Introduction
The Communication Infrastructure
The SafeTRIP Middleware
The On-Board Unit (OBU)
Case Studies
Business Models for SafeTRIP Platform
For the demonstration of the advantages of the SafeTRIP platform using real applications, an OBU demonstrator has been developed. The approach chosen for demonstrator development was to rely as much as possible on existing components and to focus on integration and application development rather than miniaturization. Leveraging the modular approach of the reference architecture and the standards based software interfaces of the Service Enabling Layer middleware the reference architecture could easily be mapped to a physical demonstrator architecture based on hardware platforms from the SafeTRIP partners.
Depending on the communication requirements of the demonstrated applications, not all demonstrator components are required during the field tests. In the following, the full demonstrator configuration comprising satellite broadcasting, messaging return-link and connection-oriented communication is described. It consists of the following physical hardware components:
- DT4900 S-band Terminal Platform comprising DVB-SH receiver and S-MIM modulator for broadcast and messaging communication as well as a general purpose compute platform for Service Enabling Layer and applications.
- SR40 IP Modem for connection-oriented bi-directional satellite communication.
- MCU3 car gateway and processing unit with 3-buttons panel and touch screen.
- WiFi Router to allow access to Live TV and other multi-media content from multiple mobile devices (e.g. inside buses).
- GPS antenna for MCU3.
- S-band antenna.
Figure 14: Mapping of the OBU reference architecture to the physical components of the demonstrator
The DT4900 Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, IIS, is based on an industrial grade PC platform along with programmable hardware resources (FPGA) that can be used for implementation of a variety of waveform standards. In the context of the SafeTRIP OBU demonstrator, it is used to host the Service Enabling Layer middleware and applications. In addition it contains a DVB-SH receiver with low-latency option and an S-MIM modulator (including S-band RF output).
Figure 15: DT4900 S-band Terminal Platform
The SR40 IP Modem from Indra is based on a Software Defined Radio (SDR) concept allowing flexibility in terms of various waveforms and application-specific software that can be accommodated on the same hardware platform. In the SafeTRIP OBU demonstrator it is used to implement the connection-oriented satellite communication capabilities using the QS-CDMA waveform.
Figure 16: SR40 IP Modem for connection-oriented bi-directional satellite communication
The MCU3 is the latest generation on-board unit from Masternaut. It is based on an ARM processor and contains RAM and non-volatile memory and the possibility to attach an SD card. A 3-button panel for easy driver interaction can be mounted on the dash-board. A touch-screen that can be attached to the wind screen of the vehicle is available for interaction of the driver with the SafeTRIP OBU demonstrator.