LDRA Integration with NI TestStand and NI VeriStand Seamlessly Links Hardware and Software Testing

Rigorous testing plays a fundamental role in safety-critical industries such as avionics, high-speed rail, and automotive. For the avionics industry, where development processes are already highly certified, LDRA’s integration of the tools improves efficiency, providing measurable ways to lower costs and shorten schedules. For the automotive industry, where the new ISO 26262 standard will soon be enforced, applying an integrated testing regime provides immediate cost reduction and also “future proofs” processes against the inevitable time when industry requirements will be mandated.



The LDRA Tool Integration Reduces Human Error Through Automation



Prior to this integration, fully testing a complete embedded control system required developers to separately manage the NI and LDRA tools and the resulting output―a feat that required both tool sets to be configured and reconfigured identically as changes were made during the debug process. The combination of NI TestStand ready-to-run test management software and NI VeriStand real-time test configuration software provides an automated real-time testing platform that is ideal for applications like hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation. HIL is necessary for embedded control systems in industries like automotive and aerospace, where embedded software has grown significantly in recent years. The LDRA tool suite analyzes the software in detail and assesses whether all lines of code execute during testing.



By integrating the tools, LDRA short circuits several steps in the development process. Instead of switching between the LDRA tools suite and NI’s tools to execute tests and collect dynamic analysis data, developers can invoke the tools from within the NI environment. The application can be instrumented, analyzed, and tested for complete coverage without any need for dual configuration of the tools, export/import of data, or recreation of test components and application functionality.



“When I ride in a plane or drive my automobile, I want to know that all possible errors in the vehicles have been identified and eliminated, and that my ride will be uneventful,” stated Ian Hennell, LDRA Operations Director. “Integrating the tools so that the testing process is as complete as possible ensures that errors, that can so easily happen because people are distracted or not on their game, are eliminated. This integration bypasses the chance that the two tool chains did not perfectly mirror system components and functionality, that an incorrect import or export of data took place, or that an error went unnoticed because people were comparing two sets of documentation.”



Test Reports and Documentation Now Integrated



The integration of the LDRA tool suite with NI TestStand and NI VeriStand also brings together the reporting and documentation of the tools. Instead of having to compare disparate reports to identify problem areas and debug application behavior, reports are tied together. From within the NI tools, developers can trace unexpected behavior to see the way that data is being passed between I/O channels, how program modules exchange the data in real time, and whether something in the code has contributed to a memory overwrite. The developer gains a new level of transparency and insight into the process.



The integration also provides documentation needed for certification compliance. The LDRA tool suite confirms compliance to a broad range of industry standards such as avionics (DO-178B/C), automotive (ISO 26262), high-speed rail (EN 50128), and industrial safety (IEC 61508), along with many others. The LDRA tool suite findings combine with those of the NI tools to provide a coherent, complete set of system certification documents.