Virtual prototyping of Cyber-Physical Systems

The modeling and analysis of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) is one of the key challenges in complex system design as heterogeneous components are combined and their close interaction with the physical environment has to be considered. This article presents a methodology and an open toolset for the virtual prototyping of CPS. The focus of the methodology is the virtual prototyping of the embedded software combined with the prototyping of the physical environment in order to capture the complete closed control loop of the software over the hardware via sensors/actors with the physical objects. The methodology is based on the application of integrated open source tools and standard languages, i.e., C/C++, SystemC, and the Open Dynamics Engine, which are combined to a powerful simulation framework. Key activities of the methodology are outlined by the example of an electric two-wheel vehicle.