Simplified validation of an infotainment system of a vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for testing a human-machine interface (1) for a vehicle, said interface having a touchpad and a display unit, wherein a computing unit (3) specifies contact information to be tested and transmits same to a microcontroller (5), which converts the information into a USB signal and transmits the result to the human-machine interface (1) as the equivalent of a touch input carried out on the touchpad, and an LVDS-HDMI converter (7) transforms an LVDS signal, which is output by the human-machine interface (1) and is provided for the display unit, into an HDMI signal and transmits same to an HDMI grabber (9). The HDMI grabber (9) transmits the data tapped by the HDMI grabber to the computing unit (3), which checks the data obtained by the HDMI grabber (9) for correctness with respect to the previous contact information to be tested.

Description

[0001] SIMPLIFIED VALIDATION OF A VEHICLE INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM

[0002] The invention relates to a system for testing a human-machine interface for a vehicle having a touch panel and a display unit, and to a method for testing a human-machine interface for a vehicle having a touch panel and a display unit.

[0003] The following information does not necessarily arise from a specific prior art document, but is generally known technical knowledge and results from practical considerations:

[0004] In modern infotainment systems, LVDS (short for "Low Voltage Differential Signal," also known as "TIA / EIA-644") is a common standard for an interface for transmitting image information from an infotainment system control unit to a display unit such as a screen. Before delivering a vehicle with such an infotainment system, comprehensive testing of each individual system is recommended to ensure the greatest possible reliability of the infotainment system's functionality. For automated testing, for example, the display can be filmed using a camera, and a touchscreen can be physically operated using a robotic arm.

[0005] Alternatively, it is possible to use an LVDS grabber to directly capture image information digitally and also input touch information digitally, without having to touch a touch panel such as a touchscreen. In this case, the LVDS grabber replaces the display and deserializes the image information so that it is available digitally on a computer and can be directly processed as an image. The touch information is then typically transmitted via a separate sideband communication via l 2 C or UART.

[0006] CN 203350875 U more broadly relates to an intelligent touch computer that uses an Android operating system. The touch computer consists of an Android system panel, a liquid crystal display, a power strip, and an infrared touch screen. The infrared touch screen is attached to the surface of the liquid crystal display and electrically connected to the Android system panel via a USB data line. The liquid crystal display is electrically connected to the Android system panel via an LVDS data line. The intelligent touch computer based on the Android system has the advantages of being able to perform positioning on the surface of the liquid crystal display by touch to achieve click, move, and write functions, being operable via an external mouse and an external keyboard, and being suitable for various operating environments.

[0007] The object of the invention is to validate a human-machine interface for a vehicle, wherein the human-machine interface has at least one touch panel and a display unit, i.e. to be able to test the reliability and functionality of the inputs received at the touch panel with a corresponding reaction on the display unit in a better and more cost-effective manner.

[0008] The invention is based on the features of the independent claims. Advantageous developments and refinements are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0009] A first aspect of the invention relates to a system for testing a human-machine interface for a vehicle, comprising a touch panel and a display unit, comprising a computing unit, a microcontroller, an LVDS-HDMI converter, and an HDMI grabber. The computing unit is designed to specify touch information to be tested and to transmit it to the microcontroller. The microcontroller is designed to convert the touch information to be tested into a USB signal and to transmit the result of the conversion to the human-machine interface as the equivalent of a touch input made on the touch panel. The LVDS-HDMI converter is designed to transform an LVDS signal output at the human-machine interface and intended for the display unit into an HDMI signal and to transmit the HDMI signal to the HDMI grabber. The HDMI grabber is designed toto transmit the data it has captured to the computing unit, wherein the computing unit is designed to check the data received from the HDMI grabber for accuracy with respect to the previous touch information to be tested.

[0010] LVDS is a standard and stands for "Low Voltage Differential Signal," also known as "TIA / EIA-644." USB also refers to the "Universal Serial Bus," familiar from countless consumer devices; HDMI also refers to the "High-Definition Multimedia Interface," which is also regularly used in monitors and TVs for home use. The RS232 standard, mentioned later, has been used for serial interfaces since the 1960s and is still used today. An HDMI grabber is used to capture an HDMI signal and capture / tap it in a processable form, particularly for forwarding or storage.

[0011] The human-machine interface is intended for a vehicle and has at least one touchpad and a display unit. The touchpad and display unit can also be integrated into a common system, for example, as a touch-sensitive screen with capacitive touch sensitivity. The touchpad has at least the properties to be able to recognize touches by a person, in particular their finger, and to assign them to certain coordinates on the touchpad. While in the simplest case the touchpad is a display-free touchpad and the display unit is a separate screen or a head-up display of the vehicle, a touch-sensitive screen can enable intuitive control of the functions assigned to the human-machine interface, for example, operating menus on the display unit by direct touch, moving a digital map displayed there, etc.

[0012] Such a human-machine interface for a vehicle typically has the functionality of a vehicle infotainment system, i.e., it is designed to control vehicle functions and provide information to the driver, as well as to entertain the driver or other vehicle occupants. Since the human-machine interface with such functionality is typically located in the area in front of the front seats (driver's seat and front passenger seat) with its corresponding elements, particularly in the area of ​​the vehicle's dashboard, it is also referred to as an "automotive head unit" if it has the corresponding functionality.

[0013] The computing unit is preferably a laptop or desktop computer, as common operating systems, such as a Linux distribution, can easily be installed on such commercially available devices. The computing unit is used, in particular, to provide touch information to be tested, for example, from a pre-stored file. Such touch information to be tested defines, in particular, a swipe gesture, a touch at a certain coordinate of the touch pad, and the like.

[0014] The touch information to be tested is transferred from the processing unit to the specially programmed microcontroller, for example via RS232. Appropriately formatted data is transferred from the microcontroller in a data stream to the human-machine interface via USB to emulate actual touch inputs on the touchpad, performed by a user. Operating systems for such human-machine interfaces for vehicles, such as infotainment systems, typically offer support for connecting a computer mouse, such as the Android operating system. This provides a simple way to input touch information to be tested as if it were actually being performed by a user. For this purpose, the microcontroller is programmed to behave like a human interface device (HID) and to be recognized as such by the human-machine interface via the USB connection.

[0015] After the touch information to be tested has arrived at the human-machine interface in a corresponding data format, as if a real user had made a touch input on the touch pad, the human-machine interface reacts accordingly to the simulated input and delivers corresponding reactive data to its display unit. To control the display unit, the human-machine interface outputs data in the form of an LVDS signal, which is transformed into an HDMI format by the LVDS-HDMI converter and then captured by the HDMI grabber. The HDMI grabber sends appropriately formatted data to the processing unit via USB.

[0016] Thus, the computing unit has complete knowledge of the respective touch information to be tested, as if it had perfect knowledge of a touch input made by a user on the touch panel of the human-machine interface. In addition, it has access to the information, simply converted into its data format, as output via the LVDS signal from the human-machine interface to control the display unit. With the knowledge of the input information and the ideal output information, a comparison can be made with the actual output information for the display unit, thus verifying the correct functioning of the infotainment system.

[0017] The system according to the invention makes it possible to digitally capture images from the infotainment system using a commercially available HDMI to USB converter. Touch commands are fed into the infotainment system via the USB interface using a specially programmed microcontroller.

[0018] A commercially available HDMI to USB converter is used for this purpose, for example, to transfer images from an infotainment system to a computer for further processing. This requires that the LVDS signal is first converted to an HDMI signal using an adapter board. This adapter board is typically provided by the infotainment system manufacturer.

[0019] The system allows the use of standard components and standard interfaces, significantly reducing costs. Furthermore, the system is much easier to configure and maintain.

[0020] According to an advantageous embodiment, the computing unit is designed to transfer the touch information to be tested to the microcontroller via an RS232 interface.

[0021] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the human-machine interface is an infotainment system for a vehicle.

[0022] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the computing unit is designed to sequentially specify a plurality of different touch information items to be tested and to check the data received from the HD I-Grabber in response thereto for correctness with respect to the respective preceding touch information item to be tested.

[0023] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the computing unit is designed to check the data received from the HDMI grabber for accuracy with respect to the preceding touch information to be tested by comparing a stored specification of a touch information to be tested with a stored associated specification of associated data received from the HDMI grabber.

[0024] According to a further advantageous embodiment, the HDMI grabber is designed to capture the HDMI signal as a data stream and to transmit data packets generated therefrom to the computing unit via a USB interface.

[0025] Alternatively, the HDMI grabber can be designed to permanently and continuously capture a data stream in HDMI format and transmit a transformed data stream to the processing unit via USB. Another aspect of the invention relates to a method for testing a human-machine interface for a vehicle, comprising a touch panel and a display unit, comprising the steps:

[0026] - Specifying touch information to be tested and transmitting it to a microcontroller by a computing unit;

[0027] - Converting the touch information to be tested into a USB signal and passing the result of the conversion to the human-machine interface as the equivalent of a touch input on the touch pad by the microcontroller;

[0028] - Transforming an LVDS signal output at the human-machine interface into an HDMI signal and transmitting the HDMI signal to an HDMI grabber via an LVDS-HDMI converter;

[0029] - Transmitting the data captured by the HDMI grabber to the processing unit; and

[0030] - Checking the data output by the HDMI grabber and received by the computing unit for correctness with respect to the previous touch information to be tested by the computing unit.

[0031] Advantages and preferred developments of the proposed method result from an analogous and analogous transfer of the statements made above in connection with the proposed system.

[0032] Further advantages, features, and details will become apparent from the following description, which – where appropriate with reference to the drawings – describes at least one embodiment in detail. Identical, similar, and / or functionally equivalent parts are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0033] They show:

[0034] Fig. 1: A method for testing a human-machine interface for a vehicle having a touch panel and a display unit according to an embodiment of the invention.

[0035] Fig. 2: A system by means of which the method according to Fig. 1 is carried out.

[0036] Fig. 1 shows a method for testing and thus validating a human-machine interface 1 having a touch pad and a display unit in the function of an infotainment system for a vehicle. This method is carried out on a system whose topology is shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 can therefore also be used to further understand the method steps. In a first step of the method, touch information to be tested is specified S1. This touch information comprises a temporal progression of touched coordinates of the touch pad. Thus, information is defined to simulate a testing gesture of a user on the touch pad. However, the touch pad is not physically touched; instead, the touch information is transmitted to a microcontroller 5 by the computing unit 3 via an input-side RS232 interface on the microcontroller 5.In a second step S2, the microcontroller 5 converts the touch information to be tested into a USB signal and transmits the result of the conversion to the human-machine interface 1 via USB as the equivalent of a touch input on the touch pad by a user, as if the user were actually touching the touch pad in a manner and with a temporal sequence specified by the touch information. For this purpose, the human-machine interface 1 has a correspondingly compatible interface via USB, which allows an equivalent signal to be received via USB instead of a touch input on the touch pad. This is already provided for in the Android operating system of the human-machine interface and does not require any changes to the human-machine interface 1. The human-machine interface 1 thus receives the equivalent of a touch input on the touch pad and reacts to this input accordingly.The human-machine interface 1 is designed to display its response on a display unit and, for this purpose, to generate an LVDS signal in order to supply the display unit with corresponding information. However, this LVDS signal output at the human-machine interface 1 is tapped by an LVDS-HDMI converter 7 and transformed S3 into an HDMI signal, and the HDMI signal is transmitted to an HDMI grabber 9. The data thus tapped by the HDMI grabber 9, which is output by the LVDS-HDMI converter 7, is then transmitted S4 to the computing unit 3. This enables the computing unit 3 to check S5 the accuracy of the data output by the HDMI grabber 9 and received at the computing unit 3 with respect to the previous touch information to be tested.

[0037] Fig. 2 shows a system for carrying out the method according to Fig. 1. A computing unit 3 as a commercially available desktop computer with a desktop operating system with a desktop GUI has a serial RS232 interface to supply a separate microcontroller 5 with touch information to be tested. The microcontroller 5 converts this information into a USB signal and, after conversion, feeds this information to the human-machine interface 1 via a USB interface. Instead of a key input, the human-machine interface 1 thus receives a signal such as could have been received from the touch panel if corresponding touches had been made on the touch panel. The human-machine interface 1 reacts to these simulated touches and sends out an LVDS signal to display image information such as menu controls.This LVDS signal is tapped and transformed by an LVDS-HDMI converter 7, transmitted to an HDMI grabber 9, and from there via USB to the computing unit 3. Thus, the computing unit 3, with knowledge of the signal of the human-machine interface 1 generated when a real touch input is made on its touchpad, as well as with knowledge of the content of the LVDS signal of the human-machine interface 1 generated in response to it, can check and validate it by comparing it with corresponding references. Such a system can be used cost-effectively in the series production of vehicles with corresponding human-machine interfaces 1, such as infotainment systems.

[0038] Although the invention has been illustrated and explained in detail by preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations may be derived therefrom by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention. It is therefore clear that a multitude of variations exist. It is also clear that exemplary embodiments are truly only examples and should not be construed as limiting the scope, possible applications, or configuration of the invention in any way.Rather, the preceding description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in concrete terms, whereby the person skilled in the art, with knowledge of the disclosed inventive concept, can make various changes, for example with regard to the function or the arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an exemplary embodiment, without departing from the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description.

[0039] List of reference symbols

[0040] 1 Human-machine interface

[0041] 3 Computing unit

[0042] 5 microcontrollers

[0043] 7 LVDS-HDMI converters 9 HDMI grabbers

[0044] 51 Pretending

[0045] 52 Walking

[0046] 53 Transform S4 Transmit

[0047] S5 Check

Claims

Patent claims 1. A system for testing a human-machine interface (1) for a vehicle, comprising a touch panel and a display unit, comprising a computing unit (3), a microcontroller (5), an LVDS-HDMI converter (7), and an HDMI grabber (9), wherein the computing unit (3) is designed to specify touch information to be tested and to transmit it to the microcontroller (5), wherein the microcontroller (5) is designed to convert the touch information to be tested into a USB signal and to transmit the result of the conversion to the human-machine interface (1) as the equivalent of a touch input made on the touch panel, and wherein the LVDS-HDMI converter (7) is designed to transform an LVDS signal output at the human-machine interface (1) and intended for the display unit into an HDMI signal and to transmit the HDMI signal to the HDMI grabber (9), and wherein the HDMI grabber (9) is designed to is,to transmit the data retrieved by it to the computing unit (3), wherein the computing unit (3) is designed to check the data received from the HDMI grabber (9) for accuracy with respect to the preceding touch information to be tested.

2. System according to claim 1, wherein the computing unit (3) is designed to transfer the touch information to be tested to the microcontroller (5) via an RS232 interface.

3. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the human-machine interface (1) is an infotainment system for a vehicle.

4. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the computing unit (3) is designed to sequentially specify a plurality of different touch information to be tested and to check the data received from the HDMI grabber (9) in response thereto for correctness with respect to the respective preceding touch information to be tested.

5. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the computing unit (3) is designed to check the data received from the HDMI grabber (9) for correctness with respect to the preceding Touch information by comparing a stored specification of touch information to be tested with a stored associated specification of associated data received from the HDMI grabber (9).

6. System according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the HDMI grabber (9) is designed to tap the HD I signal as a data stream and to transmit data packets generated therefrom to the computing unit (3) via a USB interface.

7. A method for testing a human-machine interface (1) for a vehicle having a touch panel and a display unit, comprising the steps: - specifying (S1) a touch information to be tested and transmitting this to a microcontroller (5) by a computing unit (3); - converting (S2) the touch information to be tested into a USB signal and transferring the result of the conversion to the human-machine interface (1) as the equivalent of a touch input on the touch panel by the microcontroller (5); - Transforming (S3) an LVDS signal output at the human-machine interface (1) into an HDMI signal and transmitting the HDMI signal to an HDMI grabber (9) via an LVDS-HDMI converter (7); - transmitting (S4) the data retrieved from the HDMI grabber (9) to the processing unit (3); and - Checking (S5) the data output by the HDMI grabber (9) and received at the computing unit (3) for correctness with respect to the preceding touch information to be tested by the computing unit (3).

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