CASE STUDY SNAPSHOT
Customer : A pioneering EV mobility startup.Size : >51-200
Project vertical : Automotive
Challenge : To rapidly design and develop a feature-rich, ASIL-B ready automotive dashboard that could be easily customized in-house by non-specialized engineers as the EV platform evolved.
Solution : A complete hardware and software solution built on a Renesas RH850 MCU. The system's logic and UI were developed using Embien's Flint low-code platform, with rendering powered by the Sparklet graphics engine and system configuration by the RAPIDSEA library.
Services & Products Availed : Custom Hardware Design, Embedded Firmware, Flint System Configurator (Low-Code), Flint UI Designer, Sparklet Embedded Graphics Engine, RAPIDSEA UDS Stack, RAPIDSEA Library.
Tools and Technologies :
- Key Hardware: Renesas RH850/D1M1A MCU
- Software Development: C
- Frameworks: Flint Low-Code Platform, Sparklet, RAPIDSEA
- Peripherals: CAN Bus, Resistive Touch etc
- Protocols: UDS (ISO 14229), IVN
- UX Tools: GIMP/Photoshop (Asset Import)
INTRODUCTION
A leading EV mobility startup needed a sophisticated automotive dashboard to monitor critical battery (BMS) and vehicle data. They required a solution that was not only powerful and ASIL-B compliant but also flexible enough for their rapidly evolving EV platform. Embien was engaged to design, develop, and deliver this next-generation digital cluster.
CHALLENGE
The EV market moves at an accelerated pace. The startup faced a dual challenge: first, to develop a dashboard meeting stringent automotive standards like ASIL B and ISO 16750. Second, as their core EV system was still in active development, they needed a firmware strategy that allowed their own system engineers, not specialized firmware experts, to rapidly customize UI, logic, and CAN data integration. They could not afford a traditional, rigid development cycle that created dependencies on third party toolchains or specialized skillsets. They needed a low code or no code approach to maintain their agility and foster in house innovation.
SOLUTION
Embien's team proposed a holistic solution addressing both the robust hardware requirements and the critical need for development flexibility. The strategy was built on a foundation of proven automotive hardware and Embien's proprietary rapid development toolchain, effectively abstracting hardware complexity and empowering the customer.
1.Automotive-Grade Hardware Foundation
The hardware design was centered on the Renesas RH850 MCU, a powerful 32-bit automotive-grade processor family known for its reliability, real-time performance, and integrated safety features. This choice provided the necessary computational power for a graphics-rich display and the functional safety support required for an ASIL-B environment.
Our engineering team designed a custom board that exposed all necessary peripherals for the dashboard, including multiple CAN-FD interfaces for vehicle communication, LIN for switch inputs, and discrete I/O for critical tell-tale indicators. The entire design was architected from the ground up to meet stringent automotive standards, including:
ASIL-B: Functional safety requirements.
'ISO 16750 – 1' & 'ISO 16750 – 2': General and electrical load requirements.
'ISO 16750 – 3': Mechanical load and vibration standards.
'AIS-071': The ARAI standard for tell-tale indications.
This ensured the final product was robust, reliable, and ready for certification.
2. Addressing the "Low-Code" Mandate with Flint
The customer's most significant challenge was the development workflow. They wanted to empower their application and system engineers, who understood the EV's behaviour but weren't specialized embedded C/C++ developers, to modify the dashboard's logic and UI.
This is where Embien's Flint System Configurator and RAPIDSEA library became the cornerstone of the solution. We provided a low-code development environment that abstracts the underlying hardware complexity, allowing for visual, drag-and-drop programming.
3. In-Depth: Flint System Configurator for Logic
The Flint Graphical Programmer was the key to unlocking this in-house capability. Instead of a traditional, code-heavy approach, engineers could now visually architect the dashboard's logic.
CAN Bus Integration: A core function was processing data from the vehicle's CAN bus. The EV startup's CAN database (DBC file) was constantly evolving. Flint simplified this entire process. The customer's engineers could directly import their latest DBC file into the Flint tool.
Visual Data Mapping & Filtering: Once imported, Flint automatically parsed the file and displayed all available signals (e.g., BMS_StateOfCharge, VCU_VehicleSpeed, Motor_RPM). Engineers could simply drag these signals onto the visual canvas. Flint automatically generated the necessary CAN filters and mapping logic to link that signal to a target data ID within the dashboard's internal data model. This eliminated thousands of lines of complex, error-prone manual CAN driver configuration.
Visual Logic Blocks: Beyond simple mapping, Flint provided a rich library of logical blocks. Engineers could process the raw data using filters (like low-pass to smooth jittery sensor readings), apply PID controllers, or perform mathematical conversions (e.g., converting a raw ADC value to a temperature). All this was done by connecting visual blocks, creating a clear and maintainable data flow diagram.
4. In-Depth: Flint UI Designer for HMI
With the backend logic and data model established in the System Configurator, the next step was the user interface. The Flint UI Designer was used for this.
Asset Importation: The startup's UX/UI team designed the dashboard's aesthetic in familiar tools like GIMP and Photoshop. These graphical assets (gauges, icons, fonts, warning lights) were exported and directly imported into Flint's asset manager.
Widget Creation & Data Binding: Inside the Flint UI Designer, engineers could drag these assets onto a screen canvas to create widgets. A "speedometer" widget, for example, could be built from a gauge background, a needle image, and a digital text field. The magic happened with data binding: the VCU_VehicleSpeed data ID (defined in the logic stage) was visually linked to the needle's rotation property and the text field's value.
UI Flow and Animations: Flint allowed for the creation of the complete UI flow—linking the main driving screen to a "Charging" screen, a "Vehicle Settings" menu, or a "Trip Computer" page. Animations and notification pop-ups (e.g., "Low Battery Warning") were added to make the dashboard responsive and user-friendly, enhancing the premium feel of the EV.
5. High-Performance Runtime Execution
Creating the design is one half; running it efficiently on the target is the other.
Sparklet Graphics Engine: When the project was "built," Flint generated the configuration files and assets. On the RH850 target, Embien's highly-optimized Sparklet runtime engine was deployed. Sparklet is an embedded graphics engine designed to leverage the graphical prowess of modern MCUs, including the RH850's built-in GPU. It handled the high-performance rendering of all visual elements, anti-aliasing, and smooth animations, ensuring a responsive, high-framerate experience without overloading the main CPU.
RAPIDSEA Library: Concurrently, the logical design from the Flint System Configurator was executed by the RAPIDSEA library. RAPIDSEA configured all the RH850's peripherals (CAN controllers, timers, I/O) as per the visual design. It managed the real-time data flow, executed the logic blocks, and fed the processed data to the Sparklet engine for display.
6. Updates and Future-Proofing
Finally, to ensure the dashboard could be updated in the field as new EV features were rolled out, the solution included Embien's RAPIDSEA UDS stack. This provided a standardized (ISO 14229) Unified Diagnostic Services protocol over CAN, allowing the customer to flash new firmware, update UI assets, or change configurations remotely.
This comprehensive toolchain—Flint for design, Sparklet for graphics, and RAPIDSEA for logic and peripherals—provided a complete ecosystem. It successfully abstracted the complex hardware, met all automotive standards, and delivered on the promise of a low-code environment, empowering the startup's own team to innovate at speed.
BENEFITS
Accelerated Time-to-Market: Drastically reduced development from months to weeks by replacing manual coding with a low-code, visual design environment.
Empowered In-House Innovation: Enabled the startup's own system engineers, not just firmware specialists, to customize and update dashboard logic and UI.
Eliminated Dependencies: Removed reliance on third-party toolchains and specialized skillsets, giving the customer full control over their development roadmap.
Guaranteed Automotive Compliance: Delivered a robust hardware and software solution pre-architected to meet stringent standards like ASIL-B and ISO 16750.
Future-Proof Platform: Provided a scalable solution with field-update capability via a UDS stack, ensuring the dashboard could evolve with the vehicle.
CONCLUSION
Embien successfully delivered a next-generation, ASIL-B ready EV dashboard for a pioneering startup. By leveraging the Flint low-code platform, Sparklet graphics engine, and RAPIDSEA libraries, we provided a solution that not only met all technical requirements but also empowered the customer's own team to innovate rapidly. This agile, tool-driven approach is essential for the fast-paced EV industry.
If your automotive project demands rapid, flexible, and compliant HMI development, contact Embien today to learn how our toolchains can accelerate your vision.
