A vehicle restraint apparatus is for restraining a vehicle 1 on one or more rollers 7 of a vehicle test system. The vehicle restraint apparatus 11 includes a vehicle restraining jig 12 to connect the vehicle 1 with a pole 10 on a floor 9, and a deflection absorbing mechanism 90 to absorb deflection of the vehicle restraining jig 12 produced at the time of vehicle test with the vehicle test system.

A method for detecting defeat devices in an engine control unit (ECU) includes storing with a key-data collection unit, a first key-data determined during an environmental test of a vehicle. The key-data collection unit stores a second key-data determined before the environmental test. Wherein, one of the first key-data is determined by the ECU modified by a characteristic only present before the environmental test and the second key-data is determined by the ECU modified by a characteristic only present during the environmental test. An environmental testing device compares the first key-data with the second key-data to detect an anomaly, wherein the anomaly indicates the presence of the defeat device in the ECU.

Systems and methods for improving fuel economy in vehicles such as Class 8 trucks are provided. In some embodiments, signals indicating states of the powertrain are collected and used to generate fuel rate optimization values. Fuel rate optimization values may indicate a difference between optimum fuel flow rates and actual fuel flow rates during a vehicle drive cycle. Recorded fuel rate optimization values may be used to compare different vehicle configurations during testing, and may also be used to evaluate vehicle performance during real-world operation.

A brake testing system of testing a brake of a vehicle driven on a bench having a rotating body, comprises a rotation control unit that controls to make the rotating body rotate at a predetermined rotational speed, a torque acquiring unit that acquires a torque value generated on the rotating body by the brake of the vehicle being operated, a time period acquiring unit that acquires a time period during which the brake of the vehicle is operated, and a braking work load calculating unit that calculates a work load of the brake based on the rotational speed of the rotating body controlled by the rotation control unit, the torque value acquired by the torque acquiring unit, and the time period acquired by the time period acquiring unit.

A vehicle is received in a stationary controlled area of a controlled testing environment. Simulation inputs corresponding to a simulated scene are generated and transmitted to the vehicle. The vehicle applies torque in response. A vehicle control mechanism of the controlled testing environment, such as a chassis dynamometer, a motorized treadmill, or a lift, keeps the vehicle within the stationary controlled area during the test despite the torque applied by the vehicle. A path of the vehicle within the simulated scene is determined based on the applied torque, based upon which the vehicle's navigation system is calibrated.

A vehicle evaluation device includes a first projection target, a first projector, and a controller. The first projection target enables projection of an image thereon, and is capable of changing positions. The first projector projects an image onto the first projection target. The controller controls the position of the first projection target, and performs control for changing an image to be projected by the first projector according to the position of the first projection target.

An automated picking system robotic device testing station having rollers for engagement with the wheels of a robotic device; and a controller to vary the rotation of the rollers.

An improved prony brake dynamometer capable of measuring the power of a prime mover's rotating shaft connected to a cylinder brake drum rotating around a newly designed dual quad power stator (DQPS), with hydraulic pressure equalizer plate (HPEP), controlled by an electronic load control system with inline cooling system (ELCS), cooled by a 270-degree water distribution manifold (WDM). The improvements of the DQPS and HPEP result in maximizing the pressure applied by the stator over the entire surface area of the rotor drum, thereby maximizing the coefficient of friction at the kinetic point of energy and increasing load capacity over previous models. The addition of the ELCS increases the number of potential settings of hydraulic pressure, resulting in thousands of power settings, as opposed to previous models using manual load control valves. The WDM cools the dynamometer load absorption unit more efficiently than previous models.

A method for detecting defeat devices in an engine control unit (ECU) includes storing with a key-data collection unit, a first key-data determined during an environmental test of a vehicle. The key-data collection unit stores a second key-data determined before the environmental test. Wherein, one of the first key-data is determined by the ECU modified by a characteristic only present before the environmental test and the second key-data is determined by the ECU modified by a characteristic only present during the environmental test. An environmental testing device compares the first key-data with the second key-data to detect an anomaly, wherein the anomaly indicates the presence of the defeat device in the ECU.

In order to be able to test an assembly of components of a vehicle on a test stand with improved dynamics, it is provided to calculate, in a simulation unit (20) using a simulation model (21) for the at least one component of the assembly, the instantaneous drive train rotary speed (n.sub.P) of this component from a drive train torque (T.sub.P) acting in the drive train (2) and the braking effect (B) of the braking system (11), and the calculated instantaneous drive train rotary speed (n.sub.P) is used by the vehicle control device (14) for calculating the at least one component, and the calculated drive train rotary speed (n.sub.P) is used by a drive controller (23) for controlling the load machine (8).