Greetings, Dear Readers!
In this article I will focus on the importance of the testing and calibration of ADAS system. Because every machine has to be tested to make sure that it is working according to its design and safety protocols. Cars, trucks, and buses are among the most complex machines that the average person will ever operate.
ADAS technology and its safety features have been developed to improve the safety of our roadways by preventing the human errors that are responsible for the vast majority of accidents. Therefore, nothing is more important than ensuring that ADAS technology itself is safe and reliable.
Additionally, I will discuss how autonomous vehicles will be vulnerable to cyber security threats in the future.
- Importance of ADAS System Testing
The complex technologies behind ADAS must be tested, and not just in software models, but on the ground, with vehicles and human drivers interacting on real roads under realistic conditions.
Automotive test engineers have been instrumenting vehicles for nearly a century. The vehicles and the ground station must be interlinked wirelessly, and it must be a high-speed and robust connection.
Furthermore, the data from multiple test vehicles moving around in three-dimensional space must be precisely time-aligned, so that the data can be analyzed in a meaningful way.
For vehicles to be capable of 100% autonomous driving under all conditions someday, they must be able to detect and adapt to a wide variety of conditions:
- The expected and unexpected movements of other vehicles
- Pedestrians in the lane of travel and crosswalks
- Debris and unexpected matter in the lane of travel
- Undocumented temporary changes due to construction or roadway modifications
- and more
Simulation is a big part of testing, but real-world testing is essential, so new testingmethods have been developedin the world of ADAS.
The development of ADAS systems requires complex testing, including the ability to control and calculate relative positions between multiple vehicles and objects in real-time, across a large test track. Complex tests involving multiple vehicles and objects require modern test tracks and equipment like:
- Driving robots
- GPS/GNSS
- IMU and INS sensors
- High-speed wireless car-to-car, and car-to-base data networking
- ADAS targets
- Proving ground tracks
Entirely new ADAS testing tools have been developed and are available at today’s proving grounds. There are also partial and completely autonomous testing tools, primarily in the simulated testing world.
Driving &Steering Robots
Driving, aka steering robots, are used for the computerized operation of motor vehicles. They are typically designed so that they can be fitted onto a standard car, truck, or bus without the need to remove the steering wheel or modify the vehicle in any significant way. This means that tests are conducted according to standards, and that test results can be more easily compared and analyzed.
Steering robots are essential for, as well as standard NHTSA roll-over tests, such as Fishhook and J-Turn, UN Reg 13-H / FMVSS 126 sine-dwell tests, and more.
Inertial Measurements Units (IMUs) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS)
The terms IMU and INS are often used interchangeably, but they are really two parts of the same thing. An IMU is an actual sensor, made up of accelerometers, gyroscopes, and often magnetometers. These outputs are fed into the INS, which uses them to calculate linear velocity, linear position, angular rates, and more.
Inertial Measurement Units are used to measure and output several parameters:
- Acceleration
- Orientation
- Angular rates
- Gravitational forces
GPS/GNSS Sensors
An absolutely critical component in today’s ADAS testing is highly accurate GNSS/GPS positioning systems. These systems are used to measure relative positions and velocity among vehicles and objects very accurately and with fast update rates.
Improving Accuracy with Real-time Kinematics (RTK)
Real-Time Kinematic is a technique used to increase the accuracy of GNSS positions using a fixed base station, that wirelessly sends out correctional data to a moving receiver.
Many GNSS and IMU navigational devices can be upgraded with RTK (Real Time Kinematic) technology. RTK improves positioning accuracy down to 2 cm (0.79 in.)
Wireless Data Transfer using Robust WIFI Technology
Robust WLAN solutions are used to maintain communication between vehicles and between vehicles and ground stations. Wireless transfers can reach up to 2 km (1.24 miles) range in line-of-sight.
ADAS Soft Targets
ADAS vehicle targets aka “soft targets” are designed to resemble vehicles and other objects on the road, including cyclists and pedestrians. They are realistic enough to convince the camera and other sensors in the test vehicles that they are real. But colliding with them does not destroy them, or damage expensive test vehicles.
Guided Soft Targets
These targets are remotely controlled vehicles made of soft materials that break apart easily in the event of a collision. They look like a car or trucks but are empty inside. After a collision, they can be rebuilt in a matter of minutes and be ready for the next test.
Pedestrian and Cyclist Soft Targets
These targets can be mounted on a very low propulsion platform, or they can be mounted on an arm connected to the propulsion platform so that test cars that hit them won’t be damaged by running over the propulsion platform. Dummies can be configured as pedestrians, cyclists, scooter riders, and more. Some models are propelled on a remotely controlled platform, while others are towed using flat cables connected to motors located on the side of the track.
Video Cameras
Cameras are indispensable sensors in a wide variety of automotive testing applications, including ADAS testing. The video data from these cameras, in sync with the data, provides important context, meaning, and value.
The most critical aspect of adding cameras to the test is that the resulting video data is synchronized with the GPS, CAN, and analog data.
LiDAR Sensors
LiDAR sensors are being incorporated into ADAS and autonomous vehicles because they are critical sensors. But the LiDAR sensors discussed in this section are the more expensive and capable ones that are used for ADAS testing. They are typically mounted on the hood or roof of ADAS test vehicles and used in proving ground tests.
ADAS Software
All vehicles and other objects in the ADAS test require ADAS software. ADAS software must be able to acquire data synchronously from multiple vehicles at the same time. Also, it needs measurement and calculation capabilities, such as:
- Measure the object’s speed, acceleration, deceleration, heading
- Measure and calculate distances between moving and static objects in real-time
- Measure and calculate angles between objects
What About Consumer-Level ADAS Calibration?
In previous sections, we discussed how engineers test ADAS systems during their development using real drive testing and software simulation. This occurs before the cars’ designs are finalized, manufactured, and delivered.
What if a new ADAS-equipped vehicle parks in front of your house? Is it necessary to check and calibrate ADAS systems? Yes, just like any other part of the car.
To work as designed, ADAS systems are heavily dependent on sensors, which must be operating at peak efficiency and efficacy as we discussed in part 1. Behind the scenes, there is a powerful processor. It uses sensor data to perform driver assistance warnings (passive safety measures) and to steer and brake automatically to avoid collisions (active safety measures).
Automobile manufacturers are increasingly recommending and requiring consumers to recalibrate their cars’ ADAS systems.
1.ADAS Warning Lights Flashing or Indicating a Fault
This one is obvious: if your car is telling you that something is wrong with the ADAS system, it should be checked and brought back to factory OEM standards immediately.
2.Windshield Repair or Replacement
Several ADAS sensors are mounted either near or behind the windshield, so when a windshield is replaced or compromised in any way, it can affect these sensors. This is why several companies that perform windshield replacement and repair have expanded into the recalibration of ADAS sensors. USA-based Safelight Auto glass offers ADAS camera recalibration as a part of their windshield repair services. They offer both static recalibrations where the car is parked and facing a calibrated target, and active recalibration, where the car is driven on a well-marked road.
Safelight is present across the entire USA.
3.Accidents
A collision causes very obvious damage to the body of the car. But the impact can also affect systems that you cannot see, including the ADAS sensors and system. Checking and, if necessary recalibrating, the ADAS system should be part of any post-collision repair.
4.Changes in the Car’s Height
ADAS systems like parking sensors and others are calibrated for a specific ride height. But if different diameter tires are installed, or significant modifications to a car’s suspension have been made, the ride height can be changed. It is important that the sensors be calibrated to the actual ride height of the car so that they can work as designed.
Consumers should always verify that the repair facility is trained in performing ADAS system calibration according to the car maker’s factory specifications.
What About Cyber Security?
An independent study commissioned by SAE and Synopsis reveals that 30% of automobile makers and suppliers do not have an established product cybersecurity program or team. And 84% of the respondents to the survey are concerned that cybersecurity practices are not keeping pace with the ever-evolving security landscape.
Today’s cars, trucks, and even motorcycles are basically “self-contained rolling IT networks” that incorporate control systems, entertainment systems, and wireless communication across numerous protocols. The driver’s and passengers’ cell phones, tablets, and other devices can and often do also connect to the vehicle for entertainment, communication, and navigation. They also expose the vehicle to the internet at large, and increasingly, vehicles have their own wireless link to the internet. The potential for hacking has never been greater.
One of the conclusions of this report is that the technologies that pose the greatest risk are RF technologies, telematics, and self-driving vehicles.
To combat this risk, the SAE developed J3061, the world’s first automotive cybersecurity standard. At its core, JAE J3061 emphasizes that cybersecurity should be integrated into vehicle design from the very start, not added later. The pressure to get new vehicles from design to the showroom as quickly and economically as possible has a powerful effect on OEMs and suppliers alike. As vehicles get more interconnected, rigorous testing against vulnerabilities at all stages of product design and development must keep pace. Development testing at this stage is crucial.
A revision to the ISO 26262 Automotive Functional Safety standard is underway, and a working group made up of both ISO 21434 and SAE J3061 has begun the development of an overall cybersecurity standard for tomorrow’s vehicles. A UN Task Force on cybersecurity is also addressing this increasingly important topic.
This is the third article in the ADAS digging series. I am trying to close this topic, but the more I learn, the more opportunities open up. In my next article, I will share the organizations that are developing ADAS standards.
Be sure to stay tuned!
Exclusive written for Automark Magazine, Feb 2024 by Muhammad Usman Iqbal