Pickering and OPAL-RT partner for Modular Breakout System

Pickering Interfaces, in partnership with OPAL-RT TECHNOLOGIES, designed a low-cost Modular Breakout System that combines OPAL-RT’s Breakout Box (BoB) feature set with added flexibility and Pickering’s Fault Insertion Unit (FIU) chassis. By mating the FIU chassis directly to the BoB, cabling is minimized, creating a more compact reliable design and improving signal integrity. All cables to the simulation system and the Unit Under Test (UUT) are located behind the front panel of the Modular Breakout System creating a simpler front panel that is less prone to damage.

Traditional Hardware-in-the Loop (HIL) simulation testing features signal switching for the purpose of injecting faults into a UUT. To make manual measurements and induce a fault manually prior to writing test code, a BoB needs to be added. The majority of the BoBs and FIU systems available today are not modular and are fixed in configuration, creating a test solution that is not often ideal. Additionally, they have cable configurations that are cumbersome and in many cases expensive.

This new Breakout System alleviates many of these problems. But the most interesting feature of this product is its powerful integration of Pickering’s wide range of fault insertion modules and programmable resistors into the same test unit. So combining the variable resistance module, fault insertion modules and the like provide the means to have in a single package one of the most complete automated test platforms on the market. This platform once mated with OPAL-RT’s simulation capability provides an integrated solution that helps test engineers implement their test plans faster and more accurately.