Experiences from introducing state-of-the-art real-time techniques in the automotive industry

The use of state-of-the-art real-time techniques in industry remains infrequent. The reason for this, we believe, is three-fold: (1) the lack of commercially available tools, (2) the lack of methodologies based on real-time theory throughout the complete development process, and (3) the lack of competence in real-time theory among industrial practicioners. In this paper we present a case study of the introduction of state-of-the-art real-time techniques in industry. The case study was performed as a collaboration between Malardalen University adn the industrial partners Volvo Construction Equipment Components AB (VCE) and TietoEnator ArosTech AB. VCE develops computer control systems for construction equipment vehicles, such as wheel loaders, graders, and articulated haulers. TietoEnator ArosTech is a firm of consultants with recognized competence in the field of embedded real-time systems. The contribution of this paper consists of the findings from the introduction of a method and real-time techniques into an industrial project. The main result reported can be summarized as "people, not papers, transfer technology".