Verification and validation of complex vetronic systems with FlexRay

Modern military vehicles have been retro fitted to contain a considerable number of embedded electronic subsystems of varying size and complexity over their operational lifespan, and many of these subsystems are interconnected by a variety of embedded networks. Upcoming next–generation vehicles will be designed with such networks and embedded subsystems built in from the day they are manufactured. When multiple subsystems and networks are present, it is often possible to benefit from integrating those networks and sharing information between systems. Historically, however, integrating dissimilar embedded networks is a complex problem: it is not possible to certify a network composed of multiple different networking systems, and interactions between deterministic, safety–critical and non–real–time networks risk compromising the essential properties of one or more of them. Some form of integration testbed would likely simplify the process, along with an associated methodology. This thesis details the development of such an integration testbed: its abstract design, mapping to implementing technologies and functional testing. The testbed is designed to be used in sup-port of the V–Model (and similar testing–driven development methodologies) as a platform for development and verification testing of new and upgraded components and systems. As such, the testbed can be configured to simulate the target platform network and new components integrated and tested on it, then installed on the target platform with a minimum of additional effort.