Vehicle Data Acquisition For Component Reliability Testing - Sponsored Whitepaper

dataTaker DT80 Intelligent Universal Input Data Logger

A large manufacturer of OEM automotive components needed to conduct an ambitious field test to evaluate the reliability of its latest device. This test involved data collection from multiple vehicles at various locations across the US to study the effects of various environmental conditions on the component. The test needed to run for up to 3 years to capture enough data for accurate statistical evaluation and lifetime predictions, requiring more than 20 measurements including temperature, voltage, speed, run time, and other operating conditions. Engineers began searching for an intelligent datalogging solution with the versatility to accommodate all these different types of signal inputs. Soon 3 other key concerns were identified: first, overall power consumption was very important--the logger only needed to collect data while the vehicle was running, but it had to be continuously powered so that it could quickly respond to the startup and be able to send the data at specific times. Therefore, the power consumption needed to be very low to eliminate the possibility of discharging the vehicle battery if it was parked for a long time period. Secondly, since the vehicles were dispersed throughout remote locations across the country, manual data retrieval was impractical, so the manufacturer wanted to implement a periodic automated data upload via a cellular connection. Finally, the data logging system needed to be as unobtrusive as possible, since these test vehicles were currently being driven by end users.