Kubota sought a portable and efficient dynamometer that could accurately simulate real-world towing loads for UTVs and recreational vehicles, without the burden of excessive size or weight. The system needed to maintain high accuracy, durability and mobility to be integrated effectively into the company’s testing environment.

In response, MAE engineered the MDT-8KN-UL, a lightweight tow dynamometer, designed to meet the performance and portability requirements of Kubota’s engineering team.

Key design elements include a reduced weight frame and housing, making it 1,000 lb lighter than MAE’s standard model MDT-8KN Tow Dyno. It offers a minimum speed of 1.0mph (1.5km/h) and a maximum speed of 60mph (100km/h), and can provide grade simulation up to 80% for a vehicle weighing 4,200 lb (1,900kg). Data acquisition systems enable engineers to capture and analyze vehicle performance under load in real time.

Available control modes included Manual Control, Constant Force (Draw Bar), Constant Speed, Constant Power and Vehicle Simulation (A, Bv, Cv2, weight, grade). Another key feature of the MDT-8KN-UL tow dyno is script testing, which enables the operator to create unique test cycles based on time or distance. The operator can easily configure the software to change between control modes while the tow dynamometer is executing the test cycle.

Other features include turnkey installation, automated sear shifting, metered transmission oil system and fully automated test-out sequence.

The delivered tow dynamometer has significantly improved Kubota’s R&D capabilities by enhancing the precision of performance testing for UTVs and recreational vehicles, enabling realistic, field-simulated testing in a controlled environment and providing a cost-effective and scalable solution for future product development.

In related news, a state-of-the-art crash test facility for Indian vehicle manufacturer Mahindra has been completed and commissioned by Messring in the southern state of Tamil Nadu

The Kia EV9’s thermal system consists of a heat pump, climate control system and defrost and de-icing features. Furthermore, the OEM has added a new and easy to use climate control panel and improved roof vents for additional comfort and convenience.

Unlike the majority of EVs, which utilize a basic electric heater for cabin climate control, the EV9 features a heat pump for extra efficiency. For additional efficiency, the waste heat of the e-motors and power electronics system is collected and used to heat the interior. By reducing the energy consumption, driving range is increased.

“Our goal is to tune the climate system to offer the best compromise between cabin comfort and energy consumption,” said Richard Peiler, group manager HVAC & PT Cooling at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center. “We are confident that EV9 customers will experience both a comfortable cabin and a satisfying driving range.”

The EV9 features three seat rows and can accommodate up to seven passengers, with two independent climate control systems. This enables separate climate zones for the driver, the front passenger and the rear passengers. As standard, the seats equipped in the front and the first row are all ventilated and heated, and feature new wiring to further enhance efficiency.

“Having two independent HVAC systems doesn’t only increase comfort – it also reduces unnecessary power consumption,” commented Gregor Krumboeck, product marketing manager at Kia Europe. “They can save energy by turning off the air conditioning for empty seats, or for passengers who don’t want it.”

When carrying out testing of the HVAC systems, the OEM’s engineers tuned the control algorithm of the climate control to maximize cabin comfort and to optimize power consumption under extreme weather scenarios.

The new cabin climate control can automatically control the inside temperature, intensity and direction of air flow, or the passengers can instead manually change these. Furthermore, new and enhanced vents located in the roof have been added to optimize air resistance and diffusion angle to heat or cool all passengers located in the second and third rows.

Kia has also updated the air conditioning system with a new after-blow system which reduces condensation build up on the evaporator to prevent bacteria from growing and unwanted odors.

It requires many representative test drives in the most realistic environments possible to control the performance of ADAS/AD sensors and driving functions. The higher the degree of automation (SAE level 0 to 5) of the car, the more this applies. Nevertheless, the companies state that it is possible to implement cost-efficient and reliable validation methods – for example, through objective comparisons between vehicle cognition and a high-precision environmental reference, also known as ground truth.

The AVL Dynamic Ground Truth System (DGT) enables 360° environment recognition, which is completely independent of the test vehicle’s sensors. Lidar sensors, high-resolution cameras and GNSS systems record the environment around the test vehicle and generate a continuous data stream of 1TB per hour. At the same time, the sensor data from the test vehicle is also recorded in the DGT system, which means a similar volume of data.

In practice, the data continues to mount up: more than 20TB per vehicle is the norm in a standard eight-hour shift. Global driving campaigns, which typically use 20 or more vehicles, soon reach volumes of around 0.5 petabytes (PB) per day. These figures illustrate just how important an efficient and high-performance validation environment is to a successful safeguarding.

“Data-driven development is a key method in the development and validation of ADAS/AD systems. With the AVL Ground Truth data recording system, the high-performance b-plus data logger and the analysis platform from AVL, it is possible to call upon a standardized and scalable environment for the implementation of this method,” said Steffen Metzner, product manager in the field of ADAS/AD Testing Solutions at AVL.

The DGT system handles this flood of data using Brick 2 from b-plus. This integrated data logger synchronously records the input from reference systems and vehicle sensors. In the subsequent processing, performance and scalability are key: using b-plus CopyLynx, the data is automatically transferred to a high-performance computer center or a corresponding data cloud, where the AVL ADAS/AD Analytics Platform (AAP) immediately organizes and analyses it.

“For our customers in the ADAS/AD environment, it is increasingly important to have access to high-quality data, which can be used as a basis for their data-driven development. The combination of the AVL reference sensor system and the hardware and software toolbox from b-plus is a comprehensive solution stack. Our technologies complement each other perfectly, in order to gather large volumes of data and transfer it to the data center,” said Stefan Rankl, key account Manager at b-plus.

The new proving ground will sit partly on the site of the former Oakfield Airfield in Buckinghamshire, halfway between Oxford and Aylesbury. It is expected to occupy a total area of 77ha and feature over 105,000m2  of tracks, loops and intersections. The old airfield’s hangar will be preserved to allocate workshops and offices.

CAV development and ADAS validation testing programs

CAVWAY will include a comprehensive set of highway junctions, all within a fully connected, controlled, repeatable and safe environment to perform all required development and validation testing programs for ADAS and CAV development, according to the latest Euro NCAP and regulation requirements.

A wide variety of testing possibilities for development and validation projects will be possible as a result of fully configurable V2X, C-V2X and 4G/5G network coverage. It will therefore be possible to control everything the vehicle ‘hears’ and ‘sees’ in order to set up all kinds of tricky edge-case traffic scenarios, facilitating seamless integration between experimental and virtual development work. Additionally, CAVWAY will offer vehicle simulation and cybersecurity testing in normal and abnormal conditions, as well as connectivity testing and benchmarking, among other services.

CAVWAY is part of a central UK government initiative by the Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). Overall, the initiative provided £100m (US$138m) of government funding, which was match-funded by industry to create a network of testing sites across the UK to support the emerging industry for connected and autonomous technology.

Specialized in the development and testing of autonomous and connected vehicles, CAVWAY is located near Oxford and will be one of the most comprehensive facilities of its kind in the UK. The facilities are expected to be operative in Q4 2021.

https://youtu.be/X0A9Tqv6YHQ

By exploiting the synergies between physical and virtual testing, Idiada can generate and correlate models using its own tracks, available as public road data files and high-resolution graphics.“The driving simulator is a key facility in our chassis and vehicle dynamics development projects as it links up our virtual and real activities,” said Roger Mateu, head of vehicle dynamics and NVH at Applus+ Idiada.

“Driving simulators are an essential tool in the development and testing of new vehicles. The level of accuracy of virtual vehicle models, the precision of movements of the motion platform, and the availability of rendered tracks has reached an unprecedented level of accuracy. Results from driving simulators are reliable, and CAE engineers, together with test drivers, can take important decisions before building the first prototype and hitting the track for the first time,” explained Alessio Lombardi, south Europe sales director at VI-grade.

“Idiada selected our DiM250 dynamic driving simulator and compact simulator to bridge the gap between testing and simulation, to help its customers to develop cars faster and better, and to provide a multidisciplinary laboratory to find the best trade-off between different vehicle targets. What Idiada is doing is a sign of the revolution that is happening in the way cars are developed nowadays and engineers and drivers here are getting ready for the near future.”

The new simulation lab’s main feature is the dynamic DiM250 simulator, which can generate longitudinal, transversal and rotational acceleration forces up to 2.5g, characterized by extremely low latency and high frequency, replicating a wide range of vehicle dynamics maneuvers and reproducing complex driving situations. The DiM250 is complemented by a compact driving simulator that shares the same main features, except for the motion system.

Norman Dewis, the man responsible for developing some of the most iconic Jaguars ever, has passed away aged 98. Over a 33-year career with Jaguar, Norman’s fearlessness, talent and friendly, humble demeanor helped establish him not only as one of Britain’s greatest ever test drivers, but a veritable legend to the Jaguar brand.

There he developed the multiple Le Mans-winning C- and D-type racing cars, the XK 140 and 150 sports cars, the 2.4/3.4 and Mk 2 sedans plus the Mk VII and Mk VIIM models, the E-type (including the Lightweight E-type), the XJ13 mid-engined prototype, and the XJ-S and the XJ40 sedan models.

Unusually, Norman reported directly to Jaguar chief engineer, William Heynes; this arrangement was probably unique in the motor industry for a test engineer and it enabled the company’s chief engineer (later engineering director) instant, first-hand feedback on the proving process. Norman also sent copies of his reports to company founder Sir William Lyons. Both placed considerable store by what Norman said.

Born in Coventry, Norman began working on cars at age 14, fitting wings and hoods at the Humber factory. At 15 he moved to another auto maker, Armstrong Siddeley, where he spent time in the chassis department and first learned to drive while taking cars on their shakedown runs. During World War II, Norman was drafted into the RAF, working the gun turret of a Blenheim bomber, before joining Jaguar after a post-war stint at Lea-Francis.

Besides the many cars Norman helped develop in his career, one of his first projects is arguably the one that’s had the greatest, lasting effect on the automotive industry: the disc brake. Norman became involved with Jaguar and Dunlop’s development of the revolutionary braking system, famously trialled in a C-type at the 1952 Mille Miglia with Stirling Moss in the driving seat and Norman navigating.

In 1953, Norman also set a 172.412mph (277.470km/h) production car speed record in a modified Jaguar XK120 on a closed section of the Jabbeke highway, Belgium. He also drove a 190mph (305km/h) works D-type in the disastrous 1955 Le Mans 24hr race with greats like Moss, Mike Hawthorn and Juan Manuel Fangio. Such was Hawthorn’s faith in Norman that when he was asked to attend a test session and saw that Norman was already there, he asked the team manager: “Why am I here? If Norman’s satisfied with it, I’m satisfied.”

Outside of racing car development, Norman is also famous for his legendary night-time dash from Coventry to the Geneva Motor Show in 1961 for the launch of the Jaguar E-type. Covering roughly 700 miles (1,120km) in another E-Type sourced from the factory for press demos, Norman arrived roughly 15 hours later having only stopped once for fuel – hugely impressive at a time when there were no freeways.

In an era without seatbelts or crash safety, Norman was fearless. In total, it’s estimated he completed more than a million test miles at an average speed of higher than 100mph (162km/h), with a number of heroic anecdotes as a result. Whether it was the D-type that flipped and landed on top of him while testing glass-fiber panels or the XJ-13 that rolled end over end during a high-speed run, Norman managed to walk away without a scratch, didn’t tell his wife and then was back to work the next day.

Norman also built up a small but highly dedicated vehicle proving department, which he headed until his retirement in 1985. He also oversaw the establishment of a dedicated Jaguar test facility at Nardo, Italy and, in 1984, a major base at Phoenix, Arizona, for durability and environmental testing in the USA.

Following his retirement, Norman remained at Jaguar as a global ambassador to the brand (a role he held right up until his death) and could be found at many Jaguar events, chatting with fans and friends, wearing his distinctive bootlace tie and cowboy boots. During this time, he spearheaded Jaguar’s 60th anniversary celebrations for the race-winning D-type, and even got behind the wheel of the car at the 2014 Goodwood Revival, proving he hadn’t lost his touch.

Norman also consulted with the Jaguar Classic Works on the launch of the continuation Lightweight E-Type, a car he originally helped develop in the 1960s. In recognition of his services to Jaguar and the British motor industry, in 2014 Norman received the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Prof. Dr Ralf Speth, Jaguar Land Rover CEO, said: “The Jaguar brand is synonymous with a number of big personalities: the founder, Sir William Lyons; the great designer, Malcolm Sayer; innovative engineer Bill Heynes; and – of course – the great test driver, Norman Dewis. Norman’s name will quite rightly go down in Jaguar history; without his contribution to the brand during his 33-year career, or as a global ambassador in his later years, Jaguar just wouldn’t be the same. So, I hope the world will join me and everyone associated with Jaguar Land Rover in saying: thank you, Norman.”

Autonomous vehicles use millions of lines of code and a variety of interconnected systems and sensors – all of which have the potential to be manipulated or otherwise compromised. Threats include sensor jamming, forged vehicle communications, leaked data and physical attacks, which can either affect the vehicle itself (and its safety systems) or the owner’s data. In more serious cases, security issues can affect the safety of passengers and others.

The benefits of autonomous vehicles are legion, but as with every other major advance in technology, they introduce new issues and concerns that must be overcome. To effectively combat potential attacks, vehicle manufacturers must view their autonomous cars as business-critical data systems.

Specific threats
Some attacks against autonomous vehicles currently require a level of sophistication or access to equipment that is beyond the average person. The most likely threats will come from items and knowledge that are easily accessible. An attack that can be carried out with a laptop, a USB cable and some software downloaded from the internet is a more likely threat than those involving lasers and other components meant to blind the sensors of an autonomous vehicle.

It is important for developers and manufacturers to understand the current threat landscape, what is currently being developed by criminals, and who among them have an interest in attacking self-driving vehicles and for what purpose. Some of these specific risks are explored below.

• Sensor jamming, spoofing and blinding: Current approaches to self-driving automation leverage a variety of cameras, lasers, GPS, radar and other sensors to give the vehicle the environmental and situational awareness it needs. Each of these types of sensors can be blinded or jammed, thereby hindering the vehicle’s ability to retain full awareness of environmental conditions or potential obstructions.

• DoS/DDoS [(distributed) denial of service] attacks: Autonomous cars will be fitted with a number of communications systems that are designed to receive and share information necessary for safe navigation and driving. These communications systems could include vehicle-to-satellite, vehicle-to-vehicle, vehicle-to-internet and more. There is also communication within the vehicle itself via the ‘controller area network’. Disruption of any of these methods of communication can degrade the ability of the car to operate appropriately.

• Forged vehicle communications: Another risk involving communications would be the forging of vehicle communications to spoof hazards that don’t exist or attempts to cause a vehicle to behave in ways it wasn’t designed or intended to. One potential problem revolves around protocols that lack cryptographically sound integrity checks. These protocols may be vulnerable to spoofing depending on their implementation and communication methods.

• Leaked data: Autonomous cars will, by nature, have a significant amount of data about the travels and potentially some of the communications of its passengers. Additionally, personalization features as well as other functionality may have to store sensitive information about passengers, such as payment details and other personally identifiable information (PII). If the vehicle is compromised, this information could be obtained by an attacker.

• Physical attacks: Certain attacks could be carried out by those with physical access to the vehicle. Vehicular systems that are exposed to passengers such as USB ports or OBD-2 ports might provide mechanisms to allow for malicious use or exploitation. As with other technological systems, physical access often bypasses controls that are specifically in place to prevent remote exploitation.

Potential mitigations
Designers should take all the above threats into account when developing autonomous driving systems and build in sufficient defense systems and redundancy to address these.

Some of these examples may include:

• Safety protocols that put vehicles in ‘lock-down’ mode: When enabled, the attack surface is reduced to the minimum necessary to safely carry passengers to their destination. These protocols could be activated at times when specific threats are present or likely.
• Access controls to prevent unauthorized communication: Systems that only allow accepted types of communications may provide adequate defense, but additional research into other vehicle-based solutions against DoS and DDoS attacks should be conducted.
• Sharing of threats and other security concerns via V2V communications.

It remains to be seen how effective the security measures engineered into autonomous vehicle systems will be when these are the default vehicles on the road. The auto industry has built processes around how it handles defects and vehicle recalls, but it has yet to prove itself capable of effectively responding to widespread cybersecurity issues.

While cyberattacks pose a risk to the vehicle owners themselves, a bigger potential impact is the longer-lasting effect on the reputation of vehicle manufacturers. Loss or tampering of customer data through a cyberattack could lead to reduced customer trust– affecting sales and share price.

Vehicle manufacturers have taken steps to improve cybersecurity, such as the establishment in 2015 of a threat intelligence sharing group called the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Auto-ISAC). However, with more and more vehicles boasting automatic driving systems, manufacturers must take every precaution to defend against malicious threats that could lead to serious consequences and undermine the trust the public places in these innovations.

Allen will succeed Dr George Gillespie, who is to become executive chairman of Horiba MIRA and executive vice president of the ATS division.

As managing director, Allen will take over the day to day management of Horiba MIRA, focusing on the ongoing development of its engineering and testing services. He will prioritize further collaboration with Horiba in developing test equipment and will continue to expand the business’s international reach through the Horiba network, particularly in Japan, China, India, Europe and the USA.

Allen’s new brief will also include pushing forward Horiba MIRA’s work in electrification, connected and autonomous vehicle technology, vehicle resilience and cybersecurity.

Allen said, “The past few years have seen strong growth across the business and I’m committed to building on this success. Under George’s leadership we have accelerated our integration with Horiba and delivered significant investment in new facilities such as the Advanced Emissions Test Centre, the expansion of MIRA Technology Park, and the Advanced Battery Development Suite opening this month.

“We will continue to expand our world-class, global team in both core and emerging business areas, providing exciting career development opportunities for both existing and new team members as we grow.”

Declan Allen joined MIRA as operations director in August 2011 before taking on the increased responsibility of chief operating officer (COO) in February 2013. He is a mechanical engineer by profession, with a masters in mechanical and industrial engineering from Queens University in Belfast, Ireland, and brings 17 years of operational management experience in the automotive and motorsport sector to his role at Horiba MIRA.

It is typically sorted into four use cases: communications of vehicles to other vehicles (V2V), vehicles to road-side infrastructure (V2I), vehicles to pedestrians (V2P), and vehicles to the cellular network (V2N). Together, they are referred to as vehicles to everything (V2X) and have the capacity to dramatically improve our roads.

Undeniably, V2X technology will provide safety features far beyond what is offered in other advanced driver assist systems (ADAS). Most existing systems rely on computer vision, radar, or lidar technologies. The problem with such technologies is that their signals cannot penetrate through vehicles. No information is available about vehicles outside the line of sight. Conversely, V2X provides critical information about vehicles inside and outside the line of sight, if they are inside a specified communications range.

To implement V2X technology, two types are being put forward: dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) and cellular vehicle-to-any-device (C-V2X) communications. Both are made to operate at the 5.9GHz band and must adhere to the following stringent delay and reliability requirements: a communications latency with a delay of less than 100ms; a communications range of at least 300m; and supported vehicular speeds equivalent to typical highway velocities.

A derivative of wi-fi technology, DSRC’s communications protocols (PHY and MAC layers) are specified by the IEEE 802.11p standard. Its supporters say all aspects of DSRC standards and all safety considerations have been addressed in the last eight years of development. DSRC has recognized limitations, including support only for the V2V and V2I applications and an upper bound of reliability for vehicle density and communications range.

Founded on 4G-LTE cellular technology, C-V2X is part of the device-to-device (D2D) communications protocol of the sidelink (proximity server) mode of the LTE-Advanced standard. It allows every device to detect every other device in its proximity directly. Unlike DSRC, it supports the V2N and V2P vehicular communications use cases. Compared with DRSC, it supports higher speeds (up to 250km/h (155mph)) and higher density (thousands) of vehicles. Additional reports state that the cost of developing a C-V2X- based solution is far less than that of developing DSRC.

Currently, neither has been selected as the official V2X technology in any country. It is likely that both will be adopted, and vehicles equipped with a smart way to understand and decode data transmitted and received through each of these technologies.

It is essential to ensure safety-critical applications and devices like V2X work exactly as they were intended. Using computer simulations and model-based design tools it is possible to visualize and analyze various traffic scenarios and vehicular dynamics and to test that the V2X system provides collision avoidance as expected.

Urban safety and vehicular transportation is transforming radically through automation. With more cars on the roads using these types of automated driving features, including V2X, it will be possible to substantially improve the safety and security of driving.

Located just 100km from the Arctic Circle, GKN’s test track facility in Arjeplog, Sweden, provides a hostile driving environment that amplifies the impact of its technologies on vehicle performance. With temperatures reaching as low as -40°C, the climate enables its team of engineers to analyze and fine tune systems far quicker than if tested in normal road and weather conditions.

Back in 1988, during GKN’s first Wintertest, the driveline systems being tested included a range of viscous-fluid couplings for all-wheel drive (AWD) and limited-slip differential (LSD) functions.

The evaluation and development led to breakthroughs such as the first fast-rotating hang-on AWD drivetrain and cutting-edge LSD systems that have had a lasting impact on GKN’s product range. Since then, the testing process has advanced significantly, moving from handwritten records and mechanical adjustments to real-time data and on-the-fly software tuning.

Subsequent breakthroughs have included the development of Electronic Torque Manager (ETM) technology: an active eLSD application that leverages advanced traction and brake control systems. The ETM eLSD, which was honed during Wintertest activities, now appears on a wide range of high-performance sports cars and premium vehicles.

As GKN has continued to develop systems with an even keener focus on traction and lateral dynamics, extreme cold weather testing on low-friction surfaces has become an even more critical element of evaluation. This has also resulted in the development of more detailed torque measurement and instrumentation processes. In turn, GKN has been able to offer its customers ever greater possibilities for analyzing and altering the characteristics for each individual vehicle application.

Michael Ricks, director of global engineering capabilities at GKN, said, “We have moved from purely mechanical systems to state-of-the-art eDrive units, and the testing process has likewise become more digitized, with a significant focus on software calibration – making it quicker and more efficient than ever to make adjustments to the vehicle dynamics.”

The 30-year history of GKN’s Wintertest program also reflects its growth into the electrification market. The business’s early development of electronic control systems for vehicle dynamics – including integration of ECUs, actuators, sensors and software – has helped to lower barriers to entry for GKN in more recent years. At Wintertest 2018, GKN will showcase numerous state-of-the-art eDrive systems, including coaxial e-axles, the intelligent Multi-Mode e-transmission, and the brand new eTwinsterX with a two-speed gearbox and precision torque vectoring.

“When we first started testing in Arjeplog, we had a relatively small presence, but over the last 30 years GKN has expanded its Wintertest program substantially,” added Ricks. “We now have up to 25 engineers working here, and between 15 and 20 vehicles at different stages of testing.”

GKN has three test courses at its Arjeplog site, all located on a frozen lake: a circle with a diameter of 250m, a vehicle dynamics pad of 1.5km and a winding course of about 3km. All three courses are used for assessing the safety, durability and performance of its driveline systems, and determining driving stability and vehicle behavior.

Last year, GKN expanded its Wintertest program with a new facility at the Smithers Winter Test Center (SWTC) in Brimley, Michigan.

March 1, 2018