Regulatory News:
ESI Group (Paris:ESI):
The research project EMPHYSIS led by
Bosch has delivered the new “eFMI standard” for model exchange to
accelerate the model-based development of embedded software. On the
15th of September, this international collaborative project
gathering 25 industrial and academic partners from different fields
(like automotive and information technologies) situated in Belgium,
Canada, France, Germany, and Sweden received the ITEA Award of
Excellence for this unique achievement.
Better code with less effort
through “eFMI” - the new model-exchange standard for embedded
devices
When developing a new function, many engineers learn the hard
way that their outstanding knowledge about the physics of their
products is not enough by far to develop a function for an embedded
target, due to the demanding requirements of safety-critical
software, weak CPU magnitude and less memory than expected. While
this might result in a never-to-be-realised excellent initial idea
of operating and controlling their product in a much smarter way,
at the same time it reveals the need for a link between digital
simulation of physical processes and embedded software.
The aim of the EMPHYSIS project (Embedded Systems with Physical Models in the Production Code
Software), led by Bosch, was to
jointly come up with a new open standard that lays the foundation
to develop new innovative tools. This that allows model-based
functions to be realized directly in embedded software with better
code and less effort. For this purpose, the project carried forward
the idea of the very successful Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI)
model exchange standard for simulation to develop FMI for embedded
systems - the new “eFMI standard”. This enables a wide variety of
advanced model-based approaches for control and diagnosis, such as
solving a set of differential equations to compute a signal instead
of measuring it via a sensor. By allowing a hardware sensor to be
replaced with a piece of software, we significantly reduce the
total cost.
« The EMPHYSIS project has achieved several outstanding results
such as the automatic generation of efficient code for embedded
devices. It shows the power of collaborative research projects to
drive the adoption of a new standard and to generate significant
productivity gains for the industry. »
– Jean-François Lavignon, ITEA Vice-chairman
The technical deep dive and benefits
Technically speaking, eFMI is innovative in that it provides a
target-independent intermediate format defined by an entirely new
language, the Guarded Algorithmic Language
for Embedded Control: GALEC. This new programming language is
able to guarantee that an algorithm described in this language can
be translated into code that has:
- static worst-case execution time;
- static a-priori known memory demand; and
- a statically proven absence of illegal memory access.
In other words: code that satisfies the hard requirements of
automotive safety-critical embedded software, which also makes it
applicable to many more, less restricted domains like robotics,
industrial applications and consumer goods.
With eFMI and GALEC it is now possible to capture the
computational essence of a model in a target-independent form that
is a solid foundation for any code generator to produce highly
optimised code for arbitrary runtime environments and software
architectures. All this is cast into a traceable, extendable and
verifiable container architecture that goes far beyond a simple
exchange format.
The eFMI workflow allows developers to model a system on a
higher level of abstraction, starting with a reusable, high-level,
component-oriented and physically structured model. The tooling kit
then automatically transforms this into a solution which can be
better integrated into software.
The main benefits of this solution and the associated eFMI
workflow are:
- accelerating development time;
- better use of domain experts by separating the concerns of
physical modelling and embedded implementation;
- overcoming vendor lock-in through eFMI being published as an
open standard on GitHub; and
- enabling new ways of OEM supplier collaborations.
Continuous success
An OEM Advisory Board has been established to gather additional
requirements, input and use-cases and further disseminate the
project’s results, helping to secure uptake and future innovations
in new domains.
On 22 March 2021, right after the project’s end, the non-profit
Modelica Association officially approved a new project under its
umbrella to further develop, standardize and promote eFMI. With
Robert Bosch GmbH, Dassault Systèmes, DLR Institute of System
Dynamics and Control, dSPACE, ESI Group, ETAS GmbH and Modelon AB
as initial members of the steering committee and Mercedes-Benz AG
having joined recently, the first official release of eFMI 1.0 is
targeted within 2021. Having developed 14 tools within EMPHYSIS,
eFMI already has a broad foundation even before its official
release.
« What makes us proud as a team is the fact that this success
has been recognized not only by our business partners and the OEM
Advisory Board representing the voice of the customer, but also by
the ITEA organization.»
– Oliver Lenord, Research Engineer at the Model-based Systems
Engineering department at Robert Bosch
For society as a whole, EMPHYSIS’ better software translates
into safer and more efficient vehicles which are able to keep pace
with customer demands and help tackle climate issues in the longer
term. For the time being, however, the project’s message is clear:
by taking full advantage of an equation-based, component-oriented
modelling language with a good library, 90% gains can be made in
productivity of model-based function development.
EMPHYSIS project partners
Belgium
- Dana Belgium
- Siemens Industry Software NV
- University of Antwerp NEXOR
Canada
France
- CEA
- Dassault Systemes SE
- FH Electronics
- Institut Polytechnique de Grenoble
- OSE Engineering
- Renault SAS
- Siemens Industry Software SAS
- SOBEN
Germany
- AbsInt Angewandte Informatik GmbH
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR) System Dynamics
and Control
- dSPACE GmbH
- Elektronische Fahrwerksysteme GmbH
- ESI ITI GmbH, part of ESI Group
- ETAS GmbH
- PIKETEC
- Robert Bosch GmbH
Sweden
- Dassault Systèmes AB
- Link�ping University
- Modelon AB
- RISE - Research institutes of Sweden SICS East
- Volvo Personvagnar AB
About ITEA
ITEA is the Eureka Cluster for software innovation, enabling a
large international community to collaborate in funded projects
that turn innovative ideas into new businesses, jobs, economic
growth and benefits for society. https://itea4.org
About ESI Group
Founded in 1973, ESI Group envisions a world where Industry
commits to bold outcomes, addressing high stakes concerns -
environmental impact, safety & comfort for consumers and
workers, adaptable and sustainable business models. ESI provides
reliable and customized solutions anchored on predictive physics
modeling and virtual prototyping expertise to allow industries to
make the right decisions at the right time, while managing their
complexity. Acting principally in automotive & land
transportation, aerospace, defense & naval, energy and heavy
industry, ESI is present in more than 20 countries, employs 1200
people around the world and reported 2020 sales of €132.6 million.
ESI is headquartered in France and is listed on compartment B of
Euronext Paris.
For further information: https://www.esi-group.com/fr.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210922005587/en/
For interview requests, questions, and additional information
about ITEA and EMPHYSIS, please contact:
EMPHYSIS Oliver Lenord, Robert Bosch GmbH – Project
leader Oliver.Lenord@de.bosch.com
ITEA Linda van den Borne-Toupet
linda.van.den.borne@itea4.org
ESI Group Florence
Barré investors@esi-group.com +33 1 49 78 28 28
Verbatee - Press & Investors Relations Jérôme Goaer,
j.goaer@verbatee.com, +33 6 61 61
79 34 Aline
Besselièvre, a.besselievre@verbatee.com, +33 6 61 85 10 05
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