A prototype for model-based on-board diagnosis of automotive systems

Within the European 'Vehicle Model Based Diagnosis' (VMBD) project, demonstrator vehicles with built-in faults provided a serious challenge to model-based diagnosis techniques and a real-life test-bed for their evaluation. One of the guiding applications within VMBD was model-based on-board diagnosis of faults in a turbo diesel engine system with a focus on potential origins of increased carbon emissions. This paper focuses on the application aspects. We discuss the requirements imposed, the way they were addressed by the chosen solutions, and the results obtained by the on-board diagnosis prototype running on the demonstrator vehicle. The most important challenges of the demonstrator were to apply model-based diagnosis systems to dynamic systems with feedback, to handle systems without a rigorous mathematical model (such as a combustion engine), and to try to provide the response times required for real-time applications.