IN Brief:
- Pickering will exhibit modular switching and sensor simulation platforms at The Battery Show Europe.
- The demonstrations cover BMS test, ECU test, HIL simulation, fault insertion, signal routing, and sensor simulation.
- Electrified vehicle development is increasing demand for scalable and reconfigurable validation systems.
Pickering Interfaces will show modular signal switching and sensor simulation platforms for automotive and electric-vehicle electronics test at The Battery Show Europe 2026 in Stuttgart.
The company will exhibit on Stand 3-D81 from 9 to 11 June, with demonstrations covering battery management system test, ECU test, hardware-in-the-loop simulation, fault insertion, signal routing, and sensor simulation. The systems are based on Pickering’s PXI, LXI, and USB platforms, giving test teams a modular route for development, validation, and production environments.
Pickering will demonstrate Test System Architect, its online graphical toolset for designing switching, signal routing, and cabling. The software allows users to configure, visualise, and document signal paths before deployment, reducing the risk of wiring errors and making complex test architectures easier to review before hardware is assembled.
A real-time HIL test demonstration will integrate third-party instrumentation with Pickering switching and simulation hardware in NI VeriStand. The setup includes PXI modules for high-voltage isolation battery simulation, multi-channel battery simulation, fault insertion switching, thermocouple simulation, and high-voltage programmable resistance.
Further demonstrations will include a six-slot LXI 2U chassis configurable with up to six plug-in matrix modules, as well as Switch Path Manager software using PXI switching and simulation modules. Pickering will also show its MEMS-based MultiGBASE-T1 fault insertion unit, alongside products from its reed relay and connectivity divisions.
Steve Edwards, head of product management at Pickering, said: “Automotive and EV electronics test systems must support increasingly complex requirements, from BMS and ECU test to HIL simulation, fault insertion, signal conditioning, and load management.”
Electrification has turned validation into a system architecture problem. Battery packs, power converters, charging interfaces, thermal systems, ECUs, sensors, and communications links now have to be tested across more combinations of electrical state, fault behaviour, software response, and operating condition. A battery management system may need to see realistic cell voltages, temperatures, isolation faults, current paths, and communication states while interacting with vehicle-level control software.
That complexity favours test systems that can be reconfigured as platforms move from prototype to validation and production. Fixed-function benches can be efficient once a design is mature, but they struggle when battery chemistries, cell counts, vehicle architectures, safety strategies, and software functions continue to change during development.
Earlier, more repeatable validation is becoming a defining feature of electronic design workflows. Keysight’s executable workflow capture for RF design and ROHM’s PLECS-based power electronics simulator both point toward better documentation and verification of system behaviour before late-stage hardware changes become expensive.
In EV electronics, the stakes are sharpened by safety, reliability, certification, and warranty exposure. Switching and simulation hardware rarely attracts the same attention as battery cells or power semiconductors, but it determines how thoroughly those systems can be exercised under realistic electrical conditions. As vehicle electronics become more software-defined and power-dense, the validation bench is becoming a central part of the design process.
