OmniAir Tests HIA Devices for Intelligent Transport Systems

Last week, MET Labs joined with OmniAir Consortium, Inc. to test 5.9 GHz DSRC “Here I Am” (HIA) devices at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. 

The purpose of the testing was to:

• Qualify devices for ITS World Congress 
• Validate procedures, standards, and specifications for device qualification and certification in support of the upcoming USDOT Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot

The ITS World Congress is the 18th World Congress on Intelligent Transportation Systems, and is the largest gathering of intelligent automotive experts, policy makers, and technology.  USDOT is incorporating these HIA devices into vehicles for demonstration purposes at this event and OmniAir was asked to screen the devices that will be used.

The second part of the screening effort was to perform a preliminary validation of test procedures, tools, specifications and standards, in anticipation of certifying these devices in support of the Connected Vehicle Safety Pilot.  In the pilot, upwards of 3,000 vehicles fitted with devices will communicate with other vehicles and the surrounding infrastructure, while operating on everyday streets in a highly concentrated area.

Four manufacturers provided two samples each of HIA devices for testing. An additional manufacturer provided one sample.

Testing involved three stages. The first was the inspection of the HIA devices and the manufacturer test reports to make sure they conformed to the HIA Device specification.

The second involved bench testing of the HIA devices. This included making sure the Basic Safety Messages adhered to the specification on a bit-by-bit basis.

The third involved installing these devices in a vehicle. The vehicle testing was broken down into two categories itself:

1. After the unit was left in the vehicle for 2 hours with no air conditioning, verified that it was functional and that the packet error was less than 5% at 300m.
2. While the vehicle moved at various speeds in a straight line and on curves, measured the location delta between a reference GPS unit and the HIA device.

Static vehicle testing was performed in a large open area. The moving vehicle testing was performed on a 1.16 mile oval track.

In the next phase, OmniAir will qualify these devices with the recommendation of MET Laboratories.  The qualification testing will include the screening program plus additional testing, comprising a full test suite. 

Read more about OmniAir’s HIA Device Qualification and Certification Testing Program.