ALTEN China has teamed up with a global leader in automotive components, delivering comprehensive engineering and testing services across a broad range of mechanical products and electrical control systems. ALTEN’s support covers everything from product design and development, including steering columns and switches, to in-depth ECU testing, system validation, and post-development model integration. This collaboration ensures that the client’s products meet the highest standards of quality, performance, and safety for both local and global OEM customers.

Challenges

The automotive industry faces several key challenges in the development and testing of mechanical and electrical systems:

• Complex Product Design: Developing mechanical products, such as steering column modules and switches, requires detailed structural design and integration with multiple vehicle systems.
• Electrical Control Testing: Ensuring the functionality and reliability of ECUs, particularly in complex systems like drive controls (SCM, SBW) and comfort controls (switches, displays), requires comprehensive testing and validation.
• System Integration: Integrating mechanical products and ECUs with vehicle systems while maintaining seamless functionality across various platforms and configurations.
• Cybersecurity & OTA: Addressing the increasing need for cybersecurity and over-the-air (OTA) flashing capabilities to ensure product safety and compliance with industry standards.
• Post-Development Support: Ensuring thorough testing of the developed models and continuous validation to maintain product integrity during production and deployment.

The client required an engineering partner capable of delivering end-to-end support in product development, system testing, and post-development validation to meet stringent automotive industry standards.

Solutions

ALTEN China assembled a specialized team to deliver integrated engineering solutions across multiple areas of product development and testing:

Mechanical Engineering & Product Development

• Product Structure Design: Responsible for designing and developing the structure of critical automotive components, including steering column modules, seat adjustment systems, lumbar and headlight adjustment, and gear switches.
• Design Integration: Collaborated with other teams to ensure that mechanical products were seamlessly integrated with the vehicle’s electrical and control systems, meeting both local and global OEM requirements.

ECU Testing & Validation

• System Requirements Analysis: Conducted comprehensive requirements analysis to define test criteria for ECU systems, ensuring alignment with customer and industry specifications.
• Test Design & Execution: Developed and executed detailed test plans for key products, including comfort controls (mechanical combination switches and display combination switches) and drive controls (Shifter Control Modules, Shift by Wire).
• Testing Tasks:

1. HILP (Hardware in the Loop Testing): Conducted HIL testing to validate the interaction between hardware and software components.

2. DiagTest & CAN/CANFD Testing: Performed diagnostic testing and CAN/CANFD network validation to ensure robust communication between vehicle systems.

3. LIN Consistency Testing: Ensured that LIN bus communication was consistent and reliable across all systems.

4. OTA Flashing & Cybersecurity: Tested OTA flashing procedures and conducted cybersecurity validation to safeguard against vulnerabilities in connected vehicle systems.

Model Development & Integration Testing

• Body Domain & Wireless Charging System: Led the model development of seat systems and wireless charging systems, ensuring that all components were optimized for functionality and performance.
• Software Function Model Development: Developed software models for various vehicle functions, ensuring that software behavior aligned with product requirements.
• Post-Development Model Testing: Performed post-development testing and integration testing to validate the final product’s performance, ensuring that all systems worked cohesively in the vehicle.

Outcomes

Through close collaboration, ALTEN China delivered significant value to the client in several key areas:

• Enhanced Product Quality: ALTEN’s rigorous mechanical design and ECU testing processes ensured that the client’s products met the highest quality standards and were ready for mass production.
• Faster Time-to-Market: ALTEN’s expertise in test design, system integration, and model development helped accelerate the development timeline for critical vehicle systems, enabling faster product launches.
• Improved System Reliability: Comprehensive HIL, CAN, and LIN testing ensured that electrical systems performed reliably under real-world conditions, meeting both performance and safety requirements.
• Robust Cybersecurity: ALTEN’s focus on cybersecurity and OTA flashing ensured that the client’s products were protected from potential security risks, meeting the growing demands of connected vehicle systems.
• Seamless Integration: ALTEN’s post-development testing and integration efforts helped ensure that all mechanical products and ECUs integrated flawlessly within the vehicle, delivering a high-performance, reliable end product.