If it is said that in the era of internal combustion engines, the core of the first is the fine tuning of core components such as the power system and chassis over the years;Then, in the new energy era, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL)** testing has become a key enabler for the rapid iteration and development of automotive technology.
In this new era of batteries, motors, and advanced electronic control systems at its core, the importance of HIL technology is highlighted by its ability to comprehensively test complex electronic systems in a safe, risk-free simulation environment. This technology not only supports the rapid development of new energy vehicles in electronic control systems such as battery management, drive control, and Internet of Vehicles functions, but also greatly improves the performance and safety standards of the whole vehicle.
It is understood that recently, LABCAR, the flagship product of Weihe Information, has been successfully delivered to Inpai Battery Technology. This delivery is the first appearance of Weihe Information's acquisition of Bosch ETAS Labcar IP for in-depth digestion and technology integration, marking a new stage in the mass production and development of domestic HIL technology.
In recent years, with the rapid development and technological iteration of high-end manufacturing, especially the new energy vehicle industry chain, the quality of electronic control system has become the top priority of core technology.
This trend not only highlights the importance of high-quality electronic control systems, but also means that the demand for hardware-in-the-loop (HIL)** test technology continues to grow. According to third-party data analysis, the HIL** test market is expanding rapidly at a compound annual growth rate of about 20%. Especially in the Chinese market, the market size is expected to reach 10 billion yuan by 2023, while the global market size is expected to reach 40 billion yuan.
However, compared with Europe, the United States and Japan, China's HIL industry has a short development time and a weak foundation, and is currently in the initial stage of market development. In particular, there is a huge gap with foreign manufacturers in the development of application-oriented basic software and hardware products, and the development of professional first-class products for industry applicationsIn addition, due to the late entry of domestic companies into the industry, small scale of operation, and weak strength, many domestic companies are mainly based on first-class and system integration, and the content of independent intellectual property rights is not high.
In the face of preemptive foreign original manufacturers, Weihe Information successfully acquired Labcar, one of the four major global HIL brands, in December 2022 after two years, becoming the only company in China with world-class HIL brands and technologies. It is understood that LabCar is a brand operated by Bosch ETAS for nearly 30 years, and is in the TOP2 position in the HIL segment of the automotive industry. Labcar has trademarks in 12 countries around the world, more than 20 international patents, and thousands of applications.
Now, one year after the completion of the acquisition, how is Weihe Information's digestion and absorption of Labcar and localization innovation?
It may be seen from its cooperation with Inpai Battery. Inpai Battery Technology Co., Ltd. is a technology-based enterprise funded by Guangzhou Automobile Group and mainly engaged in battery production, and has recently completed the construction of the intelligent ecological factory of Inpai Battery, and the P58 microcrystalline super energy battery has been rolled off the assembly line, with a maximum single-line production capacity of up to 6GWh.
Inpai Battery Smart Ecological Factory was completed.
For battery manufacturers, the battery system management (BMS) is the "brain" of the power battery, which is not only responsible for the collection of multiple key parameters of the battery (such as battery voltage, module temperature, system high voltage and current, etc.), but also a management and actuator, responsible for energy calculation and output, life estimation, thermal balance, charging control, high-voltage safety, etc.
With the increasing demand for BMS in the industry, the requirements for BMS testing are also getting higher and higher. It is not only necessary to verify whether its functions are implemented correctly, but also to fully test the BMS in multi-dimensional scenarios, while the traditional physical BMS test system cannot meet the BMS test requirements due to its high cost, difficult operation, time-consuming, and even safety risks under some extreme working conditions.
Against this backdrop, HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop** testing) technology has become a key tool to ensure BMS performance.
With HIL testing, the BMS can be thoroughly tested in a safe** environment, including the optimization of the battery balancing strategy, the effectiveness of the module redundant swap function, and the system's responsiveness to extreme situations. HIL technology is able to simulate various operating conditions and possible abnormal conditions, thus ensuring the stability and safety of the BMS in practical use.
This is of great significance for improving the reliability and efficiency of energy storage systems, extending battery life, and preventing safety risks, especially in the current situation of continuous advancement in battery technology and increasing market demand.
For Weihe Information, Inpai's demand is a typical energy storage BMS HIL test solution, and there are many mature project practices. However, Weihe also faced a new challenge: this was the first delivery after the acquisition of Labcar, and it needed to be combined with the specific needs of China's battery factories, said Yu Hua, head of information technology at Weihe.
Other technical challenges in the project include the implementation of multiple clusters and multiple slave voltage and temperature signals through ISO SPI daisy chaining**, the design of multi-level precharge time switching schemes, ultra-high-precision current sensors**, and complex communication methods** for virtual controllers such as PCS, EMS, HVAC, etc., such as IEC61850, Modbus RTU, etc. Yu Hua said.
In order to meet these challenges, Weihe Information has adopted a series of solutions. First of all, the company digests and absorbs the LABCAR software and hardware system in the shortest time and realizes the original first-chain production of LABCAR, and realizes the switching of voltage and temperature signals between multi-cluster and multi-slave boards through flexible model configurationIn addition, the company adopted hardware circuit design combined with model development, which reached 0Hall current at 05mV resolution**.
When it comes to virtual controllers, the company uses Simulink models, Cs, and configuration file generation in a variety of ways to simulate complex virtual controllers. Finally, LABCAR uses the advanced battery body model to accurately represent the concentration polarization parameters and electrochemical polarization effects, and includes all SOX core algorithms.
The first VEHINFO LABCAR production, testing and integration.
Since its birth in the 90s of the last century, LABCAR hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system, as a key technical solution in the automotive industry, has been widely adopted by many of the world's top automotive OEMs and parts manufacturers. According to Yu Hua, now, with the rapid development of new energy vehicles and intelligent networked vehiclesLabcar has already demonstrated its unique advantages and competitiveness in a number of key areas such as hydrogen energy, pure electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, skateboard chassis and autonomous driving, which is one of the important reasons for the acquisition of LABCAR.
For example, in the field of hydrogen fuel cells, the LabCar system offers a proven controller test application that includes the simulation of hydrogen injection valves, air compressors, and comprehensive and accurate hydrogen fuel cell system models. These models have been verified by actual projects, showing high precision, real-time and operational stability, and have been recognized by many large hydrogen fuel cell OEMs in China.
The application scheme of the three electric power domains (VCU, HCU, BMS, MCU) is also mature. LabCar's system covers the signal-level and battery-level simulation tests of BMS controllers, the signal-level tests of MCUs, and the test applications of vehicle and power domain controllers, which have been widely used in many domestic OEMs and parts manufacturers.
In the chassis domain, LabCar provides testing solutions for chassis controllers such as ESP, ABS, and EPS, including complete vehicle dynamics models and chassis system load simulation equipment. These solutions are widely used in the world's largest chassis controller manufacturers, providing support for the development of skateboard chassis in the future.
In the field of traditional power, Labcar has a mature EMS gasoline and diesel system controller test application scheme, which supports the application of China 6 projects, and has been widely used by major OEMs and engine manufacturers around the world. In emerging areas such as hybrid engines and hydrogen engines, LabCar continues to maintain its dominant position.
In addition, LabCar also performs well in the field of vehicle network security, providing a variety of test applications such as network security function testing, fuzz testing, penetration testing, etc., which have been applied in the network security test laboratories of many domestic OEMs.
Finally, in terms of ADAS autonomous driving controllers, the first-class solution provided by LabCar supports the playback of real vehicle sensor data and the simulation of vehicle driving environment, which provides a solid environmental support for the verification of autonomous driving algorithms.
The successful delivery of the Inpai battery plant shows that Weihe Information not only deeply understands the core advantages of LabCar technology, but also effectively combines it with the specific needs of the Chinese market to realize the localization of international brands and technologies. "We have absorbed and adapted the labcar technology, and will continue to carry out R&D and technology iteration in combination with the local needs of Chinese enterprises in the futureOn the other hand, we will adhere to the strategy of going overseas, starting from Stuttgart, Germany, and let Chinese HIL go to the global market. Yu Hua said.
The automotive industry has entered the era of the new four modernizations (electrification, intelligence, networking, and sharing), and is facing unprecedented rapid iteration and technological innovation.
In this context, HIL technology can provide a safe and controllable test environment, allowing engineers to fully test and validate these complex systems under simulated real-world conditions, greatly improving the efficiency and safety of testing, and reducing development costs. With the successful delivery of the first set of VEHINFO LabCar, it is not only the first performance of Weihe Information to demonstrate its deep technology integration after the acquisition of Bosch ETAS LabCar, but also a new starting point for the mass production and development of domestic HIL technology, leaving a strong mark in the entire HIL development history.
After the successful delivery of the Vehinfo LabCar system from Inpai Battery Technology, Weihe once again proved its leading position in the HIL field in the new energy era. A pre-A round investor of Weihe Information said, "Next year will be the company's starting stage. ”
Today, the 2023 product series of LIBO Information has been fully rolled out, and the LABCAR 5300 product series covers the power domain, body domain, chassis domain and intelligent driving domain of the vehicle. In 2024, NIHOPE will continue to expand the LABCAR 5300 product line, integrate the cockpit domain into the automotive field it has covered, realize the complete matrix of automotive HIL products, and will launch a distributed platform based on the new architecture. Not only in the automotive field, LABCAR's HIL test system will also be used in high-end manufacturing industries such as aerospace, power electronics, rail transit, ships, and robotics.
It is understood that Weihe Information has signed project cooperation with many automobile manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier 1 manufacturers for customized HIL solutions, and established an international R&D center in Stuttgart, GermanyIn addition, in order to allow more customers to use the world-class HIL products produced by Chinese enterprises as soon as possible, the company has also opened a round of financing.
We believe that through continuous technological innovation and industry cooperation, Weihe Information can further empower the future testing field and help the prosperity and development of automobiles and other high-end manufacturing industries. The investor said, "The international arena needs the strength and potential of Chinese technology." ”