realistic ECU performance validation
Avoid costly surprises late in AUTOSAR classic development.
Up to 85% of software projects suffer from late discoveries caused by performance, latency, and timing-induced functional issues.
chronSUITE gives you early transparency and control — simulating real ECU behavior from ARXML to execution in minutes.
AUTOSAR classic
ECU Performance Validation
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Why ECU Performance Issues Appear Too Late
Modern ECUs are increasingly complex, and timing interactions are tougher to predict than ever.
Teams often rely on manual ARXML interpretation, incomplete models, or late-stage testing to understand performance behavior.
As a result, CPU load spikes, scheduling conflicts, activation timing issues, and WCRT violations are frequently discovered only during HIL or integration—when fixes are slow, costly, and risky.
Engineering teams need a way to detect these issues early, long before hardware exists.
Event Chains for OEMs
Focusing purely on functionality in requirements documents leaves a lot open to interpretation, especially regarding timing. For example, how much time is there for object detection, decision-making, and brake application in an emergency braking system?
By starting with an end-to-end timing requirement for this chain of events, it becomes clear to all involved what the total available time is for the task. As the project develops, this can be refined, with timing defined for each step in the application’s process.
Event Chains for Tier 1s
Without clarity around the time available to execute functions and tasks, it’s challenging to determine who in a project is responsible for any functional issues that arise.
Demanding timing requirements alongside functional requirements from OEMs makes it easier to determine the cause of software-related issues when communicating with other suppliers working on a project.
USE CASE: ECU Performance Monitoring
How much more functionality can your automotive ECU support? What impact would moving code from one core to another have? And has your latest code release introduced potential corner-case failures?
INCHRON’s ECU Performance Monitoring service regularly analyzes your ECU’s trace data to ensure that potential performance issues are flagged and can be resolved when they arise.
For more information, take a look here.
Including Timing in Requirements Documents
Requirements documents for ECUs focus primarily on functionality but offer little information regarding temporal requirements.
This is proving increasingly problematic as more functions are integrated into a single ECU as the industry moves to zonal architectures.
INCHRON’s Requirements Engineering service heightens awareness for timing and event chains by using common language across shared documentation and processes.
The Solution — chronSUITE
chronSUITE transforms your AUTOSAR ARXML into a realistic, high-fidelity ECU performance model. By adding real execution traces, the system simulates actual timing, scheduling, and CPU load behavior—even before implementation is complete.
The result: fast, trustworthy insight into ECU performance, enabling proactive design decisions and earlier validation.
Core Pillars:
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ARXML Import: Create a simulation-ready system model in minutes.
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AUTOSAR-Accurate Simulation: OS, RTE, runnable relations, and events behave as in the real ECU.
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Trace Data Integration: Replace assumptions with real-world timing and activation patterns.
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Visual Scheduling Analysis: Powerful views for tasks, runnables, interrupts, and load.
- Automated workflows: easy CI/CD integration
Technical Key Benefits
Validate ECU performance early: no hardware required.
Predict CPU load, timing interactions, and scheduling behavior with high accuracy.
Reduce late-stage debugging by identifying conflicts before integration.
Accelerate design iteration with fast “what-if” experiments.
Proven Value for Project Success
Avoid up to 30% of integration issues caused by hidden timing problems.
Cut software development costs by up to 10%.
Improve project stability, system maturity, and time-to-market.
Increase confidence in architectural decisions and supplier integration.
Who It’s For
Software Architects
Ensure your ECU design is feasible early by validating timing and load during architecture definition.
Performance & Timing Engineers
Discover deadlines, event bursts, overload conditions, and scheduling bottlenecks long before HIL.
How It Works — 5 Steps
Import AUTOSAR ARXML
chronSIM reads tasks, events, runnables, and OS configurations automatically.
Generate the Performance Model
A fully mapped ECU representation is created within minutes.
Add Real Timing Traces
Replace assumptions with actual runnable and task execution times.
Run High-Fidelity Simulations with chronSIM
Explore scheduling, timing, activation patterns, and CPU load under realistic conditions.
Validate & Report
In chronVIEW visuals and reports highlight bottlenecks, violations, and optimization opportunities.
“Later project phases were less stressful because frustrating, timing-related sporadic failures did not occur.”
Christian Winkler, MAN Truck & Bus AG, Senior Manager
Use Cases — Real Engineering Scenarios
- Detect task and runnable scheduling conflicts early.
- Predict CPU load under realistic activation patterns.
- Validate event chains and event-driven behavior.
- Run design variants instantly to compare concepts.
- Verify the feasibility of ECU architectures before hardware exists and/or software is complete.
Technical Capabilities
ARXML Mapping & Interpretation
• Tasks, events, runnables, RTE connections
• AUTOSAR OS scheduling, priorities, activation mechanisms
• Extended and basic tasks, ISR levels
Trace Support
• Import execution times from measurement tools
• Assign per-runnable timing data
• Replay activation and event patterns realistic to your target ECU
chronSIM Simulation Features
• Deterministic, AUTOSAR-accurate behavior
• Interrupt handling and priority-based preemption
• Timing constraints and violation detection
• CPU load, scheduling timelines, and performance metrics
chronVIEW Visualization & Reporting
• chronVIEW scheduling diagrams
• Comparative analysis of design alternatives
• Exportable results for performance documentation
chronSUITE Tool Versions
• Windows and Linux GUI
• Batch/CLI headless and docker
• CI/CD workflow integration
Get in Touch
If you’re looking for an AUTOSAR timing validation for your automotive software or ECU development project, use the form below to get in touch.