Measurement and Calibration Software for
Automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs)
NI ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit
• Universal Measurement and Calibration
Protocol (XCP) master functionality on
CAN and Ethernet (TCP and UDP)
• CAN Calibration Protocol (CCP)
Version 2.1
• Access to ECU physical values (DAQ
and STIM lists) for measurement and
stimulation applications
• Access to internal ECU characteristics
(1D to 3D) for calibration applications
• Ability to import ASAM-defined
(.A2L) database files
• Detailed examples as starting
points for measurement and
calibration applications
Operating Systems
• Windows Vista/XP/2000
• LabVIEW Real-Time
• LabWindows /CVI Real-Time
™
Recommended Software
• LabVIEW
• LabWindows/CVI
Other Compatible Software
• Microsoft C/C++
Applicable NI CAN Interfaces
•
•
•
•
USB-CAN
PCI-CAN Series 2
PXI-CAN Series 2
PCMCIA-CAN Series 2
Overview
The NI ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit extends the NI LabVIEW,
NI LabWindows/CVI, and Microsoft C/C++ programming environments to
help you develop applications for the design, test, and validation of
automotive electronic control units (ECUs). The ECU Measurement and
Calibration Toolkit offers a low-cost alternative to the expensive turnkey
measurement and calibration tools on the market. It provides high-level,
easy-to-use functions based on the Universal Measurement and
Calibration Protocol (XCP) and CAN Calibration Protocol (CCP), so you
can read and write to internal ECU variables and characteristics as
defined in ASAM (.A2L) database files. By using (.A2L) database files,
the toolkit automatically applies all scaling information and returns
data in engineering units for easy analysis, presentation, and logging.
In addition, the ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit offers high-
quality examples for typical use case applications such as how to
measure ECU variables or how to manipulate ECU characteristics using
1D to 3D user interfaces.
To build on the functionality of CCP, ASAM defined the new protocol
specification Universal Measurement and Calibration Protocol (XCP),
an improved and generalized version of CCP. The X represents the
various transportation layers used by the members of the XCP protocol
family – for instance, XCP on CAN, XCP on TCP/IP, XCP on UDP/IP, and
XCP on USB.
ASAM (.A2L) Database
The ASAP description file (ASAP2 or ASAM MCD 2MC) is used to
describe the ECU internal memory configuration. An ASAM MCD 2MC
description file with the file extension .A2L contains information and
access locations for the relevant data objects in the ECU, such as
ECU data structure, conversion procedures for representation in
physical units, descriptions of the available measurement channels
and characteristics inside the ECU, and descriptions of how to access
the ECU over CAN.
Note:
ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit use requires an existing
ASAM MCD 2MC database file. You can generate these files through
various third-party utilities. A database editor for ASAM MCD 2MC
databases is not included in the toolkit.
ECU Measurement and Calibration
Most ECUs interact with other ECUs, external sensors, and actuators
on a Controller Area Network (CAN). During the development and
verification phase of an ECU, engineers access the ECU for acquired
data (measurement) or to adjust parameters inside the ECU itself
(calibration). Because the bandwidth and number of identifiers for a CAN
network are limited, the Association for Standardization of Automation
and Measuring Systems (ASAM) has specified the CAN Calibration
Protocol (CCP) – a protocol layer based on CAN – to access the
measurement and calibration data in an ECU.
Programming
The ECU Measurement and Calibration Toolkit API is divided into
three main function categories – the high-level channel-based functions
that implement the CCP and XCP protocols, the generic low-level CCP
functions, and the generic low-level XCP functions. The channel functions
implement the CCP and XCP protocols so that they are transparent to the
user, providing an easy way to access ECU internal data through named
NI [ NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION ]
