On-Board Vehicle Diagnostic Data Capture and Analysis

Overview

The goal of the Acquiring Data from Vehicle’s Digital Data Bus project is to provide a solution to inefficient vehicle management by developing a system capable of tracking and considering vehicle operation information to allow for condition-based maintenance. The system collects crucial diagnostic and performance data from the engine control unit (ECU) with an onboard diagnostic device (OBDII) scanner and transmits data to a mobile device for storage, processing, and display to the user. Limitations on the project led to focusing on data collection, and handling; a future team may undertake this project to develop a comprehensive predictive maintenance system that utilizes complex analytical algorithms and machine learning concepts.

Objectives

The objective of this project was to communicate with the ECU of a vehicle with an OBDII device and retrieve, store, process, and display diagnostic data for vehicle performance analysis and maintenance prediction.

Approach

• Met with the sponsor to discuss their needs and expectations regarding vehicle diagnostic data collection.

• Researched important vehicle parameters to track the specifics of predictive maintenance.

• Determined technical requirements of the system and ensured they fulfilled the sponsor’s needs.

• Determined and obtained a highly functional OBDII device capable of interpreting and transmitting ECU data via Wi-Fi.

• Developed and validated a real time OBDII message decoding system that acquires messages communicated from the OBDII device, identifies the parameter identity (PID), and parses data.

• Developed functionality for switching OBDII communication modes for collecting the vehicle identification number (VIN) and trouble codes.

• Developed an efficient storage system that organizes collected vehicle data into a CSV file.

• Created a GUI for real time monitoring and interaction of live data collection, key diagnostic indicators, and performance metrics
• Implemented an external SQL database for long-term storage and management of collected data in categorized tables.

Outcomes

• Significant vehicle performance data was successfully obtained and interpreted from the ECU.

• Clients can use the Android app and ELM327 for the collection, monitoring, and interaction of important data from the ECU during vehicle operation.

• Established the foundational data collection and handling system for future condition-based maintenance capabilities and comprehensive vehicle analysis