Mobility Solution to increase Productivity during Vehicle Durability Testing
At a glance
This Automotive OEM’s Scientific Labs and Proving Grounds is an industry leader in engineering, validation, and testing services. With experience in automotive testing, they are uniquely positioned to understand and meet specific requirements with an overall turn-key approach.
This Automotive OEM’s highly skilled and experienced staff of engineers, mechanics and technicians, combined with state of the art testing facilities, offer unsurpassed capabilities allowing them to offer premium customer service in engine and powertrain dynamometer testing, stress and durability development, energy management development, hybrid and electric vehicle battery testing, full scale aero-acoustic wind tunnel analysis and emission and fuel economy testing, in addition to more than 7,500 acres of proving grounds with over 150 “lane miles” of road.
What we did
- Omni-Channel Experience
- iOS/iPad Development
- Multi-Experience Development Platform (MXDP)
- REST Services Development & Back-End Integration
- Responsive Web-Design Admin Web Interface
- Ping Federate Server / oAuth Security
- Text-to-Speech (TTS) & Automation Speech Recognition (ASR)
- GeoLocation API & iSpeech SDK
Our Solution:
STG developed a new mobile application to replace the 3-ring-binder version of the driver book with electronic versions of the documents on iPads mounted inside the vehicle. The second main feature is the ability for the driver to enter the shift/test feedback during the test, as opposed to doing so at the end of the shift. These two features alone can significantly improve driver productivity and morale. It is further envisioned that such an app can improve driver test conformance by providing real-time feedback to the driver based on data from the vehicle component data buses. Another possibility is to integrate the currently available navigation systems into the application to provide the driver with turn-by-turn voice assisted instructions. Realtime messaging and communication in case of distress is also required.
STG developed a new admin web interface to automate the test schedule documents authoring, publishing and maintenance. Currently the test schedules and associated events are authored in MS-Word, converted to PDF when ready and stored in MS-SharePoint Driver Durability Testing documents repository. This web interface will also provide capability to automate the forms (such as Vehicle Damage, Ballast Schedule, etc.,) used in the Durability Testing Vehicle Book.
STG implemented the following innovative solutions in this project:
- QRCode Scanning to scan the Vehicle Number
- Speech Recognition to capture Driver Comments
- Text to Voice based Testing Instructions while driving
- Private Proving Ground (APG & CPG) Maps (Garmin Source)
- Google Maps integration including Satellite View
- Geolocation capturing to identify Driver Comment Location & Vehicle Parked Location
- Push Notifications for Messages to enable two way communications between Supervisors & Drivers
- iOS Flat Design Native UI (Content Centric)
- Responsive Web Design (RWD, HTML 5, CSS 3, JS) & Intuitive Admin Web Interface
- Cross-Browser Compatible – Mobile First Responsive Design
- Reuse of functionality on both iPad and Web
Results:
STG replaced the need to maintain MS-Word document-based Test Schedules with a completely automated Test Schedule Management capability using the Admin Web Interface developed by STG.
STG replaced the binder book used by the Driver to perform the durability testing with an iPad mounted on the vehicle with Electronic Book. The Electronic Book not only makes the test schedules available to the driver, it also obtains their testing feedbacks/comments and sends them to the back-end test information system real time. It completely replaced the need to use any paper-based forms or documents while testing the vehicle.