain.

This success story revolves around the successful ASIL B compliant EV MCU platform software development undertaken by Embitel.

Business Context:

Our team sought to revolutionize an existing EV system by designing and developing an Electric Vehicle Microcontroller Unit that promised a superior user experience.

We aimed to leverage our extensive know-how in EV MCU applications for electric drivetrains and our flexible, configurable Open Platform for building diverse applications in the EV realm.

Embitel’s Solution:

Embitel’s dedicated team embarked on an in-depth analysis of the EV drivetrain components to conceptualize and develop a flexible and configurable Open Platform to accommodate a wide array of EV applications. The primary feature of the project encompassed:

  • Platform software development comprising BSP, communication stack and safety library
  • UDS based diagnostics and bootloader
  • Software compliant to ISO26262 ASIL B requirements
  • PC tool for stack configuration and reprogramming
  • ASIL B compliant documentation and verification

 

Embitel’s Impact:

Driven by Embitel’s relentless pursuit of excellence and adherence to deadlines, the project was completed promptly and within the agreed-upon budget. The timely delivery significantly reduced time-to-market and development costs, bestowing a competitive advantage for potential clients like tier 1 vendors or Automotive OEMS.

Embitel’s approach, combined with a shared vision of creating top-tier EV solutions, laid the foundation for a true success story in the realm of ASIL B compliant EV MCU platform software development.

By leveraging our extensive domain knowledge and advanced technological capabilities, we have been able to retain ourselves as a trusted partner, driving innovation, and delivering transformative results that impact the automotive industry positively.

Tools and Technologies:

The development process was powered by an array of cutting-edge tools and technologies, including but not limited to:

  • TI microcontroller and code composer IDE
  • Vector CANoe
  • XDS 100v2 Debugger
  • MATLAB
  • Simulink

  • 0

Development of Electric Vehicle Platform ECU with Focus on EV Motor Control Applications

About the Customer:

This is a part of Embitel solution offerings that can come in handy for potential tier 1 customers looking for a customizable platform ECU for Electric Vehicles.

Business Context:

We wanted to design and develop a functioning EV platform ECU for an existing system for a better user experience. Embitel, with 16+ years of industry experience, has proven expertise in –

  • motor control application for electric drive train.
  • flexible & configurable Open Platform for building various applications in the EV domain.

As an integral part of our offerings, the customizable platform ECU with a focus on EV motor control applications can serve as the backbone for an Electric Vehicle conversion kit designed to provide enhanced and personalized performance for Electric Vehicles.

The software solution is well designed to follow both Automotive OEMS and businesses looking to upgrade and optimize their existing fleet of Electric Vehicles.

Embitel’s Solution:

Our team was primarily tasked with design & development of a flexible & configurable Open Platform for building various applications in the EV domain. We first performed an analysis and study of the existing systems in the EV drive train.

We assessed the different components of the application ECU and identified the following approach for the development of the required platform ECU for the Motor Control System.

The scope of the project includes Motor Control application for Electric Vehicle drive train, with the following features –

  • Hardware and firmware development
  • Customizable platform ECU with focus on EV motor control applications
  • Model based development of application software
  • FOC based motor control
  • Integrated Embitel BSP and protocol stacks for quick development of application
  • ASIL C compliant development

 

Embitel’s Impact:

The ASIL C complaint platform ECU with focus on EV motor control applications made the existing system easily configurable and maintainable to support future changes.

This challenging platform ECU development project was delivered within the desired timelines and costs. This ensured reduce time-to-market and development costs for potential clients.

An EV friendly ASIL C complaint ECU platform software has become a necessary requirement present day EVs. Hence, the success of this project had a long-term positive impact on the various business engagements of our customer.
 

Tools and Technologies:

  • MATLAB
  • Simulink
  • State flow
  • Simscape battery
  • E-coder
  • Embitel protocol stacks
  • TI microcontroller

  • 0

Machine Learning Algorithm Development for Footballer’s Performance Sensor Device

About the Customer

Our customer is a Europe-based company developing performance sensors and activity trackers that are used in football training. Their products help in tracking and improving player skills and well-being, as these devices can be worn on and off the field.

Business Challenge

The customer was developing a wearable device that tracks football player activity and metrics. They partnered with Embitel as we had prior experience in IoT application development, based on machine learning.

Embitel Solution

  • The device is affixed to the leg of the football player while playing the game. Data is collected via the IMU sensor on the leg band.
  • IMU sensor data includes 9-axes data of accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer.
  • We developed the Machine Learning (ML) algorithm to generate minute by minute metrics of the actions of the football player including idle, walk, run, sprint, kick, pass, etc. using IMU sensor data.
  • The data is labeled by synchronizing videos and sensor data.​
  • Feature Extraction (Average Acceleration, Max & Min Amplitude, Butterworth Filter, etc. apart from common features like magnitude)​ is performed to enhance the quality of the data.
  • Time series LSTM model is used to identify various activities like kick, pass, dribble, sprint, walk, run, idle, etc.​
  • Metrics (results) include duration of each activity, distance in case of walk, run and sprint, speed in case of kick and sprint, number in case of kick and pass, intensity of each activity, etc.

Challenges faced during the project lifecycle:

  • Unavailability of enough labelled data​
  • Sensor was under development during the project execution​
  • Noise in sensor data
  • Complex data analysis and feature extraction

 

Embitel Impact

  • We successfully delivered a machine learning solution to identify football player activities and other required metrics.​
  • The complete device has now been successfully launched in the market​.
  • We delivered the Python code along with deployable PYD package to make it reusable and extendable for the customer.​

 

Tools and Technology

  • Python (Pandas, Numpy, Matplotlib)​
  • Scikit-Learn​
  • Keras (TensorFlow)​
  • Jupyter Notebook, Spyder

  • 0

Development of End-to-End Communication Protection Module for Safety-Critical Data Transmission

About the Customer

Our customer is an electronics manufacturing company with expertise in various control systems used in automotive and other industries.

Business Challenge

ISO 26262 compliant automotive applications involve exchange of safety-critical data amongst the ECUs. Safety-critical data must reach the intended node within the timeframe, in the correct sequence and without any loss of data.

The customer’s development team faced the challenge in implementing the required protection modules for exchange of safety-critical data. Although the customer had completed the concept phase and were ready with the technical safety-requirements (TSR) and safety-goals, implementation of some of the safety mechanism related to data transmission was posing considerable challenge.

In a nutshell,

  • End-to-end protection mechanism were to be implemented to detect and handle faults in the communication link at run-time.
  • Faults to be handled were mostly random hardware faults and systematic faults.
  • Safety-mechanisms had to meet ASIL-C requirements.

In order to mitigate this challenge, the customer was looking for a technology partner with deep domain knowledge of ECU communication as well as ISO 26262 functional safety. Embitel totally fit the bill for both ISO 26262 and ECU communication expertise.

Embitel’s Solution

End-to-End protection module was designed based on the technical safety requirements provided by the customer.

Our automotive team divided the scope of the project into two parts- E2E profile development and CRC Library implementation.

  1. E2E protection profile based on AUTOSAR 4.4 version
  2. The protection module ensured that:

    • The safety-related data exchange at runtime is protected from effects of faults within the communication. Examples of such faults are random HW faults and systematic faults.
    • By using E2E communication protection mechanisms, the faults in the communication link can be detected and handled at runtime. The E2E Library provides mechanisms for E2E protection, adequate for safety-related communication having requirements up to ASIL D.

    The E2E data exchange protection module was designed to handle the following potential faults:

    Repetition : Unintended message repetition due to the same message being unintentionally sent again.

    Loss :  message loss during transmission.

    • Insertion : insertion of messages due to receiver unintentionally receiving an additional message, which is interpreted to have correct source and destination addresses.
    • Incorrect Sequence : Re-sequencing due to the order of the data being changed during transmission, i.e., the data is not received in the same order in which it was sent.
    • Message Corruption : Message corruption due to one or more data bits in the message being changed during transmission.
    • Delay : Message delay due to the message being received correctly, but not in time.
    • Blocking : Blocking access to data bus due to a faulty node violating the expected patterns of use and demanding unwarranted service, which in turn reduces its availability to other nodes.
  3. CRC Library Implementation as per AUTOSAR 4.4 version
  4. The following cyclic redundancy check algorithms were developed and implemented to ensure the integrity of the data that is exchanged. The required version of the CRC can be chosen at runtime.

    • CRC8: SAEJ1850
    • CRC8H2F: CRC8 0x2F polynomial
    • CRC16
    • CRC32
    • CRC32P4: CRC32 0x1F4ACFB13 polynomial
    • CRC64: CRC-64-ECMA


 

Embitel’s Impact

We had assumed complete responsibility of E2E protection module development which left the customer with ample resources and bandwidth to execute development of the application parallelly.

The customer was able to integrate the E2E protection profile with the target environment without losing any time, thus reducing the turn-around time.

Since we went for AUTOSAR 4.4 implementation, all APIs were standardized, and compatibility issues were mitigated right from the start to ensure seamless integration.
 

Tools and Technologies

  • MPLAB with Embedded C
  • E2E – AUTOSAR 4.4 Specification
  • Infineon Microcontroller
  • CAPL Script
  • CANoE Environment

  • 0

Development and Integration of Platform Software/BSP for an Automotive Lighting Project

About the Customer

A pioneer in automotive lighting solutions, our customer has been at the forefront of some of the most innovative breakthroughs in the automotive industry. As a technology partner, Embitel has had the pleasure of collaborating with them on multiple occasions. On account of being aware of Embitel’s platform software development and ISO 26262 expertise, our customer chose to bring us on-board for their next futuristic automotive lighting project.

Business Challenge

Building an automotive solution entails developing not only the application logic but also the underlying low-level drivers that facilitate the communication between the software and the hardware.

The core competency of our customer is in the development of innovative automotive solutions and it was the hardware-specific platform software where they required external support. In addition, the platform software was required to be ASIL-B compliant.

What made the Board Support Package so important in this project?

  • The COM layer of the board support package facilitates CAN based communication between the ECUs.
  • Low-level drivers such as Timer, Digital input/output and watchdog are required to access the corresponding functions of the microcontroller platform.
  • UDS based diagnostic layer facilitates communication between the diagnostic application and the external tester devices.

Finding robust, pre-tested and ready-to-deploy UDS and CAN protocol stack was a challenge to the customer. Configuring the protocol software based on the project’s requirement added another dimension to this challenge.
 

Embitel Solution

Our automotive team undertook the task of developing and configuring ASIL-B compliant platform software for this project. Before our team started the development of the different modules of the platform software, we went through a series of discussions with the customer’s team for requirement refinement and maturation.

We were able to re-use some of the components with minimum configuration such as

  • ISOTP (ISO 15767)
  • Fault Code Memory
  • CAN Interface Layer (CAN IF)
  • CAN Network Management Layer (CAN NM)
BSP Architecture

These modules were configured as per the application’s and hardware requirements. For instance, the CAN IF and CAN NM modules were configured based on the CAN Matrix provided by the customer.

In addition to the components mentioned above, we undertook the following development activities:

  1. Design and Development of Low-level Drivers
      MCU, WDT, ADC, PORT, DIO,IVT, Timer, Code Flash, Data Flash and Sleep/Wakeup
  2. Design and Development of Safety Layer
    • Overload detection, Stack Overflow detection, Battery voltage monitor
    • Scheduler, State Manager and Diagnostics Manager
  3. Diagnostics Layer Development
    • UDS Stack as per ISO14229 and ISOTP as per ISO15765
    • Modification of UDS protocol software as per PolySpace test
    • UDS services (as per project’s requirements) and UDS on CAN was integrated
    • Fault code memory configuration and integration

Embitel Impact

We were able to deliver the project in the stipulated time period. Owing to a library of re-usable software components such as UDS stack, CAN protocol software, etc., we reduced the overall development time and cost. Our customer was able to expedite their series production due to our timely delivery of the platform software.
 

Tools and Technologies

Tessy Tool: For Unit Testing of the platform software modules

PolySpace:  For static code analysis

IDE- WINIdea and GHC compiler


  • 0

Development of a Cost-Effective Digital Instrument Cluster for ICE Powered Two-Wheelers

 

About the Customer

Our customer is a leading supplier of automotive electronics products. They specialise in the sale and support activities of battery management solutions, multimedia equipment, safety systems, and more.
 

Business Challenge

  • The customer desired to implement a cost-effective connected digital instrument cluster solution for Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) powered two-wheelers.
  • Our automotive domain expertise that spans more than a decade, and prior experience in implementing production-grade connected digital instrument cluster solutions gave the customer confidence in partnering with us for Product Engineering Services.
  • The customer’s in-house team focussed on the integration of cloud connectivity and development of the mobile application. Our team handled the design and development of core software and hardware components (while ensuring optimisation of the BOM cost).

 

Embitel Solution

We developed a connected digital instrument cluster solution with the assistance of our Ecosystem Partner, by procuring a cost-effective LED screen best suited for this project.

Key features of our solution are as follows:

  • The connected digital instrument cluster supports the following networking features:
    • Cloud connectivity
    • Location Tracking – Achieved through Global Positioning System (GPS)
    • User interaction via mobile app – Achieved through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
  • Functionalities such as speedometer, gear indicator and oil level indicator are supported with the help of a Digital UI.
  • The digital automotive instrument cluster solution supports the following safety features:
    • Tow-away alert
    • Accident alert
    • Vehicle theft alert
  • Additional value-added features that have been incorporated in the connected cluster are:
    • Helmet reminder – At the beginning of a ride, a helmet reminder notification will flash on the HMI/UI to remind the rider to wear a helmet.
    • Side-stand indicator – If the side-stand of the two-wheeler is engaged while riding, there will be a notification for the same.
    • Mobile signal status – The rider will be notified of the mobile signal on his/her phone through the HMI/UI.
    • Turn By Turn (TBT) Navigation – The rider updates his/her destination on the mobile app. This data is transferred to the connected cluster through BLE connectivity. A part of the display unit on the cluster indicates the direction in which the vehicle will have to move in order to reach the destination. This information is displayed in the form of symbols.

      Since the navigation facility was not required to support the map feature, we were able to use a segmented LCD that brought down the development costs by a significant amount.

    • Geofencing – The connected cluster can detect and trigger a notification when the vehicle enters or leaves a specific geographical location.
    • DND Status – All incoming calls, missed calls and SMS notifications are usually displayed on the HMI/UI of the connected cluster. The rider can choose to turn on the “Do Not Disturb” status, in which case the call and message notifications are not displayed on the screen.
  • Integration of FOTA update – The automotive instrument cluster solution has been integrated with Firmware-Over-The Air (FOTA) Update feature. The mobile app sends a notification to the user when a new version of firmware is available. The FOTA image is shared with the cluster through BLE connectivity and subsequently, the firmware is updated.
  • Cost-effectiveness – We were able to cut down on the project development and integration costs through our expertise in connected automotive instrument cluster design. Some of the choices that helped in achieving a cost-effective solution are as follows:
    • The solution was developed using a low-cost 16-bit automotive MicroController Unit (MCU).
    • The utilisation of a consolidated module for GPS, GSM and BLE connectivity was instrumental in bringing down the BOM cost significantly.
    • Leveraging our partnership with a leading supplier of graphical and segmented LCDs, we were able to design a unique segmented HMI/UI as part of the solution. This is a low-cost alternative to a graphical HMI/UI when bulk production is considered.
    • The CPU usage was also minimised through careful selection and architecture of the LCD. This, in turn, brought down the overall cost of the solution.
  • Quick solution delivery – We were able to expedite development activities and deliver the proof of concept (POC) earlier than expected through the following activities:
    • We utilised the expertise of the CAD team of our LCD partner in the generation of symbols for the display.
    • We were able to reduce the overall development time through the use of reference boards from multiple component vendors. This enabled the software development and testing activities to be executed in parallel with the hardware development.
  • We also supported the customer in performing integration testing of our connected digital instrument cluster solution with the cloud and mobile app.

 

Embitel Impact

  • We were able to successfully deliver a connected cluster solution and integrate it with the customer’s cloud infrastructure and mobile app within an expedited timeframe of 6 months.
  • The solution was developed to be extremely cost-effective.

 

Tools and Technologies

  • Open source Eclipse IDE was used for the firmware development.
  • For the hardware development, we used a 16-bit microcontroller configured for automotive applications.
  • We used existing reference models from hardware vendors for the software development and testing activities.
  • OrCAD standard tools were used for hardware development.

  • 0

ASIL B Compliant Base Software (BSW) & Secure Bootloader Development for Automotive Lighting System

 

About the Customer

Our customer is a leading electronics engineering service provider in the automotive domain. The company caters to several OEMs across the globe.
 

Business Challenge

The customer required expert guidance and support in the development of Base Software (BSW) and Flash Bootloader Modules for a project on Automotive Lighting Systems.

Since our customer’s in-house team was focussed on core hardware design and development activities, the need for an experienced Product Engineering Services partner was felt. As the system was intended to be ASIL B compliant, the customer was looking for a partner proficient in implementation of ISO 26262 compliant practices of software development.

After an end-to-end audit of our embedded software development and ISO 26262 capabilities, the customer found that:

  • We have the expertise in development of ISO 26262 compliant low-level device drivers and Base Software for various microcontroller platforms that are deployed in different automotive applications.
  • We could deliver a UDS based secure Bootloader which conforms to ASIL B.
  • Our production-grade UDS Protocol Stack (ISO 14229 compliant) and proprietary reprogramming tool would expedite their product development process and reduce time-to-market.

This paved the way for our successful and long-term partnership with this customer.
 

Embitel Solution

We developed all the software components required by the LED driver to control the headlamps, as per the customer’s requirement.

The solution included:

  • Low-level device drivers, BSW and UDS Protocol Stack (ISO 14229 compliant).
  • A UDS based secure flash bootloader equipped with Digital Signature powered with SHA algorithm and AES encryption.
  • A PC tool for UDS-based reprogramming . This tool has been developed in-house, as part of our R&D and Innovation strategy.

 

Our UDS Protocol based reprogramming tool is compatible with various third-party simulation tools such as Vector CAN Analyser, PCAN & others, and helps in debugging, validation and testing of the communication between the software modules and the in-vehicle network (in a simulated environment). The use of this reprogramming tool reduced the project delivery timeline by a significant amount.

 

 Key Features of UDS Stack Reprogramming Tool:

  • This is an in-house product that can be used to flash an image into the microcontroller.
  • The tool supports different formats of image files, such as Intel Hex, Motorolla, etc.
  • Through this tool, it is possible to connect to different third-party tools like Vector CAN Analyser, PCAN or Interpret.
  • The tool can generate the log file for the complete programming sequence. So, in case of any failure, one can debug it using the log file.
  • Currently, we support Windows platform and the tool is developed using QT & C Code.

 
To ensure our Base Software was working as intended, we also developed a Test Application that proved the BSW.

As the customer had already performed HARA, they provided us with the Technical Safety Requirement (TSR). Our ISO 26262 team worked closely with Base Software Development team to ensure that all guidelines for ASIL B compliance is followed.

Here is a snapshot of the solution development roadmap for this project:

  • We developed the software module following the steps highlighted below:
    • Design of the software module
    • Unit testing of the module – This includes boundary testing (positive and negative testing) using TESSY tool
    • Review processes based on CMM Level 3 guidelines
    • Static analysis through MISRA C guidelines
  • After the module development was completed, all BSW modules were integrated and tested.
  • We delivered all the documentation associated with this product development for a lighting control system to the customer.
  • Integration and Functional Testing was performed as per the ISO 26262 guidelines for ASIL B compliance.

 

Embitel Impact

  • We developed a robust solution based on all the requirements provided by the customer.
  • It usually takes 6-8 months to develop and implement specific UDS Protocol (ISO 14229 compliant) services. With the help of our production-grade UDS Protocol Stack and reprogramming tool, we were able to reduce the development time by 50%.

 

Tools and Technologies

  • 32 Bit Microcontroller Unit from ATMEL
  • ATMEL Studio: It is an IDE and compiler to write the C code
  • PolySpace: It was used for MISRA C compliance
  • Tessy Tool: We used Tessy Tool for Unit Testing of the software
  • ATMEL ICE: It was used to debug the MCU
  • Vector CANoe: For Functional Testing of the Project

  • 0

SCADA Solution Development for a Solar Tracking System

 

About the Customer:

Our esteemed customer is an Indian subsidiary of one of the global leaders in renewable energy power generation.

Their team was on a critical task of improving the efficiency of their existing solar power open field implementations.
 

Business Challenge:

  • Management of thousands of solar panels on the field was a challenge. As the assets were being managed manually, it required the investment of a lot of manpower.
  • Hence the customer desired to optimize and automate the tracking, monitoring and configuration activities of all the assets of the plant, including solar panels and various electric motors.

Why was the Current Method of Monitoring Assets Not Efficient?

  • Since the existing method of asset monitoring was manual, it was highly time-consuming to discover the non-functional solar panels. Hence, it had become difficult to assess the health of the assets and take corrective measures in a timely manner.
  • This also brought about an ambiguity for the customer. Due to manual operations, the customer was not able to accurately forecast the output of the solar panels. This also impacted the efficiency of the end-to-end operations of the Solar Power Plant.
  • The asset monitoring and configuration process needed to be streamlined by having a single snapshot of all the assets.

What was Required to Overcome the Limitations of Manual Monitoring and Achieve the Desired Outcome?

  • The customer wanted to simplify the entire activity of asset handling.
  • There was a need for remote monitoring of the solar panels, electric motors and other assets. This was necessary to ensure that the solar power generation was consistently optimum.
  • An IoT Gateway solution was required to achieve cloud connectivity.

 

Embitel’s Solution:

  • We developed a smart IoT Gateway device which is a cloud-based solution
  • We designed an IoT enabled system wherein the IoT sensors retrofitted to the existing solar panels relayed relevant information to the cloud.
  • Based on that information, the cloud would send actionable inputs to the SCADA solution which facilitated the regional managers to remotely control the Solar Panels.

Key Highlights of the SCADA Solution:

  • The designed SCADA solution ensures remote monitoring and control of the positions and advanced system health conditions of all the solar panels.
  • This SCADA solution has been developed to continuously monitor multiple field-implementations consisting of thousands of master trackers and their respective slave trackers. Hence, this was a single pane of glass solution for our customer’s business challenge.
  • The SCADA system also maintains past data for offline analysis and reporting. This ensures that the efficiency of the solar tracking system can be monitored. Decision making is hence, based on solid data backed by evidence and study.
  • Our Industrial Automation software developers also designed proprietary software to support Firmware over the Air (FOTA) update.
  • Our team designed an auxiliary software solution to support system configuration and a testing automation software for production support of the hardware boards at the manufacturing stage.
  • We partnered with the customer for field deployment and testing during post prototype development phase.
  • The communication between cloud and device assets were secured through SSL encryption.
  • On the SCADA system, security was ensured by enabling role-based access.

 

Embitel’s Impact:

  • Our Industrial IoT solution proved to be a value-add for seamless management of the customer’s on-field assets (solar panels and electric motors).
  • The solution remotely managed tens of thousands of solar panels on the field.
  • It has been deployed by the customer, as a one-stop solution for multiple solar plants in different cities or regions.

 

Tools & Technologies:

  • SCADA solution was developed using Django scripting tool.
  • For IoT platform communications – MQTT protocol was used for all data transfers from the trackers to SCADA. SCADA solution also used MQTT protocol for monitoring each tracker.
  • Master device communicates with the remote SCADA system with the help of LTE system.
  • Master device also has wired connectivity using Ethernet network, over any broadband connection for remote fields.

  • 0

Development of a Solar Panel Controller to Overcome the Shadowing Issue

 

About the Customer:

Our customer is a pioneer in the energy delivery systems and one of the largest clean energy companies globally.

They are one of the most trusted providers of energy from sources that include traditional and renewables (Clean Energy), Gas, and Steam.
 

Business Challenge:

Our customer had envisioned a digital transformation initiative for one of their existing Solar Power Plants.

As part of this digitization project, our customer aimed to integrate IoT Technology Stack in order to increase the efficiency of the energy harvesting capacity of their Solar Power Plant.

The objective of this initiative was to overcome the following challenges:

  • Customer was facing a major shadowing issue in which the shadows from adjacent solar panels were falling on each other and negatively impacting the solar energy harvest from each panel. Each solar panel was massive in size and hence, the shadow that was falling on adjacent panels was huge.
  • How to best leverage the IoT System (sensors, algorithms & feedback mechanisms) to control the movement of the solar panels in order to efficiently follow the trajectory of the Sun, throughout the day.

The customer had existing hardware solutions in order to address these challenges, but they were not cost-effective and efficient.

Instead, the customer wanted to adopt a software driven and more efficient solution. This made them initiate a search for a Product Engineering Services partner, with in-depth expertise in Embedded and IoT Software Stack.

 

Embitel’s Solution:

After in-depth understanding of our expertise and experience in development of IoT Powered Solar Tracking System; the customer decided to join hands with our IoT Software Development team.

The solution architecture that we proposed involved developing an add-on controller card, which can be easily integrated with the existing Solar Tracking System of our customer.

  • The solution architecture involved designing the add-on controller such that it served as an interface between the master controller and the IoT Gateway. The solution also included development of sensors to detect the shadow from the solar panels and make necessary corrections in the angle and position of the panel.
  • Our team also developed the embedded firmware drivers and application for the solution.

 

Embitel’s Impact:

The client was looking for a cost-effective solution (with optimized BOM), which can be easily integrated with their existing system. Leveraging our hardware and software expertise, we were successful in achieving the objectives of our customer.

The add-on controller and the modified Sun Positioning (SP) algorithm helped us to overcome the shadowing issue and improve the overall efficiency.

 

Tools & Technologies:

  • RS-485 Serial Communication Interface.
  • SP Algorithm.
  • Microcontroller: IC MCU 32Bit 2MB Flash.
  • Inclinometer: For angle and position.
  • Python for Application Development.
  • Eclipse for Microcontroller firmware development.

  • 0

Board Support Package Implementation and Configuration for Automotive Tier-1 Suppliers

 
About the Customer

We have partnered with reputed Automotive Tier-1 Suppliers and After-market companies, from the US, Europe and India, for multiple Board Support Package (BSP) development projects.

Following is the representative list of some of our successful global automotive engagements:

  • Europe based supplier of automotive components and accessories with strong focus on body electronics.
  • An India based global supplier of automotive components catering to Automotive OEMs and also the After-market segment.
  • An Electric Vehicle company who is looking to revolutionize the global electric vehicle space with its innovative projects.

 

Business Challenge:

The microcontroller platform, on which an embedded automotive product is designed, needs to interact with the operating system or the scheduler (depending on the use-case) and thus there is a need for low-level drivers and hardware abstraction layers.

Board support package contains these drivers and abstraction layer libraries. It helps the hardware to interact with the upper level modules (automotive applications).

Every hardware requires a different board support package for board-bring up. Additionally, customizations need to be made depending on the functions that the hardware is supposed to perform.

The challenge, in most of the BSP development projects, is to customize the BSP with the requisite low-level drivers and hardware abstraction libraries. Rigorous testing also needs to be done with each custom module that has been added to the BSP package.

Our Automotive customers partner with us for a Board Support Package development package, based on following requirements concerned with the microcontroller platform:

  • Number of ADC channel
  • Number of CAN channels
  • Number of PWM channels

In each of our BSP development projects, our team has been involved in customization of the BSP and robust integration of BSP solution with the microcontroller environment.

Our expert automotive software and hardware development teams have ensured seamless board bring-up during all our global engagements.

 

Embitel’s Solution:

We have developed an array of board support packages for various MCUs (Micro Controller Unit) including Fujitsu family, FreeScale family, IAR and a few other widely used MCUs in automotive industry.

Hence, we had a ready-to-deploy BSP that only needed a few customizations based on the project’s requirement.

Based on the SRS, we developed the drivers and libraries and integrated to the package. Other customization task was based on the target hardware platform and the number of CAN, ADC, and PWM channels.

 

Value-add Features of our Board Support Package Solution

  • Low-level drivers such as CAN, SPI, LIN, MCU, GPT and others integrated to the package.
  • HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer)
  • Supports 8/16/32 bit microcontroller platforms.
  • Customized on the basis of target hardware platform.
  • Rigorous integration-level and module-level testing performed.
  • MISRA-C compliant code
  • Conformance test (with multiple test-cases) for LIN and CAN bus system.
  • Our low-level drivers can be developed for both AUTOSAR and non-AUTOSAR architecture.
  • Support at any phase of vehicle testing after BSP deployment if any issue arises.

 

Embitel’s Impact

Our ready-to-integrate Board Support Package reference solution customized to the target hardware platform was instrumental in fast board bring-up.

This reduced customer’s product’s time-to-market from 6 months to 2 weeks. The thoroughly tested BSP solution was able to reduce the power footprint considerably and also increase the boot-time.

 

Expertise in Tools & Technologies

  • Softune IDE, an Integrated Development Environment to develop programs for FR family of Fujitsu Microcontrollers.
  • CodeWarrior, an IDE to write program primarily for FreeScale microcontroller family and a few others.
  • IAR, a workbench primarily used for RENESAS microcontroller.
  • Greenhills, an IDE from Greenhills Software to develop BSP for PowerPC