An Embedded Computer Based System for Monitoring, Diagnostics and Communication in Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

In the present paper a software system for onboard processing of automotive data is proposed and described. The project of a system composed by some modules interacting on the basis of a producer-consumer paradigm is discussed. The modules run as separate processes on an embedded system equipped with 266 MHz CPU, Linux operating system and several peripherals, including a TFT display. The producer side is represented by the processes which are in charge of receiving and decoding information coming from CAN or RS232 data links, forming a vector of physical quantities describing the status of the vehicle. The vector is placed in a shared memory segment, where the consumer processes can read and use it for their purposes. Consumer processes include a graphical display (virtual dashboard), a data logger recording data on a memory card, and a transmitter module sending information over wireless channels. In order to achieve the best flexibilty and reusability over a range of vehicle types, some of the modules are fully configurable by means of a specified configuration file placed on disk. Configuration files report the information used to decode the incoming data from the devices through the data links, as well as the directives on how to display data on screen. Partial implementation is described in detail. Future application to real vehicle prototypes is briefly discussed.