Mark Amor-Segan

Robustness Testing against Low Voltage Transients - A Novel Approach

The increasing use of distributed functions in vehicles can introduce unexpected and undesirable emergent behavior. This can be as a result of transient events such as sudden drops in the supply voltage. In this situation system behavior is often not adequately specified or controlled. This paper presents a novel approach to automotive electronic systems testing addressing robustness against low voltage transient conditions. The paper will discuss the technical output as well as performance in real-world test usage. The proposed approach uses a combination of pseudo-random number generator algorithms to generate parameterized supply voltage waveforms simulating low voltage transient conditions, used to drive the system-under-test (SUT). Two measures are used to judge whether the SUT has passed or failed the test; the detection of unintended recorded Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) from the error memory of each Electronic Control Unit (ECU) and the detection of unexpected system functionality by a human observer or automated vision system.

Implementation of system-level fault diagnostics in vehicles on a generic test platform

In order to verify the effectiveness of the system-level fault diagnostic method which has been designed for the self-healing vehicle (SHV) concept, this paper describes the implementation of the designed diagnostic method on a generic test platform (GTP). The platform represents the distributed and networked electronic control system of a real vehicle. The more important is that in this platform the functions of an individual network node and the whole networked system are able to be configured to operate in different scenarios. This enables the platform to mimic a real vehicle system in the presence of faults which is indispensable for the validation of a diagnostic method.

A generic test platform representing networked embedded systems in vehicles

In order to verify the effectiveness of the system-level fault diagnostic method which has been designed for the self-healing vehicle (SHV) concept, this paper has developed a generic test platform (GTP) on which to implement the designed diagnostic method. The platform represents the distributed and networked electronic control system of a real vehicle. The more important is that in this platform the functions of an individual network node and the whole networked system are able to be configured to operate in different scenarios. This enables the platform to mimic a real vehicle system in the presence of faults which is indispensable for the validation of a diagnostic method.

A framework for health monitoring of automotive electrical and electronic control systems (poster)

The automotive industry has seen enormous growth in the size and complexity of electrical and electronic system architectures. As complexity increases the problem of diagnosing faults in a vehicles electrical and electronic systems is becoming increasingly difficult. Many faults are as a result of system-level disturbances or interactions that are difficult to interpret and diagnose using existing component-level diagnostics which have been traditionally focused on mechanical system diagnostics. The problem of rising complexity is exacerbated by increasing in-service warranty periods with some automotive OEMs now offering 5 or 7 year, or even ‘life-time’ warranties. This paper discusses the need for a new system-level approach to the management of faults in a vehicles networked electronic systems and how this might be achieved by using the data that flows over a vehicles data networks. This paper compares different industry approaches to system-level health monitoring of complex distributed computing environments and presents a proposal for the application of health monitoring to an automotive electrical and electronic architecture.

Application of CAN message timing analysis to system-level fault diagnostics and networked control in vehicles

This paper first discusses deterministic and stochastic characteristics of CAN message response times. They are then extended to depict system behaviours by featuring CAN message traces, which helps develop a system-level fault diagnostic method to address the increasing complexity of vehicles. These characteristics are also applied to formalize in-vehicle control systems which are made networked and distributed due to the vehicle complexity.

A DNA sequencing based approach to fault diagnosis in automotive electronic networks

The increasing number of Electronic Control Units within the network of a vehicle is increasing the level of complexity of these networks. Thus, fault diagnosis of these sophisticated systems becomes more complex. The aim of this paper is to provide a technique to enable CAN-based fault detection in a premium vehicle network or any other network which uses the Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol for communication. The fault detection technique described here is based on a sequential behaviour of the CAN network of a vehicle and by using signal processing methods commonly used in DNA sequencing analysis, fault detection was achieved and data were classified in clusters of normal scenarios and fault scenario.

Automated functional and robustness testing of vehicle infotainment system

In a current premium vehicle the infotainment system is typically implemented as a distributed system consisting of a number of modules communicating via a Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST) network. Typical issues with such systems of systems (SoS) are emergent behaviour as systems interact in an unanticipated manner particularly during some initialisation conditions where it may be possible to get delays and failures in individual systems. Testing of infotainment systems at an overall level is conventionally carried out manually by an expert who can observe at a customer level but this has limitations affecting test coverage and effectiveness. Hence there is a requirement for an automated infotainment testing system which replicates a human expert encompassing relevant sensory modalities relating to control (i.e. touch) and observation (i.e. sight and sound) of the system under test. This paper describes the design and development of such a system that consists of simulation of vehicle CAN, vision-based inspection, navigation of features, random cranking waveform generation, sound detection and test automation. The system developed is able to; stimulate the system across a wide variety of initialisation conditions, exercise each function, check for correct operation and record failure situations for post-testing analysis.