Application Story
Efficiency Gains in Vehicle Development: Function Data Management using ASAM ODS
Summary
Imagine you want to simulate an elastomeric bushing, a damper, a tire, or some other component. Do you know where to find relevant data to describe stiffness, damping, torque behaviour, or pressure loss, e.g., as input to Simulation models? And how can you link development results to requirements? The more effort it costs to answer such questions, the less efficient the development process will be.
The solution lies in the definition of a data Standard “FDX” based on ASAM ODS together with the development of software to create and use datasets using this Standard. FDX is specifically suited to define data models for the above-mentioned type of data, i.e., so-called function data.
The main benefit is the increase of development efficiency based on faster retrieval of data of known quality, automatic Validation of requirements, automatic generation of Simulation parameter sets, and automatic computations on data. As this solution relies on established standards (FDX/ASAM ODS), it is future-proof.
Application story
Function or technological data are fundamental for the development process of new vehicles. They describe the behaviour of components, systems, and even whole products. Using function data, engineers can define the required behaviour of components and mix it with ‘real’ data as measured during Simulation runs and tests with prototypes. Depending on the result data, development partners like manufacturers and suppliers exchange function data frequently during the various development iteration cycles. However, it is crucial input for Simulation models, e.g., multi-body-Simulation.
Whereas most companies involved in developing new vehicles have geometric data for all kinds of components permanently available, function or technological data - if available - are distributed across different departments. They are stored in heterogeneous formats, mostly in files, e.g., Excel, Matlab, and other proprietary tools, leading to expensive and time-consuming disadvantages. Among others, these are:
- It takes a lot of time and effort to spot relevant test result data within the organisation or request them from development partners.
- Data have to be processed manually and adapted to meet the needs of a use case, e.g., for using them as input for simulation models.
- Data providers have to adapt their data to different formats depending on what their customers demand.
- The history and evolution of data along the development process are hard to trace (even if this is possible at all).
The lack of a sound management of function or technological data leads to a longer time-to-market for new products combined with substantially higher costs. The real world shows that, e.g., Simulation runs and tests with prototypes have to be repeated because relevant results cannot be found, development results do not behave like expected because of poor quality of data, and the reasons already mentioned above.
I need to provide functional data. So far there is no Database for this.
Testing Engineer (JH), OEM, R&D Department
Success Strategy / Solution
The success strategy to solve the problem consists of the following ingredients: VDA initiated (and prostep ivip completed) the definition of a new Standard for function or technology data: "FDX Function Data eXchange" on top of ATFX (XML-based format of ASAM ODS). ASAM ODS has been chosen because the physical and technical character of the data suggested it.
Rich, flexible, and extensible meta-data modelling capabilities that allow component-specific models to cover the technical and process relevant properties of them closely integrated with the data defining or proofing a certain function of a component. Being aware that a data Standard will only be used if appropriate tooling is available, the prostep ivip working group ensured that a reference implementation for FDX was developed. This tool is called EXOKNOX. A free version of EXOKNOX is available to all interested parties.
For more ambitious use cases, Karakun developed an enterprise edition of EXOKNOX consisting of a full-fledged data management platform and various tools offering all required functions to cover the complete development cycle of data-driven engineering. Furthermore, a full-fledged data management platform called EXOKNOX was developed using ASAM ODS under the hood to store and manage all function and technological data.
Since the diversity of the required models for the various components that make up a vehicle is very high, additionally openMDM, an Eclipse working group and an associated open-source software project, was chosen to support the easy creation of specific component models. EXOKNOX also provides product data management functions in order to manage the access to data and its state during the development cycle. Furthermore, component models can evolve over time and EXOKNOX ensures the consistency of models and data belonging to these models over time. EXOKNOX guarantees full traceability of all data over the whole lifetime of data.
I am literally waiting for this tool. I would use it 100%!
Design Engineer (SK), Manufacturer, R&D Department
Challenges During the Project
The magic behind EXOKNOX is its ability to manage multiple diverse models for components. But those models have to be created and evolved. For this, tools had to be created so that both developers and users can perform this task.
Using ASAM ODS together with its generic application model openMDM leads to a high technical complexity of the resulting software one has to cope with - which is possible but requires effort.
When implementing product management principles like status, versioning, object tracing and rights/roles we had to ensure not to create unwanted side effects when extending functionality (especially with a focus on scalability).
One of EXOKNOX’s features is the ability to program its own Python scripts and let them execute directly on the ODS meta- and mass-data. This led to the requirement to access the internals of an ODS server. Therefore, we had to develop a specific ODS server component.
We strictly adhered to a data-driven approach when working with component-specific data models, especially ensuring the interchangeability of data between manufacturers and suppliers as they most likely work with different data models. Here, the advantages of self-contained ATFX files play an important role.
It feels like home. I see everything I need.
Testing Engineer (JH), Car Manufacturer, R&D Department
Business Benefits
Using the FDX / ASAM ODS Standard and EXOKNOX substantially reduces time-to-market because it saves a lot of effort to parameterize complete vehicle models.
FDX / ASAM ODS and EXOKNOX enable organisations to close the process chain for data-driven engineering. That means that the entire development organisation can easily access the latest data at any time and place. Simulation and test campaigns are always executed using quality-checked data. And finally, partners, suppliers, and customers are comprehensively and seamlessly integrated.
The solution is future-proof due to complying with standards (FDX/ASAM ODS). prostep ivip continuously publishes Standard models for components. The results of an FDX/ODS-based development are ready for Certification. Due to compliance with standards, organisations are not locked into a certain vendor.
The solution enables engineers to automatically validate whether some given function data set matches the requirements. Furthermore, Simulation parameter sets can be automatically generated, and engineers can provide scripts that perform specific computations on function data.
Soon after going live with the first version of EXOKNOX in the Simulation department of a manufacturer, the team confirmed a substantial gain in efficiency for creating parameter sets for Simulation models. In a real-world use case, the development department of a car manufacturer confirmed that using EXOKNOX saved 15 to 20 person days for the development of a specific component.
An automated process would be a tremendous improvement
Simulation Engineer (JB), OEM, R&D Department
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