Electric and hybrid vehicles, similarly to combustion engine ones, can experience malfunctions, yet preventive diagnostics for their electric motors are underdeveloped. While many methods exist for testing electric motors in heavy industry, they are not commonly applied in the vehicle industry. Our study aims to develop a real-time, non-invasive fault detection procedure for electric motors in these vehicles. Previous research has focused on simulations, but our work involves real measurements conducted in a controlled laboratory using a two-axle chassis dyno. We present the hybrid vehicle’s drivetrain, our equipment, and the feasibility of simulated methods, and we also detail the evaluation method used.

Modern passenger vehicles can indicate the speed limit for a given road section using GPS, cameras, or both. Sign recognition systems must comply with specified testing procedures before operation. Our goal is to create a cost-effective lab environment for vehicle-level tests of these systems. Image recognition can be tested with various traffic signs in a simulation video placed in front of the vehicle’s camera while it runs on a chassis dyno. We tested this environment with factory-built systems, displaying recognized signs on the dashboard. The simulation software allows unlimited signs, eliminating the need for long-distance driving or extensive test track setups. While the lab environment does not replace final public road testing, it is a cost-effective solution for the development and testing of traffic sign recognition systems.

In terms of vehicle radars, the most important properties of targets are speed, distance, and radar cross section. Based on the Radar Cross Section (RCS), the type of the object can be identified with a good approximation: pedestrian, bicycle, car, truck even in extreme weather conditions. A radar cross section measures the reflectivity of an object and its numerical value is equal to the area of the cross section of a conducting sphere with the same reflectivity. Its value depends on the material and shape of the object, the angle of illumination, and the ratio between the wavelength and the size of the object. The article presents a measurement system for radar targets, the main component of which is an automotive radar. In addition, the evaluation software for the measurement system, which was created in the MATLAB / SIMULINK environment, will be presented. The measurement system was used to perform various measurements on the ZalaZONE Automotive Proving Ground (Zalaegerszeg, HUNGARY), the evaluation of which will be presented. The purpose of the measurements is to collect information about the radar cross-section values of pedestrians at different distances from the vehicle and dummies simulating them. A comparison of different pedestrians is presented. After that, we will show how even if a puppet is formally similar to a pedestrian, the RCS can show a different value.