FEATURE EMBEDDED TECHNOLOGY


As autonomous driving improves, so too must the real-time evaluation environmental scenarios. Thomas Doerfler, managing direc explores how intelligent radar sensors could improve the s


REAL DATA INJECTION


For the development and validation of systems for autonomous vehicle management, real traffic scenarios are usually simulated and tested in the laboratory. Real data injection combines the advantages of test drives with simulation, bringing scenarios of the


real environment into the lab. For this validation method, the raw data of the sensor front ends are recorded bit-


precisely during one-time journeys. This raw data collection is then fed back to the sensors in the laboratory and can be used to validate newer software releases. However, the recorded raw data of a sensor syst em is never suitable for vehicles int erfaces. Therefore, a system recording real data must be coupled


directly to the respective sensor sy stem. In addition, it should be compact and


robust, because it must remain functional in a wide range of weather condit ions.


ACQUISITION OF REAL DATA A split structure, as developed for the gigabit data logger sy stem DP²4R from


embedded brains GmbH, provides one solution. A central unit (controller) is inst alled in the vehicle, managing the initialisat ion, control and data acquisition of up to four remot e head units. This


controller is connect ed to the head units via gigabit-compat ible cables. In turn,


each head unit is directly coupled to the sensor electronics.


The head unit, with it s FPGA, is


responsible for t he data transfer from the respective sensor electronics. Furt hermore, it acquires, formats and sends the dat a from the sensor electronics to t he controller. In turn, the controller aggregates t he data of all head units and st ores all of them.


32 APRIL 2019 | ELECTRONICS ARCHIVING AND UPLOAD


T his data is then archived by using commercially available NAS systems at t he development site. However, very high capacities are needed. For example, one y ear of complete recording requires storage capacity in the single digit


petabyte range. The elegant way to transport the data from the test vehicle t o the NAS would be a network interface. Yet, this limits the practically


achievable data rat e to approximately 10Gbit/sec. T herefore, the SSDs should be manually removed from t he central processing unit and inserted directly


into the NAS. Combining a five-minute walk from the vehicle to the NAS and two 8-TByt e SSDs, this corresponds to a data rate of about 430 Gbit/sec, which is difficult to outdo wit h network cables. The data collected during the t est drives is subsequently ready for further use, preparat ion and evaluation.


me evaluation of traffic an ctor of embedded brains GmBH safety of autonomous


ic and


ins GmBH, drivin g


RAW DATA INJECT ION


The collected raw data can be evaluated in many ways. The main benefit


lies in the ability to feed the data back into the sensors and evaluate their


Similar components are once again


used in this design. The head units are connected to the sensor systems to be validated; they do not record the raw data but feed it into the sensor system, instead of the front end. In turn, the head units receive the raw data synchronously from the controller, which in turn picks them up directly from the NAS.


In this kind of setup, the sensor systems pass through the previously


The hardware-in-the- loop (HiL) structure for sensor va


raw data injection


ware-in-the- ) structure for lidation with injection


recorded sequences in synchronisation. If their output towards the vehicle bus system is monitored and compared with the relevant objects, the decisive capabilities of the software can be verifiably quantified.


THE VALUE OF VALIDATION


The intelligent sensor sy basis of tomorrow’s


challenges for validation and quality assurance. System validation based on real driving data is inevitable for O as it allows for reliable conclusions on the robustness of th


before the market launch. Methods and systems for t


or systems, as the vehicles, pose new ation and quality alidation based on nevitable for OEMs, ble conclusions on e sensor technology aunch.


are available and should be considered early on in development to achieve the project


safely and with the required care.


embedded brains Gm www.embedded-brains.de


GmBH rains.de


/ ELECTRONICS


ems for this purpose ould be considered


ment projects, in order ct goals on time, required care.


ata can be evaluated main benefit, though, feed the data back d evaluate th i


responses in a classic hardware-in-the- loop (HiL) setup.


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