A Model-Based Design and Verification Framework for Virtual ECUs in Automotive Seat Control Systems

As automotive software continues to grow in scale and timing sensitivity, hardware-independent verification in the early design phase has become increasingly important—especially for safety-critical, body-domain controllers. This study proposes a framework that integrates MBD (Model-Based Design), AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture) Classic Platform configuration, and vECU (Virtual Electronic Control Unit) execution into a single, repeatable development workflow. Control logic validated in Simulink is translated into AUTOSAR-compliant software, built into a QEMU (Quick EMUlator)-based vECU, and exercised in DRIM-SimHub using both virtual stimuli and a real sensor–actuator signal delivered through a dedicated I/O interface board. Using a seat–slide virtual limit controller as a representative case, the proposed workflow enables consistent reuse of the test scenarios across model-in-the-loop (MiL), software-in-the-loop (SiL), and virtual ECU stages, while preserving production-level timing behavior and the semantics of the AUTOSAR runtime. The experimental results show that the vECU accurately reproduces the PWM outputs, Hall sensor pulse timing, and limit–stop decisions of physical ECU, and that integration issues previously discovered only in HiL tests can be exposed much earlier. Overall, the workflow shortens verification cycles, improves the observability of timing-dependent behavior, and provides a practical basis for early validation in software-defined vehicle development.