Tools for the "Using"-Phase

Introduction

The FOT piloting and execution phases will invariably produce a huge data load and necessitate tools to manage the FOT itself, data acquisition and collection. Depending on study parameters generic tools for fleet management, driver management and questionnaires will be necessary.

Test Control

Dedicated tools are necessary, if the FOT uses semi-controlled or controlled testing. These Test Control Tools connect equipped vehicles with test operators, allowing them to interfere in system or driver behaviour to ensure test progress as planned in the Preparing phase. Find a list of tools used for test control here: Test Control tools

Data Acquisition

The evaluation of an FOT relies on objective test data. This data is usually collected in the vehicles from various data sources. The selection of data to be collected happens in the Preparing phase. Typical data sources are CAN-bus, GPS data, Video feed, Function-specific data, HMI data etc. Find a list of tools used for data acquisition here: Data acquisition tools

Data transferal

Once collected on the vehicle, the FOT needs a reliable way to transfer data from vehicles to the central test database. While generic tools exist for such purposes (from simple file copy to automated rsync), the selection of used medium is highly dependent on other factors, such as fleet size, FOT duration, whether cars are private owned or project-owned, typical data volume per driving day and on-board storage. Find a list of data transferal tools here: Data transferal tools

Test monitoring

During the FOT phase, the vehicles might (in case of private-owned cars) not be accessible for the whole duration. It is therefore hard to survey test progress during this time. Even worse, system faults early on could remain undetected, endangering the FOT goals. Test monitoring tools are used to collect live real-time data from participating vehicles over cellular connections. Depening on study parameters these tools can allow in-depth monitoring capabilities similar to test data acquisition to quick-evaluate FOT progress. Find a list of test monitoring tools here: Test monitoring tools