When ADAS such as ABS and ESC were initially being developed, capturing the measurements required to develop and validate those systems was relatively easy. If anything, it was ensuring the accuracy and repeatability of data, along with the physical execution of the tests, that caused engineers the biggest headaches. With modern ADAS solutions, however, which now include multi-vehicle scenarios and sensor arrays, the workload placed on engineers has grown significantly and the processing of data both in real-time and back at base presents a real challenge.
In response to requests from engineers and Tier 1 suppliers to come up with a solution to make the evaluation of RADAR-, LiDAR- and vision-based ADAS easier, Oxford Technical Solutions (OxTS) has created a powerful new processing function within its RT-Range product. The Multiple Sensor Points feature is aimed squarely at cutting the amount of work engineers have to do by automatically evaluating the visibility of polygon-based targets to sensors and generating additional measurements to those targets that are output in real-time and logged internally.
“As a leading supplier of ADAS test and validation equipment, we’re really excited about Multiple Sensor Points,” says Simon Thompson, automotive business manager at OxTS. “For ADAS tests like cross-junction, blind spot detection and park-assist, this new feature makes real-time verification of sensors quick and easy, because as soon as a target enters the sensing field of a Multiple Sensor Point, the RT-Range begins to output measurements. These include distance to target, visibility percentage and the percentage of the sensor’s field of view that is occupied by the target. The additional measurements are created for each target present in each sensor’s field of vision and it really is changing the way our users are able to evaluate their solutions.”
During configuration of the RT-Range, up to 12 separate Sensor Points can be specified, with each one defined by its location on the test vehicle, relative heading, field of view and both the minimum and maximum detection distances. In applications where a single sensor with multiple detection fields is being evaluated, as is often used in active cruise control sensors, several Sensor Points can be stacked at the same location to provide an accurate representation of the sensor being tested.
One powerful aspect of Multiple Sensor Points is the way it has been integrated into the RT Range real-time monitoring software. The interface of the Bird’s Eye View software has been fully updated and now shows the detection fields of any Sensor Points, as well as the measurements relating to them. This allows engineers in the test vehicle to have a full overview of how the system is working and provides a quick way of verifying results whether the vehicle is being used on a closed test track or out on the open road.