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.

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 (see below).

The WCU hardware platform supports a number of communication interfaces, such as CAN, LIN, FlexRay and Ethernet and can 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 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
• GPS
• IDC
• 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 to the audio module. In the latter case, when the corresponding Signal Reader recorder is started (i.e. when a 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.

ETAS Module

The ETAS module makes it possible to use an ETAS ES720 measurement system connected to the WCU through an Ethernet port. Measurement assignments 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.

Signal Reader Module

The Signal Reader module executes a measurement assignment, monitors and logs time-series signal data and stores the data to in MDF file (Measurement Data Format).

Triggers are supported, switching between measurement set-ups and starting and stopping recorders. 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, 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).

Remote DoIP module

The Remote 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.

Remote SWDL module

The 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 code for the ECU to be reprogrammed.

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 to the video module. 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.