Indoor EMC Simulator for Autonomous Driving Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous driving vehicles face challenges in electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) testing due to the difficulty in simulating strong electromagnetic interference in outdoor environments, necessitating indoor testing with limitations that restrict vehicle movement and sensor data availability.
Innovation Solution
The development of an EMC simulator that modifies autonomous driving modules to simulate outdoor driving scenarios within an indoor environment, allowing the vehicle to be positioned at a fixed spot and modifying modules such as localization, perception, planning, and CAN bus systems to mimic real-time operations without relying on GPS/IMU sensors or map data, enabling performance parameter testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If EMC testing is performed in an outdoor environment, then the vehicle can move freely as in normal operation, but the electromagnetic interference is not strong enough to have a meaningful impact on the software and hardware
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a software simulation system that copies and simulates outdoor driving scenarios, sensor data, and autonomous driving system operations within the indoor EMC testing environment. This allows the vehicle to remain stationary while the simulation recreates the conditions of outdoor operation, resolving the contradiction between needing strong EMI (indoor) and free movement (outdoor).
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary software simulation layer between the physical vehicle and the testing environment. This intermediary system translates and simulates sensor inputs, processing outputs, and driving scenarios, allowing the vehicle to be tested for EMC compliance without actually moving outdoors, thus bridging the gap between the two conflicting requirements.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the vehicle is positioned at a fixed spot in an indoor EMC testing environment, then strong electromagnetic interference can be generated, but the autonomous driving system requires modification to accommodate the positioning limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The software simulation system creates virtual copies of GPS/IMU sensor data and map information that would normally be available in outdoor environments. By simulating these inputs rather than requiring actual sensor functionality, the system avoids complex modifications to the autonomous driving hardware while still enabling meaningful EMC testing of the software and processing systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the autonomous driving system by transitioning from real-world sensor inputs to simulated sensor data. This parameter change allows the system to operate in a fixed indoor position while maintaining the functional equivalence of outdoor operation, reducing the need for physical modifications to the vehicle's autonomous driving components.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If GPS/IMU sensors and map data are not used in the indoor environment, then the vehicle can be positioned at a fixed spot for EMC testing, but the localization and navigation modules must be modified to simulate real-time operations
Solution Approach 1:
The software simulation system creates virtual copies of GPS coordinates, IMU sensor readings, and map data that would normally be received by the vehicle's localization modules. By feeding these simulated inputs to the autonomous driving system, the patent enables EMC testing of the localization and navigation software without requiring actual GPS/IMU functionality or physical movement, thus resolving the contradiction between fixed positioning and realistic operational testing.
Data Source
AI summary
According to some embodiments, a method of performing EMC testing of an ADV can be used According to some embodiments, a method of performing EMC testing of an ADV can be used to test how software and hardware components in the ADV are impacted in an indoor EMC testing environment. According to the method, the ADV can be positioned at a fixed spot in the indoor EMC testing environment, and can be driven in an autonomous driving mode for a predetermined period of time. One or more of the autonomous driving modules of the ADV are modified to accommodate the positioning of the ADV at the fixed spot and the indoor EMC testing environment. The ADV can determine if each of a plurality of performance parameters meets its performance metric during the predetermined period of time. If each performance parameters meets its performance metric, the ADV is considered to have passed the EMC testing.