AUTERA AutoBox – Developing Automated Driving System Software

dSPACE introduces new in-vehicle prototyping and data logging system at the dSPACE World Conference

Wixom, November 13, 2019. Sensors of self-driving cars provide expansive data streams that must be processed blazingly fast. Video cameras as well as lidar and radar sensors create data volumes of multiple terabytes per hour. Therefore the requirements for processing with regards to bandwidth, computing power, and storage technology are exceedingly high. dSPACE now introduces the AUTERA product family, which will provide developers and test drivers with a complete product portfolio that supports the development of functions for automated driving by means of high computation power, high bandwidth, and abundant storage.
dSPACE will launch this new product family at the dSPACE World Conference, which takes place on November 19 and 20, 2019 in Munich, Germany

Powerful Data Logging and Storage Capacity

Typical areas of application are the recording of vast volumes of data during test drives, for example, for development or homologation, as well as the replay of the recorded data in the laboratory, or the prototyping of sensor fusion or perception algorithms in the vehicle. For this, the AUTERA AutoBox features a powerful storage solution, called the AUTERA Data Storage Unit that provides multiple terabytes of storage space in combination with the high-volume AUTERA solid-state disk and a large storage bandwidth of up to 50 Gbit/s. To also handle computation-intensive tasks, such as the development, validation, and optimization of AI algorithms, the AUTERA AutoBox can be equipped with hardware accelerators, such as GPUs and FPGAs. These can also be used during data logging of a test drive to perform intelligent data filtering and preprocessing. This process saves time for data evaluation and implicitly increases the storage capacity for the data logging system.

Extensive Support of Sensors, Buses, and Networks

The AUTERA system offers extensive bus and network support based on the latest standards, such as AUTOSAR and FIBEX. To process data from various sensors synchronously, the AUTERA AutoBox records precise time stamps and supports a number of camera interfaces, for example, GMSL II, FPD Link III, or CSI II to ensure compatibility with various camera manufacturers. A dedicated AUTERA upload station will be available to upload the logged data as quickly and easily as possible to an existing server or cloud infrastructure. Its interfaces can upload the recorded data to the data center at an extremely high bandwidth, for example, 100 Gbit/s Ethernet.

One-Stop-Shop Solution Ready for Use with RTMaps Software

“The dSPACE AUTERA systems offer our customers a high-performance solution for developing functions for automated driving that supports all relevant sensor interfaces, buses, and networks, can be combined with other development systems, such as the MicroAutoBox, and is ready for use with preinstalled software,” says Marius Müller, product manager at dSPACE.

The AUTERA AutoBox is delivered with a setup based on RTMaps. With the component-based software development and run-time environment, users can record data from various sensors and vehicle buses and add time stamps, synchronize the data, and replay it. Alternatively, additional software environments, such as Linux-based applications, can be used. A documented API of all relevant interfaces is provided. A fleet management solution is planned for a future Release, letting users easily manage and monitor AUTERA systems during fleet deployment.