Download FDP – VCU Data Acquisition Device

ELECTRICAL & COMPUTER ENGINEERING
FDP – VCU Data Acquisition Device
Project Number: ECE 403
Project Team: Ferdinand Agyei-Yeboah, Tommy Huynh, Charles Nimo, Thomas Oakley
Faculty Adviser: Yuichi Motai, Ph.D.
Sponsor: FDP Brakes
Mentor: Thomas Veilleux
There is a need to monitor critical information during brake testing to obtain feedback and, ultimately,
more insight on the brake performance of a vehicle. Currently, much of the data logging equipment
required for testing is very specialized and consequently expensive. Additionally, automotive test
vehicles apply older technology that is often not integrated with data analytics for calibrating stopping
distance, number of stops, deceleration, and brake squeal. Presently, drivers fill out forms describing
issues with brakes.
Our team generated a device for FDP Brakes that monitors brake pad temperature, brake line pressure, and GPS location and speed of a test vehicle. This device is able to write data to an SD card in a
tabulated format that can be interpreted by spreadsheet software to generate graphs of temperature,
pressure, and speed/acceleration over time. Furthermore, the data can be viewed overlaying a map,
implemented with a Google Maps web page applet, to show where events occurred. The device also
displays up-to-date information at runtime regarding brake temperature and pressure, along with device
status messages for error reporting and brake squeal detection, on a small LCD.
Keywords: brakes, DAQ, data acquisition, FDP
Figure 1: Core unit with peripherals attached
Figure 2: Post-processing map application