Use Cases 
UniCAN 3 Data Logger
Intense sunlight and high temperatures mean stress for vehicles and components, and yet they are part of everyday life in many regions of the world. In order to test proper function under various conditions, cars are therefore driven worldwide by end customers in long-term tests during advanced development phases. During a fleet test of electric vehicles in Asia, very high ambient temperatures of more than +50°C were encountered. For the analysis the measurement results had to be reliably recorded despite the high load for the measurement technology used. With the UniCAN 3 data logger from CSM, the test could be carried out without loss of function or interruptions.
For vehicle tests under real conditions, they are driven over a longer period by people who are not test drivers - in other words, they are being tested by end customers. Through this everyday consumer use, data can be collected on how the vehicle behaves outside of a professional environment.
With these fleet tests, vehicle manufacturers ensure that their passenger cars pass what's known as the 'real world test' - in other words, their use in the real world - and there's no one better to conduct them than end users in actual road traffic.
David Löw, Product Manager for UniCAN data loggers at CSM GmbH
The requirement here is that the tested vehicles should function under real conditions worldwide. Therefore, the measured data must be collected as realistically as possible.
Measurement Task
Recording of CAN bus data from ECUs and additional temperature measurement modules under extreme climatic conditions.
Since the required measured values, including temperatures in various areas of the vehicle, are to be recorded over a longer period of time, a robust data logging unit is required. Data from the control units, temperatures as well as other variables from different sensors are to be transferred and stored to this unit via CAN / EtherCAT® measurement modules.
The most important thing is that the corresponding data logger neither impairs nor influences the use of the vehicle by the end customer. For this purpose, it is necessary that the device has the smallest possible dimensions so that it can be installed in the vehicle without any problems. In addition, since drivers should not be able to intervene in the measurement setup the data logger used must be remotely readable and configurable.
The UniCAN 3 data logger was installed in several vehicles of the test fleet to record more than 300 signals - both temperatures from the vehicle’s interior and CAN bus data from the vehicle control units.
With its compact dimensions of approx. 11 x 16 cm and a height of only 4.5 cm, it could be easily integrated into the glove compartment of the test cars. Sensors were used to measure temperatures at a total of 16 measurement points throughout the vehicle interior over the entire test period. These were acquired with a CSM THMM pro module and transmitted via CAN to the UniCAN 3 data logger. Also using CAN, the data from several vehicle control units were recorded by the data logger.
As the fleet test was carried out in Asia, the outside temperatures were almost +50 °C due to a heat wave and heated the area of the measurement technology in the vehicle to about +60 °C. It was not only the temperature conditions in the interior under the aspect of passenger comfort that were of interest for the tests, but also, for example, how the high battery temperatures affect the interior and whether the cooling of the two areas is sufficiently scaled.
For the flawless functioning of the UniCAN 3, the extreme temperatures were not a problem here: The operating temperature range is -40 °C up to +80 °C, thus ensuring reliable data recording. Therefore, the test could be carried out without any loss of function or interruptions.
David Löw
Another special feature of the UniCAN 3 is its built-in LTE modem, which saves space by eliminating the need to install an additional external modem. On the hardware side, only the external cellular antenna then needs to be connected so that the measurement setup is ready. The acquired data is recorded on the CF memory card and then sent via the mobile data provider at a specified interval.
The data logger is also characterized by very low power consumption in stand-by mode. This is an important feature because the UniCAN 3 does not have its own electricity source, but is powered by the vehicle's battery. "An important feature of our UniCAN 3 is therefore the so-called Wake-on-CAN function. It ensures that data recording starts as soon as activities take place on the CAN bus, for example when the vehicle is unlocked. In this way, a good balance of energy-saving standby and reliable data recording can be achieved“, explains David Löw.
The UniCAN 3 performs even under extreme external influences with reliable data recording during long-term test drives. The built-in LTE modem and the secured data transmission ensure that the collected measurement data is reliably transmitted. At the same time, the small dimensions allow the data logger to be discreetly integrated into the vehicle without interfering with operation.
CSM’s Thermo MiniModules allow precise distributed temperature measurements with K-, J- and T-type thermocouples: ideal for measurements in the powertrain, on HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning) components, in the vehicle interior, the powertrain development and many more.
With up to 12 CAN bus interfaces, freely configurable digital inputs and outputs, Wake-on-CAN, LAN, WLAN - When developing the UniCAN 3 data logger, numerous requirements from state-of-the-art vehicle development were taken into account.
Swift configuration of measurement chains: CSMconfig is the reliable configuration software for all CAN and EtherCAT® based measurement modules from CSM. The clearly arranged and easy-to-use user interface allows an easy setting of all measurement parameters. This helps speeding up the measurement setup considerably.
CSMuniconf is the comprehensive software package for the configuration and management of the UniCAN 3 data loggers.
The server-based software CSMdataconv has been developed for the automatic processing and conversion of recorded measurement data.