22 In conversation | Pam Oakes “Sometimes, an OTA [over-the-air] update will suffice; most times a technical service bulletin is issued with new procedures. Unfortunately, these adjustments are usually made when a vehicle requires calibration/recalibration – usually post-accident.” As with the components of any networked vehicle architecture, ADAS sensors and control modules have self-test capabilities, and they can also provide diagnostic information to technicians on demand through databuses such as CAN and, increasingly, Ethernet. However, this is not a substitute for the fundamentals. Oakes emphasises it is important to check the primary and secondary electrical integrity. The first ensures sufficient, stable power is getting where it needs to go, while the second focuses on communication and signal quality between sensors and modules, etc. “Then, it’s time for the pre-scan check of the vehicle’s electronic ‘health’. This testing allows a technician to see which components are operational and which have issues.” Start simple Oakes emphasises that shops aiming to work on ADAS and, eventually, autonomous vehicle systems don’t necessarily need to make a big upfront investment in specialised equipment. Instead, the priority should be to evaluate the suitability of the workspace and research the shop’s vehicle-specific needs. Environmental factors in the workshop are critical for successful ADAS calibration and recalibration. These include a near-perfectly level floor, controlled overhead lighting and minimal external visual interference, such as from windows, for example. These elements are essential to ensure accurate sensor and system alignment. Oakes advises shops to tailor their equipment choices to the types of vehicles they most commonly service and the ADAS functionality built into them. So, they might start with a basic calibration tool, such as a trihedral target, which is a relatively low-cost entry point, and expand to more comprehensive systems if necessary. While system complexity increases with the level of autonomy, the same is not always true of the demands imposed by calibration. With Tesla, for example, as the technology reaches Level 3 and beyond, costs will increase, although the difficulty involved in returning the system to the original calibrated settings will not necessarily increase in proportion. Oakes believes that in future, most recalibration will come to rely on the Internet of Things (IoT) and OTA capabilities. “For now, technicians need to treat each vehicle as a unique entity, even if they just calibrated/recalibrated a duplicate model days before.” Learning process Certifying cars and trucks for Level 5 autonomy, and ensuring they remain safe to operate, depends heavily on obtaining high-quality data – and that rests upon the shoulders of the technicians performing ADAS recalibrations, who need to follow procedures exactly and double-check their work. “Unfortunately, lack of knowledge, management push to get the vehicle December/January 2025 | Uncrewed Systems Technology When advising maintenance shops on the training of ADAS technicians, Oakes stresses the need to follow vehicle OEM and sensor-manufacturer directions on recalibration exactly to ensure high data quality and safe operation (Image courtesy of Pam Oakes) ADAS calibration equipment typically consists of precisely positioned targets for vehiclemounted sensors, used under controlled lighting conditions on level surfaces, although some vehicles allow on-the-move dynamic calibration (Image courtesy of Texa)
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