Low-Latency Dual-MCU Hardware-in-the-Loop Platform Using Analog-Domain Communication for Electric Drive Applications
Main Article Content
Abstract
Real-time validation of electric-vehicle (EV) motor-drive controllers remains constrained by the high cost and communication latency of existing hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems. To address this limitation, this paper presents a dual-microcontroller HIL platform that enables deterministic, low-latency testing using readily available components. Two Texas Instruments TMS320F28379D digital signal controllers are used to partition the control and plant domains. The first MCU executes cascaded PI-based speed and current regulators, while the second numerically simulates the DC-motor–chopper–vehicle dynamics at a 10 µs step size. A distinguishing feature of the proposed system is its analog-domain signal exchange: the controller’s PWM duty output is low-pass filtered and sampled by the plant MCU, while plant feedback (armature current and speed) is returned through DAC–ADC links. This architecture eliminates protocol overhead inherent in SPI or serial communication and achieves a measured 8.67 µs round-trip latency, ensuring deterministic real-time coupling. Experimental validation using step and mixed-drive-cycle profiles demonstrates tracking performance comparable to a single-MCU benchmark, with reduced current ripple and improved modularity. The entire workflow is implemented through Simulink auto-code generation, requiring no manual driver coding. Beyond providing a cost-effective alternative to commercial HIL simulators, the platform offers a transparent and reproducible framework for research and education in electric-drive control. This contribution highlights how analog-coupled dual-MCU architectures can deliver sub-10 µs responsiveness and structural realism, forming a scalable foundation for next-generation EV HIL development
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