Development Workflow Generation Methodology Applied to a Propulsion Supervisory Controller for Battery Electric Vehicles

Abstract

The increasing integration of software in modern vehicles has transformed the automotive industry, enabling advanced functionalities across the domains of safety, performance and user experience. However, the design and development of vehicle control systems is a complex process that requires familiarity with specialized tools and validation practices. These skills are typically not taught during university and thus, this thesis presents a comprehensive methodology for generating and implementing a control logic development workflow. The application of this methodology is demonstrated through its successful application to the design of a Propulsion Supervisory Controller (PSC) for deployment to a Cadillac LYRIQ, developed as part of the EcoCAR EV Challenge (EVC).

The proposed workflow provides a structured approach to tackle software tool and hardware selection, requirements generation, software design principles, testing strategies and codebase maintenance considerations. Application of this workflow results in the generation of the UWAFT controls development methodology which uses the MathWorks (MATLAB/Simulink) toolchain and Speedgoat hardware, where the team developed software that was a “pipes and filters”, layered and component-based control architecture. UWAFT employed Agile-hybrid principles for the comprehensive development of requirements which originate from supplier documentation, team goals as well as safety analyses. Finally, software was integrated using version control via Git and emphasized comprehensive verification which includes extensive “-in-the-loop” (XIL) testing.

Application of this methodology enabled UWAFT to achieve consistent and high-quality software development under resource constraints, leading to successful deployment and validation of vehicle control features such as torque management and directional control. Furthermore, the generated software also led to success at year-end competitions where the PCM team was able to successfully achieve a 3rd place finish. Beyond technical outcomes, the workflow improved collaboration, documentation and onboarding within the student team, bridging the gap between academic learning and industry-standard experience.

An assessment of limitations and areas for future improvement is presented, including enhanced CI/CD automation, cross-project integration and adaptation of the workflow for internal combustion architectures. Overall, this research contributes a modular and educationally valuable framework that can be adopted by student design teams and research groups to produce reliable automotive control software.