{"id":7942,"date":"2025-11-29T08:10:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T07:10:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web-dev-weissblau.de\/microconsult\/?p=7942"},"modified":"2026-02-13T07:28:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T06:28:11","slug":"hardware-in-the-loop-and-software-in-the-loop-tests-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.microconsult.de\/en\/hardware-in-the-loop-and-software-in-the-loop-tests-for-everybody\/","title":{"rendered":"Hardware-in-the-Loop and Software-in-the-Loop Tests for Everyone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Test First for Embedded Systems<\/h2>\n

Author: Thomas Sch\u00fctz, PROTOS Software GmbH, Toolchains for Embedded Software<\/p>\n

Contribution \u2013 Embedded Software Engineering Congress 2017<\/h3>\n

Most embedded systems are tested too late or inadequately. The fact is: the later errors are discovered, the more expensive the correction \u2013 costs increase exponentially as the project progresses. In the extreme case of a recall of already delivered products, this can lead to costs in the millions. Therefore, the goal must be to test much earlier \u2013 ideally during implementation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

(See image 1,\u00a0PDF<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Why is it difficult to test embedded systems?<\/h2>\n

There are many reasons why embedded systems are so difficult to test: Unlike "normal" desktop software, embedded systems have interfaces to physical systems and not just to other software systems. The software that controls these systems is highly concurrent and stateful. Such systems are often difficult to test using standard test methods such as sequential unit tests.<\/p>\n

Simulation-based software-in-the-loop (SIL) or hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests are generally well-suited for such tests. However, the common hardware platforms and software tools are often too expensive to be used at every workstation during development. Furthermore, developing the tests requires different methodological and tool expertise than developing the application itself. Therefore, in most cases, these methods are only applied much later in the testing department.<\/p>\n

This makes it difficult for the developer to conduct structured testing, so the resulting embedded systems are often not tested during development, but rather "tried out".<\/p>\n

How can testing be done alongside development?<\/h2>\n

In order to still be able to conduct testing alongside development, the following prerequisites should be met:<\/p>\n