DGE表示，使用HMIts可以減少67%的測(cè)試時(shí)間，并且在五個(gè)月內(nèi)收回投資。
如今的市面上已經(jīng)越來(lái)越多的信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)不斷被推陣出新，如何保證這些系統(tǒng)在發(fā)布前就能夠在車(chē)輛上發(fā)揮預(yù)期的作用，是當(dāng)前汽車(chē)制造商的當(dāng)務(wù)之急。
“新車(chē)上裝載的信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)，其功能性和質(zhì)量還存在很大的爭(zhēng)議”，DGE公司（FEV北美公司的一個(gè)子公司）的首席執(zhí)行官Joachim Wolschendorf表示，“通常這些信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)的開(kāi)發(fā)周期完全不同于動(dòng)力系統(tǒng)以及汽車(chē)的開(kāi)發(fā)周期。如果在投產(chǎn)之前提高其質(zhì)量絕對(duì)是至關(guān)重要的。”
為迎合行業(yè)對(duì)自動(dòng)測(cè)試能力的需求，DGE引入了HMIts(人機(jī)界面測(cè)試系統(tǒng))。該系統(tǒng)通過(guò)模擬用戶(hù)的語(yǔ)音和觸摸來(lái)驗(yàn)證信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)的反饋性能。這一系統(tǒng)使得整車(chē)廠(chǎng)和各級(jí)供應(yīng)商能夠在受控環(huán)境中對(duì)HMI(人機(jī)界面)/信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)進(jìn)行重復(fù)測(cè)試，以確保測(cè)試結(jié)果的準(zhǔn)確性，而無(wú)需進(jìn)行費(fèi)時(shí)費(fèi)力的人工測(cè)試。
“目前針對(duì)汽車(chē)音響，信息娛樂(lè)系統(tǒng)，以及各種儀表的測(cè)試基本上都是由工程師坐在一個(gè)房間里，根據(jù)測(cè)試程序人工手動(dòng)一個(gè)個(gè)按下不同按鈕進(jìn)行的”，DGE的首席運(yùn)營(yíng)官Stephan Tarnutzer說(shuō)，“這種測(cè)試方法基本沒(méi)有可重復(fù)性和一致性可言，并且非常枯燥，不管在哪里實(shí)施操作工程師都會(huì)感到厭煩，從而容易出錯(cuò)，并且在重復(fù)測(cè)試時(shí)每次都會(huì)有細(xì)微的操作差異。而有了HMIts之后，測(cè)試人員能夠在測(cè)試計(jì)劃中設(shè)置通過(guò)和不通過(guò)測(cè)試的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，并且能夠選擇不同的測(cè)試場(chǎng)景進(jìn)行任意多次測(cè)試。測(cè)試完成之后，系統(tǒng)還會(huì)提交一分測(cè)試報(bào)告，因此測(cè)試人員能夠確保系統(tǒng)經(jīng)過(guò)多次測(cè)試，并且每次測(cè)試的過(guò)程都完全一致（具有可重復(fù)性），不需要人工重復(fù)測(cè)試就能夠擁有大量數(shù)據(jù)用于分析問(wèn)題根源。”
HMIts以圖形用戶(hù)界面（GUI）與標(biāo)準(zhǔn)化測(cè)試腳本生成器為特色，完全自動(dòng)化，并且不需要在測(cè)試時(shí)在設(shè)備上安裝任何軟件。
“我們不需要在設(shè)備中裝入軟件”，Tarnutzer說(shuō)，“這很關(guān)鍵，因?yàn)槟悴幌Ｍ跍y(cè)試時(shí)因?yàn)橛腥魏诬浖恢萌?，而可能?huì)修改或影響設(shè)備測(cè)試結(jié)果。”
Tarnutzer 解釋說(shuō)，HMIts通過(guò)預(yù)先錄制的音頻、語(yǔ)音到文本、文本到語(yǔ)音、視頻和觸摸屏界面與目標(biāo)設(shè)備進(jìn)行交互，而物理接觸可以通過(guò)二選一的方式進(jìn)行模擬。
“如果響音設(shè)備供應(yīng)商或整車(chē)廠(chǎng)通過(guò)CAN（控制器區(qū)域網(wǎng)路）提供調(diào)試端口或訪(fǎng)問(wèn)權(quán)限，又或是用其他的通信方式來(lái)控制觸屏，我們都可以直接調(diào)用。但如果以上方式都不可行，那么我們就會(huì)在物理觸屏與微控制器進(jìn)行直連，這樣當(dāng)您的手指觸碰到屏幕時(shí)系統(tǒng)就可以探測(cè)到。我們會(huì)模擬有人觸碰屏幕時(shí)屏幕上的坐標(biāo)，并將其饋送到檢測(cè)觸點(diǎn)位置的微處理器，從而避免一次物理接觸。”
DGE表示 ，使用HMIts可以減少67%的測(cè)試時(shí)間，并且在五個(gè)月內(nèi)收回投資。
“比如軟件首發(fā)后需要更新導(dǎo)航屏，以前你可能會(huì)請(qǐng)兩個(gè)工程師來(lái)做測(cè)試，并花上一周的時(shí)間”，Tarnutzer說(shuō)，“現(xiàn)在有了HMIts，可能只需要花一天來(lái)設(shè)置測(cè)試，再花一天來(lái)運(yùn)行測(cè)試，這樣就能夠保證高度一致性了。”
作者：Matthew Monaghan
DGE says test times can be reduced by as much as 67% and ROI can be achieved in less than five months with use of HMIts.
With a multitude of infotainment system options currently on the market, and more coming soon, ensuring that these systems perform as intended in the vehicle prior to release is of utmost importance for automakers.
“There is a big debate about functionality and quality of infotainment systems in new vehicles,” said Joachim Wolschendorf, CEO, DGE Inc., a subsidiary of FEV North America Inc. “Typically these infotainment systems have a completely different development time cycle than the powertrain or vehicle, for example. It’s absolutely crucial to increase the quality of the device before it’s out in production.”
DGE has responded to the industry need for an automated test capability by introducing the HMIts (Human Machine Interface Test System), which simulates a user’s speech and touch and then validates the response of the infotainment system. The HMIts enables OEMs and Tier suppliers to perform repetitive testing on any HMI/infotainment system in a controlled environment, ensuring accurate results and eliminating the need for time-consuming and labor-intensive manual test plans.
HMIts will be demonstrated in the FEV booth (603) at the SAE 2014 World Congress April 8-10 in Detroit.
“Today, head units, infotainment systems, and clusters are mostly tested by engineers sitting in a room and manually pressing buttons and going through a test procedure,” said Stephan Tarnutzer, Chief Operating Officer, DGE. “There is very little repeatability, very little consistency, and it’s a very monotonous task that no matter where you do it the engineer gets tired, starts making mistakes, and doesn’t do the same thing the same way every single time it goes through a test iteration. With the HMIts, a test plan can be set up that allows you to set pass and fail criteria and then allows you to run the system however many times you want with a variety of different test scenarios that you pick and choose. At the end, it gives you a test report, and you’re assured that it’s done the exact same way every time and you have repeatability and a lot of data at your disposal to analyze the root cause without having to try and re-create what happened.”
Featuring a GUI and standardized test script builder, the HMIts is fully automated and does not require any software to be resident on the device under test.
“There is no need for us to put software onto that unit,” Tarnutzer said. “That’s key because you do not want to put anything onto the device under test that in any way, shape, or form would modify or impact the software that is running."
HMIts interacts with the target device using prerecorded audio, speech to text, text to speech, video, and touch-screen interfaces. Physical touch is simulated in one of two ways, Tarnutzer explained.
“If the head-unit supplier or OEM puts in a debug port or gives us access through the CAN bus or through another communication method to control the touch screen, we use that. If we do not have that ability, we tap into the line between the physical touch screen and the micro that detects where your finger touches the screen. We simulate the coordinates on the screen where somebody touches it and feed that into the microcontroller that detects that, and hence circumvent a physical touch.”
According to DGE, test times can be reduced by as much as 67% and ROI can be achieved in less than five months with use of the system.
“If you take the example of an update for a navigation screen after the initial software release; in the past, you probably tested this with two test engineers, maybe for a week,” Tarnutzer said. “Now with the HMIts, you can test that possibly in one day of setting up the test and maybe then one day of running it and get the consistency out of it.”
Author: Matthew Monaghan
