Markus Hammori

IT support for release management processes in the automotive industry

Car development is based on long running, concurrently executed and highly dependent processes. The coordination and synchronization of these processes has become a complex and error-prone task due to the increasing number of functions and embedded systems in modern cars. These systems realize advanced features by embedded software and enable the distribution of functionality as required, for example, by safety equipment. Different life cycle times of mechanical, software and hardware components as well as different duration of their development processes require efficient coordination. Furthermore, product-driven process structures, dynamic adaptation of these structures, and handling real-world exceptions result in challenging demands for any IT system. In this paper we elaborate fundamental requirements for the IT support of car development processes, taking release management as characteristic example. We show to which extent current product data and process management technology meets these requirements, and discuss which essential limitations still exist. This results in a number of fundamental challenges requiring new paradigms for the product-driven design, enactment and adaptation of processes.

Interactive workflow mining: requirements, concepts and implementation

Many information systems log event data about executed tasks. Workflow mining is concerned with the derivation of a graphical workflow model out of this data. Experience from applying our workflow mining system InWoLvE in experiments and practical applications has shown that workflow mining is a highly interactive process. The mining expert iteratively approaches the result by varying the parameters of the mining tool and verifying the mined models. Our tool InWoLvE was not designed for intensive interactive usage. In this paper, we report about a rigorous requirements analysis and about possible solutions related with the support of such interactivity. Two selected solution concepts are explained in more detail. First, a special layout algorithm that is stable against small changes of the model thus allowing the workflow mining expert to maintain a mental map of the workflow. Second, a validation procedure that helps the expert to check event sequences against the (preliminary) mined model. These and other important concepts have been implemented in a prototype called ProTo.

Interactive workflow mining

Workflow or process mining is concerned with deriving a workflow model from observed behavior described in a workflow log. Experience from applying our workflow mining system InWoLvE in experiments and practical applications has shown that workflow mining is a highly interactive process. The mining expert iteratively approaches the result by varying the parameters of the mining tool and verifying the mined models. Our tool InWoLvE was not designed for intensive interactive usage making practical usage more than difficult. In this contribution we describe the main requirements for an interactive workflow mining system and how we derived these. We outline two selected concepts: a special layout algorithm that is stable against small changes of the model thus allowing the workflow mining expert to maintain a mental map of the workflow and a validation procedure helping the mining expert in his decision for the final result. These and other important concepts have been implemented in the first prototype of an interactive workflow mining system called ProTo.

Design Methods for Augmented Reality In-Vehicle Infotainment Systems

We have experienced rapid development of augmented reality (AR) systems and platforms in the automotive industry. However, to bring AR into production cars, we still face a range of challenges to design an AR system that meets vehicle specific requirements. Based on our experience with an AR prototype car, we analyze the influence of augmented reality on the design of the in-vehicle electric/electronic (E/E) architecture.

AR-IVI — Implementation of In-Vehicle Augmented Reality

In the last three years, a number of automotive Augmented Reality (AR) concepts and demonstrators have been presented, all looking for an interpretation of what AR in a car may look like. In October 2013, Mercedes-Benz exhibited to a public audience the AR In-Vehicle Infotainment (AR-IVI) system aimed at defining an overall in-vehicle electric/electronic (E/E) architecture for augmented reality rather than showing specific use cases. In this paper, we explain the requirements and design decisions that lead to the system-design, and we share the challenges and experiences in developing the AR-IVI system in the prototype vehicle. Based on our experiences, we give an outlook on future software and E/E architectural challenges of in-vehicle augmented reality.

Stixel on the Bus: An Efficient Lossless Compression Scheme for Depth Information in Traffic Scenarios

The modern automotive industry has to meet the requirement of providing a safer, more comfortable and interactive driving experience. Depth information retrieved from a stereo vision system is one significant resource enabling vehicles to understand their environment. Relying on the stixel, a compact representation of depth information using thin planar rectangles, the problem of processing huge amounts of depth data in real-time can be solved. In this paper, we present an efficient lossless compression scheme for stixels, which further reduces the data volume by a factor of 3.3863. The predictor of the proposed approach is adapted from the LOCO-I (LOw COmplexity LOssless COmpression for Images) algorithm in the JPEG-LS standard. The compressed stixel data could be sent to the in-vehicle communication bus system for future vehicle applications such as autonomous driving and mixed reality systems.