WCU platform

The Wireless Communication Unit (WCU) is the in-vehicle unit running the WICE WCU software and communicating with the vehicle and the WICE back-end.

WCU:s are identified by a unique text string, which by convention is the MAC address of (one of) the ethernet interfaces in the unit. The WCU id is configured on each WCU (automatically from the MAC address) and is a search parameter available in the WICE Portal web-GUI.

WCU Hardware Platform

The following hardware platforms are supported for the WICE WCU:

• Host Mobility MX-4 (T20, T30, T30FR and V61)
• Fältcom MIIPS Committo
• Raspberry Pi
• Nvidia Jetson Xavier

Depending on the specific hardware platform, the WCU supports a number of communication interfaces, such as CAN, LIN, FlexRay and Ethernet and that be configured in different ways using the WICE Portal.

The WCU platform can also support some limited user-interaction through light-emitting diodes (LED) on the side of the unit. A description of the LEDs is available here.

WCU Firmware

The WCU firmware is the operating system, device drivers and basic packages required to run the system. The WCU units are delivered with the firmware installed. It can be remotely upgraded from the WICE Portal in a similar way as the WCU Software (see below).

WCU Software

The WCU software is delivered as a self-extracting application installation package, which can be run on the WCU:s manually from a command prompt, using a suitably prepared USB stick, or updated remotely using the WICE Portal mechanism for remote software upgrades.

The WICE solution for remote update of the WCU software works as follows: The Alkit staff member responsible for the WCU software deployment publishes installation packages for supported versions of the WCU software at the WICE Portal, in the WICE back-end server infrastructure. WICE administrators can then select which version of the available WCU software versions should be run on each of the WCUs that are registered in the system (see Edit WCU Configuration). This is done by choosing a particular version in a drop-down menu in the WICE Portal in the WCU configuration view. Many WCUs can be configured at the same time. Then, whenever a WCU connects to the back-end, a check is made to see whether a different WCU software version (higher or lower version) than the currently installed version for the WCU in question is configured. If so, the installation package is downloaded to the WCU’s solid-state storage over the secure TLS connection that was established when the WCU connected. When the download is finished, the WCU software package will be installed on the WCU. After the installation has finished, the WCU will report back to the WICE back-end infrastructure with the new version of the WCU, so that WICE administrators can keep track of the currently installed software version, as well as the history of software changes. A similar process is performed to update the WCU firmware and operating system. When new firmware is installed, the partition where the certificate and configuration files reside is left unaltered.

The WCU software release history is available [here].

Extra Bundles

Some WICE software packages, referred to as 'extra bundles' are not installed by default. The user needs to select which, if any, extra bundles should be installed on a particular WCU. This is done in the WICE Portal, Edit Configuration. For more information about Extra bundles, click here.

WCU Modules

The WCU Modules are the software components of the WCU producing measurement data. They are configured through the Configuration Manager, which communicates with the WICE Portal, where the user can access and change the overall WCU configuration and the per-module configurations.

The data capture behavior of the WCU modules is described by a measurement task, downloaded from the WICE Portal by the Task Manager component, which sets up the modules.

The available WCU modules are:

• Area5
• Audio
• Blue piraT
• Canrecorder
• DoIP
• ETAS
• Ethernet capture
• GPS
• IDC
• M-Log
• Rapid Prototyping
• Signal Reader
• State-of-Health
• SWDL
• Video
• WCU internals and status

Area5 module

The Area5 module is used to read out ECU memory segments using CCP or XCP. The binary data of the memory segments are uploaded to the back-end where they are translated into parameter sets and signals.

Audio module

The audio module makes it possible to record sound clips from microphones connected to the audio devices of WCUs. Audio can also be streamed in real time from WCUs for live audio monitoring purposes. The recording of audio can be triggered by a push button connected to the WCU, or from the Signal Reader module by specifying a recorder name or a trigger expression. In the latter case, when the corresponding Signal Reader recorder is started or when the trigger condition is fulfilled the audio recording starts, and when the recorder stops, the audio recording does as well. Pre-trig buffering is supported. Audio sample rate, number of channels (mono or stereo) and compression format can be specified in the module configuration.

Blue piraT Module

The Blue piraT module makes it possible to use a Blue piraT logger connected to the WCU through an Ethernet port. Measurement configuration can be downloaded to the logger and measurement data can be offloaded and uploaded to the WICE Portal.

CAN Recorder Module

The CAN Recorder Module supports frame logging on the CAN-buses the WCU is connected to. Filters for the ECU identifiers to log can be defined in the WICE Portal interface when creating a CAN Recorder measurement task.

DoIP module

The DoIP module makes it possible to establish a tunnel over the Internet to a WCU for synchronous communication using the DoIP protocol. In the WCU, the remote DoIP functionality is based on the DoIP daemon doipd, which relays DoIP communication between vehicle and the back-end. It also takes care of waking up the vehicle when communication requests are pending. For more information see Remote Diagnostics over IP (DoIP).

Ethernet Capture Module

The Ethernet Capture module supports logging of ethernet frames on one of the WCU's ethernet interfaces. Filters can be set (in tcpdump format) for selecting which frames to capture. The result is logged in a pcap file, which is uploaded to the WICE Portal.

ETAS Module

The ETAS module makes it possible to use an ETAS ES720 measurement system connected to the WCU through an Ethernet port. Measurement tasks can be downloaded to the ES720 and measurement data can be offloaded and uploaded to the WICE Portal.

GPS Module

The GPS Module reads the position of a WCU at regular intervals and reports to the WICE Portal, to support map-based localization of vehicles for the fleet-management service and for the "Plot Route" function of the metrology service.

IDC module

The IDC module allows a sequence of diagnostic requests to be sent on the in-vehicle network (either CAN or Ethernet), and the responses are collected in a result file. IDC can also read OBD-II PIDs and interpret the responses. IDC supports diagnostics over CAN using ISO15765-2 and over IP/Ethernet using ISO13400. Both physical and functional ECU addressing is supported. An IDC sequence file can in addition to diagnostic requests also contain commands, as described in IDC sequence file commands.

M-Log module

The M.log module makes it possible to use an M-Log data logger connected to the WCU through an Ethernet port. Measurement tasks can be downloaded to the M-Log and data can be offloaded and uploaded to the WICE Portal.

Rapid Prototyping module

With the Rapid Prototyping (RP) module, custom software components can be run on the WCU for proof-of-concept testing of new in-vehicle functionality. A Signal Broker API (provided by the Signal Reader module, see below) can be used to easily access in-vehicle signals and parameters. Output data from the RP module is uploaded to the WICE back-end where it is made available in the WICE Portal. The RP module supports both native applications, compiled for the WCU processor architecture, and Node.js applications written in Javascript. The latter is particularly useful for providing in-vehicle GUI functionality.

For more information see WICE_RP_How-To.

Signal Reader Module

The Signal Reader module executes a measurement task, monitors and logs time-series signal data and stores the data in an MDF file (Measurement Data Format). Signals can be recorded from the vehicle's internal communication buses (e.g. CAN, LIN, FlexRay). A number of signals internal to the WCU are also available: WICE Internal Signals

Signal Reader also supports logging of signals using CCP, XCP and UDS diagnostics. This is sometimes referred to as Active signals.

Triggers are supported, switching between measurement set-ups and starting and stopping recorders. Trigger expression syntax is described here. Pre- and post-trig recording can be specified, which results in signal data being recorded prior to or subsequent to a trigger condition respectively. Minimum and maximum shot lengths of recorders can also be specified.

State of Health Module

The State-of-Health (SoH) module is used to read out a limited data set from test vehicles to monitor their operational status. The specific data to be read is configurable from the WICE portal and includes position, mileage (odometer), battery voltage, ECU software numbers, Diagnostic Trouble Codes and uptime. The SoH module uses the IDC module to service a sequence of diagnostic requests, created by the WICE Portal based on which data is requested and the diagnostic database of the vehicle type. Position is accessed from the GPS Module (see below) and uptime is accessed from the WCU internal module (see below).

SWDL module

The Software Download (SWDL) module makes it possible to download ECU software to connected vehicles for re-programming. The input to the SWDL module is a number of VBF (Versatile Binary Format) files containing the ECU software, and PIN codes for the ECUs to be reprogrammed. Sequence files can also be supplied for pre- and post-programming diagnostics.

Video module

The video module makes it possible to record video clips from cameras connected to the WCU. Video can also be streamed in real time from WCUs for live video monitoring purposes. The recording of video can be triggered by a push-button connected to the WCU, or from the Signal Reader module by specifying a recorder name or a trigger expression. In the latter case, when the corresponding Signal Reader recorder is started (i.e. when a trigger condition is fulfilled) the video recording starts, and when the recorder stops, the video recording does as well. Pre-trig buffering is supported. Video resolution, frame rate and compression format can be specified in the module configuration.

WCU internals Module

The WCU internals Module logs useful information about a WCU, including uptime, battery voltage (on the WCU power input), and memory usage.

WCU Status Module

The WCU status Daemon, statusd, monitors the status of the WCU, including all the modules, and reports to the WICE Portal. The daemon also provides a common i/o API for all modules, including GPS and digital i/o.

Power Management

The Power Management settings of the WCU determines how and when the unit is started and shut down. What Power Management mechanisms are available depends on the WCU hardware platform. The following refers to the MX4 platform. The MX4 unit can be started and stopped based on the ignition input pin or on the availability or absence of CAN traffic on any of the CAN interfaces. The WCU can also be configured to start after a specific time interval from shut-down. The configuration is done in the WCU Configuration in the WICE Portal. Note that the behaviour of the ignition pin depends on the setting of the START switch on the back of the WCU. If the switch is set to INT the pin will always be active, so that if the WCU is set toWake on ignition it will be always on. If the switch is set to EXT, the pin will reflect the current state of the ignition of the vehicle (providing it is correctly installed).