Holistic ToolChain for automatized Vehicle-in-the-Loop Testing of automated Vehicles on arbitrary Proving Grounds

iSWACO-ARGUS is the holistic solution for OEMs and testing organizations for the  Vehicle-in-the-Loop verification and homologation of the safety relevant features of automated and autonomous driving vehicles. It covers all SAE levels, i.e. from level 0 “hands on” over ADAS up to level 5 “optional wheel” fully automated driving, with a single, most reliable and efficient test infrastructure. It covers also other vehicle tests like NCAP testing or testing of vehicles under continuous driving conditions. 

iSWACO-ARGUS, which stands for "Swarm Control & Continuous Surveillance with the reliability of the famous Argus' Eyes", controls and monitors the motion behaviour of all objects on the proving ground. Such objects are Vehicle(s) under Test [VUT], Traffic Simulation Vehicles [TSV], Soft Crash Targets [SCT] and Virtual Elements [VE]. iSWACO-ARGUS gives the operator the unmatched flexibility to import complete scenarios from OpenScenario, to generate and validate the required trajectories for each moveable object on the proving ground and to execute the traffic scenario with high repeatability. Due to the modular system architecture of iSWACO-ARGUS, also other input formats beside of OpenScenario, like data from CarMaker etc., can be made available on demand. The supported proving ground description is OpenDrive as a standard digital map, on demand also other formats like Road5. 

iSWACO-ARGUS can be installed quickly, simply and safely on nearly arbitrary proving grounds and comes with its own Vehicle2Vehicle and Vehicle2ControlCenter secured RF communication based in iMAR's iDMN Dynamic Mesh Network - and additionally it supports 5G communication. Thus, iSWACO-ARGUS is the powerful testing solution for both, OEMs and testing / certification organizations to develop, validate and homologate automated vehicles, installed on existing or new proving grounds, worldwide.

iSWACO-ARGUS covers the requirements of EU 2019/2144 for the homologation and testing of automated vehicles and also provides interfaces according to ISO 22133.

Features

• Supporting EU 2022/1426 "Type Approval of ADAS"
• Vehicle-in-the-loop Testing with complex traffic scenarios, supporting also ISO 22133
• Flexible Architecture – easily applicable for existing & new proving grounds regarding infrastructure & topology.
• Seamless interface to common simulation tools like IPG's CarMaker for scenario import via iSCAML
• Cost savings - capability to execute individual & fully repeatable test scenarios with minimum personnel effort.
• Support of operation without as well as with safety driver / test driver, depending on user demands. 
• No steering or driving robots required to operate the TSVs and SCTs. iSWACO-ARGUS comes with control of Traffic Simulation Vehicle’s steering / throttle / braking via vehicle’s internal actuators or control loops. Therefore iSWACO-ARGUS safes pretty much setting-up time, compared to competing systems, and allows simple set-to-work on arbitrary proving grounds.
• The modular architecture with open interfaces allows also the integration of “non-iMAR” components like brake or steering or driving robots and Soft Targets from 4a Systems (4activeFB etc.), ABD (GST etc.), DSD / Humanetics (UFO), DRI (Soft Car 360 etc.), Vehico, Stähle (SFPHYBRID) or other manufacturers on demand.

• The iSWACO-ARGUS package includes all you need on the proving ground for HAD and FAD vehicle verification (highly and fully automated driving vehicles), i.e.:
  • Localization and control for multiple moving objects (Traffic Simulation Vehicles TSV, Soft Crash Targets SCT, Vehicle under Test VUT), based on iMAR's INS/GNSS/ODO and optional cognitive vision technology, also operable in GNSS denied areas of a proving ground (allows also testing the VUT under real GNSS outage conditions).
  • Collision warning and avoidance capability possible for each vehicle, based on INS/GNSS and optional optical methods.
  • GNSS RTK correction data acquisition and distribution to meet position accuracy on centimetre level.
  • Availability of precise indoor navigation to test vehicles also in GNSS denied environment or inside buildings.
  • Mobile or stationary control center iARGUS-CC with software for traffic scenarion import (from OpenScenario, other like CarMaker etc. on demand), trajectory generation and adaptation to the proving ground, HIL simulation and test execution, test visualization, data storage and data export.
  • Vehicle guidance & control system (iARGUS-VCS) including Vehicle Control Interface for each fully automated driving object to build aso most complex traffic scenarios.
  • Support of Virtual Elements.
  • iMAR's iDMN Dynamic Mesh Network communication with lowest latency for multiple object communication (capability of data, video and voice transmission, capable to serve  100+ participants on the proving ground on demand). Support of 5G communication.

• iSWACO-ARGUS development had been supported by two of the largest German testing organizations, intending to use iSWACO-ARGUS for the homologation (type certification) of automated and autonomous Vehicles under Test (VUT) in the future, as well as by large German automobile manufacturers. 
• The implementation covers the recommendations of the future ISO 22133 “Road Vehicles - Test Object Monitoring and Control for Active Safety and Automated/autonomous Vehicle Testing”. iMAR is invited member of the correponding ISO working group since early 2018.

iSWACO-ARGUS: 
iMAR wins the Tech.AD 2018 Award for iSWACO-ARGUS during an international ceremony