Model-based configuration of automotive co-simulation scenarios

Co-simulation represents a state-of-the-art method for virtual integration and simulation of automotive systems. Due to the needed number of simulation component models to describe such systems and their environment, the setup of all involved co-simulation tools within a framework becomes time consuming and error-prone. Based on related work, this paper takes the idea of a model based co-simulation configuration further, where all necessary information for execution of co-simulations is retrieved from a system model. For that purpose a meta-model, a subsequently derived UML-profile and a tool extension are developed. With this approach a tighter integration of simulation based verification activities to model-based systems engineering techniques is achieved. This allows engineers to generate co-simulation configurations out of system models. The resulting co-simulation configurations are fed directly to the used co-simulation framework, eliminating the need for time-consuming configuration of such a framework. Furthermore, potential reuse of entire co-simulation configurations, or parts thereof, is ensured. To support these claims, two use cases from the automotive domain are adducted to evaluate the described approach.