Please refer to the respective ILIAS course for the specific dates.

Objectives

The aim of the lecture is to impart basic knowledge about the test of embedded systems. The focus is on software systems, to a lesser extent on hardware aspects and also on mechatronic systems. Based on the theoretical fundamentals of testing, the concrete application of testing (e.g. ECU networks in automotive engineering) will be considered. Furthermore, state-of-the-art tools and technologies for testing are explained and their application is demonstrated. Current and already published research approaches in this discipline will be discussed. The contents of the lecture are very practical and can be successfully applied by students in other contexts, e.g. in standard software development.

Contents

Fundamentals and concepts of testing: Why is software testing so important in the development of embedded systems? Essential quality assurance measures are pointed out and illustrated together with characteristic studies. To set the context, a solid overview of analytical quality assurance is provided.

Test Phases and Test Process: The essential development and test phase models are described. How is a test process composed, what are the test activities and how are they characterized?

Dynamic Test: Different approaches of systematic test case generation for dynamic test procedures are shown. Definition, metrics and empirical values for test scope and test coverage are given.

Static Test: Analytical quality assurance procedures are described in detail and related to each other. The theory of static test procedures is explained. All major static test procedures such as Formal Reviews, Static Analyses, Symbolic Execution, Model Checking, Formal Verification as well as Simulation are characterized, related to each other as well as partially explained by examples.

Evolutionary Test Methods: After dealing with the theoretical basics of evolutionary algorithms, various evolutionary test procedures used in automotive engineering are explained and made tangible by means of examples. In detail, the evolutionary test of real-time behavior, the evolutionary software structure test, the evolutionary function test and the evolutionary safety test are explained.

Model-based testing: Current research and development approaches such as time partition testing or automatic model-based test case derivation are presented and partially explained with examples.

Test of Real-Time Systems: After an introduction to the characteristics of real-time systems, special features of their planning (also design for testability) are described and the structure and mode of operation of real-time test programs are explained. The current state of the art is described, and an outlook on possible future research topics is given. As a special real-time test system, concrete application areas of hardware-in-the-loop technology in research are highlighted, e.g. the test of assistance systems in automotive engineering.