ACEWORKS, a future mobility technology company, shared its strategy for building HIL (Hardware-in-the-Loop) systems optimized for customer requirements on July 6.
The presentation compared the key characteristics of NI and Vector, two major platforms used for automotive software validation.
NI refers to National Instruments, a global provider of test, measurement and automation solutions, while Vector is a German company specializing in automotive software development and validation tools.
The presentation, held as part of ACEWORKS’ July company-wide meeting, was delivered by Minjae Lee, Software Team Leader of the FM Division.
Lee explained the fundamental concepts of HIL, the importance of HIL technology to ACEWORKS’ business, the respective characteristics of the NI and Vector platforms, and the company’s future technology advancement plans in a way that employees could easily understand.
HIL is a technology that connects an automotive electronic control unit (ECU) to a virtual vehicle environment to validate its performance and identify errors before an actual vehicle is built. It enables engineers to safely test hazardous scenarios and extreme conditions that are difficult to reproduce on real roads. By identifying potential issues from the early stages of development, HIL can also help reduce development time and costs.
During the presentation, ACEWORKS highlighted its engineers’ extensive expertise in the NI platform, developed through years of practical experience, as well as the platform’s broad compatibility with a wide range of equipment. NI is particularly well suited to integrating various measurement and control devices into a single system, offering strengths in precise performance measurement and the construction of complex test environments.
The Vector platform, meanwhile, specializes in vehicle communication, diagnostics and cybersecurity technologies. Its ability to respond quickly to emerging automotive technologies and evolving communication standards was emphasized as a key advantage.
Rather than proposing systems limited to a single platform, ACEWORKS carefully analyzes each customer’s development environment and testing objectives before selecting the most appropriate solution. Vector is primarily applied to projects in which vehicle communication, diagnostics and cybersecurity functions are critical, while NI is used for projects requiring precise measurement and complex integration across multiple devices.
Depending on the characteristics of a project, ACEWORKS can also build hybrid HIL systems that combine the respective strengths of NI and Vector. Through this approach, the company aims to go beyond supplying standalone test equipment by providing comprehensive validation systems and test architectures optimized for each customer’s development objectives and environment.