ECU Platform Simplifies EV Control and Charging for Off-Highway Vehicles
New Eagle’s NX3 is a supervisory and gearbox control platform designed for light, commercial, and off-highway vehicles. Based on the OpenECU software platform, the single-controller solution combines Megawatt Charging System (MCS) and Combined Charging System (CCS) protocols with full vehicle supervisory control, eliminating the need for multiple controllers. In turn, it significantly reduces system complexity, wiring overhead, and failure points.
With embedded processing supplied by an Infineon Aurix TC387 MCU, the NX3 is suited for prototype through production applications. It offers highly customizable I/O, flexible application software development using OpenECU MATLAB Simulink or C-code, and model-based control strategies to accelerate startup and integration.
The platform supports advanced vehicle control applications including VCU, EVCC, ICE, EV, and hybrid supervisory control. Developed according to ISO 21434 with integrated HSM support for cybersecurity requirements, it’s equipped to meet ISO 26262 up to ASIL D functional-safety requirements.
Among the NX3’s capabilities are:
- Dual-inlet charge management: MCS + CCS from one controller; no second ECU
- Full powertrain supervisory control: Gearbox, auxiliaries, and charging in one unit
- ASIL D safety and ISO 21434 cybersecurity: Built for production compliance
- OTA-capable: A/B flash memory swap for field updates
- Flexible development: OpenECU Simulink or C code with model-based libraries
For more details, check out this product overview and the NX3 datasheet.
About the Author
Lee Goldberg
Contributing Editor
Lee is the author of the popular PowerBites series.
Lee Goldberg is a self-identified “Recovering Engineer,” Maker/Hacker, Green-Tech Maven, Aviator, Gadfly, and Geek Dad. He spent the first 18 years of his career helping design microprocessors, embedded systems, renewable energy applications, and the occasional interplanetary spacecraft. After trading his ‘scope and soldering iron for a keyboard and a second career as a tech journalist, he’s spent the next two decades at several print and online engineering publications.
Lee’s current focus is power electronics, especially the technologies involved with energy efficiency, energy management, and renewable energy. This dovetails with his coverage of sustainable technologies and various environmental and social issues within the engineering community that he began in 1996. Lee also covers 3D printers, open-source hardware, and other Maker/Hacker technologies.
Lee holds a BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Thomas Edison College, and participated in a colloquium on technology, society, and the environment at Goddard College’s Institute for Social Ecology. His book, “Green Electronics/Green Bottom Line - A Commonsense Guide To Environmentally Responsible Engineering and Management,” was published by Newnes Press.
Lee, his wife Catherine, and his daughter Anwyn currently reside in the outskirts of Princeton N.J., where they masquerade as a typical suburban family.