Learn these three tricks to ensure you do a good job in car testing

With the evolution of intelligence, automobiles are undergoing a huge transformation. Trends such as electrification, active safety and V2X will change transportation and lifestyles. Just as 5G network testing is a first step, for smart cars, if the test is wrong by a millimeter, the error may be a thousand miles away, and the requirements for smart car testing also have their own "three-character classics".

safety

As cars move toward autonomous driving, drivers gain greater safety through advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

Anjelica Warren, automotive product marketing manager at NI, believes that in order to ensure that autonomous driving is safer than human driving, more rigorous testing must be carried out to provide reliable and traceable results to verify that multiple subsystems and software algorithms are operating normally. Autonomous vehicles will generate an unprecedented amount of data (the system must simulate 140 million kilometers to prove that they are as safe as human driving). In any step of the testing process, poor data management will lead to problems in product development or incorrect conclusions.
       

To quickly get the information they need, maintain traceability, and make data-based decisions, engineers must be able to search, process, and generate reports on terabytes of data generated by vehicle testing. As data volumes soar, finding specific test results becomes increasingly challenging. Engineers need application-specific tools to optimize test workflows, help improve traceability by automatically capturing well-documented data, and provide descriptive metadata about test configurations, including sensor and hardware acquisition settings.

Integration Hybrid and electric vehicles are at the forefront when it comes to designing intelligent powertrain systems.
       

However, while electrification provides greater power, lower emissions, and a more comfortable experience, the complexity of testing is also increasing. Nate Holmes, chief solution manager at NI, mentioned that battery and internal combustion engine (ICE) powertrain technologies are completely different. ICE is a completely physical test, while electric powertrain is an electrical test, which requires a series of completely different processes and testing methods. Hybrid powertrains integrate two different powertrain technologies, and require more integrated testing, including control schemes, state diagrams, and rules to manage the interaction between ICE and electronic components. Advanced components and more advanced software and control methods are required, and testing time and costs will increase significantly.

Regarding the testing needs of hybrid electric vehicles, Nate Holmes mentioned that this requires higher fidelity and more complex modeling, power level testing, battery module/battery pack verification, integration testing, etc. The traditional reliance on laboratory or road testing for physical verification testing is already "outdated". Through HIL's flexible testing environment and architecture, it can support various combinations of simulated and actual components, thereby significantly shortening the testing time.

At the same time, the growth of electric vehicles is also changing the automotive supply chain. Traditional first-tier suppliers are innovating and using new technologies to develop specialized electric vehicle parts to differentiate themselves. Therefore, the testing department is also trying to have the same personnel operate the same equipment to meet new testing requirements. Application-specific tools are needed to dynamically configure, improve existing test configurations, and improve efficiency.

Openness

Another obvious trend is that although practical factors such as fuel efficiency, performance and price are still important considerations, infotainment, driver assistance and connectivity (i.e. the software and experience of the car) are increasingly influencing consumers' purchasing decisions. Along with this, the functions of infotainment systems including audio, video, RF and wireless, and in-vehicle communications are becoming increasingly rich, and the boundaries between automobiles and consumer electronics are becoming increasingly blurred.

And these technologies continue to evolve, further increasing the complexity of the automotive development process. Anjelica Warren pointed out that there are currently two competing standards for V2X - 802.11p aka DSRC and LTE V2X. To remain competitive, automakers must be ready to integrate the two standards, which means that verification tests must be able to be easily modified to the latest standard without incurring a lot of cost or reworking the system.

In addition, multiple competing standards are not the only problem. Governments are trying to determine the best way to manage self-driving cars, and many regulations are still being developed. Anjelica Warren believes that as new technologies and standards continue to emerge, in order to avoid falling behind the pace of rapid innovation, open test platforms with interoperability, extensive I/O and synchronization are essential to meet future verification test needs. Innovation in the automotive industry shows no signs of slowing down. Test manufacturers still need to focus on developing flexible and future-oriented test systems, building extensive I/O, system-level synchronization, and a large partner ecosystem. Everything is still on the way.