Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems
| Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM) |
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| legal form | registered association |
| founding | December 1, 1998 in Stuttgart |
| Seat | Höhenkirchen-Siegertsbrunn |
| purpose | International standardization |
| Chair | Marcus Rieker |
| Managing directors | Klaus Estenfeld |
| Website | www.asam.net |
The Association for Standardization of Automation and Measuring Systems (ASAM e.V.) is a registered association under German law. Its members are predominantly global vehicle manufacturers, suppliers and engineering service providers for the automotive industry. The association coordinates the development of technical standards that are developed in project groups by experts from its member companies. The ASAM pursues the vision that all tools of a development process chain can be connected with each other and a continuous data exchange is possible. The standards define protocols, file formats and application programming interfaces ( APIs ) for software development and testing of vehicle control units. A variety of common tools in the field of simulation, measurement and Application systems and test automation conforms to ASAM standards. Conformity should enable the interaction of tools from different manufacturers, guarantee data exchange without data conversion and ensure the exchange of clear specifications between manufacturer and supplier.
ASAM standards are based on other public standards such as UML, XML and CORBA and are therefore independent of specific IT technologies and platforms. Furthermore, ASAM works closely with other organizations such as ISO or AUTOSAR on standardization .
history
During the economic crisis in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the automotive industry was under great cost and rationalization pressure. The areas of measurement technology and test automation were not excluded from this. The tools in this area were mostly special and in-house developments with mostly incompatible interfaces and data formats that hindered the interaction of different tools and the exchange of data. The development managers from Audi, BMW, Daimler-Benz, Porsche and Volkswagen decided to work together and in 1991 set up the working group for the standardization of automation and measurement systems (ASAM). In contrast to earlier standardization bodies, in which the OEMs unilaterally decided on standards and dictated them to their suppliers, in ASAM the suppliers were included in the standard development as equal partners from the start. This ensured that their technological know-how was incorporated and that the standards could be converted into products and services at an economically justifiable expense.
The standard development was further advanced in 1996 by the EU project STAUMECS. Because the number and importance of the standards was steadily increasing, the ASAM e. V., which legally represents the standards and ensures their dissemination.
chronology
- 1998: Foundation of the ASAM e. V. as a registered association. The first chairman comes from DaimlerChrysler. The first managing director is provided by BMW.
- 1999: Creation of an ASAM interest group in the USA.
- 2001: First ASAM Techday in the USA at DaimlerChrysler in Auburn Hills, MI.
- 2002: First approval from ASAM CEA.
Integration of the MSR standards in the ASAM. - 2003: The number of members exceeds the one hundred mark. There are companies from the USA, Japan, France and Sweden.
First release of ASAM MCD-3. - 2004: The board of directors decides to stop the release of new standards for a period of 18 months in order to give tool manufacturers time to develop ASAM-compliant tools.
First release of ASAM MCD-2 NET (FIBEX).
ASAM ODS 5.0 was adopted by the ISO and released as ISO 22720. - 2005: Foundation of ASAM LLC as regional representative of ASAM in the USA.
- 2006: First ASAM Solutions Guide is published. Contains case studies and a directory of members and products.
First release from ASAM CDF.
First release of ASAM MDX.
First release of ASAM MBFS.
First release of official ASAM Checker Tools: A2L Checker, ODS Model and Data Checker. - 2007: Regional representation of ASAM in India.
First release of ASAM FSX. - 2008: Establishment of the TSC (Technical Steering Committee) for the technical control of the standard development.
First release of ASAM LXF. - 2009: First approval from ASAM HIL.
Adoption of MDF as ASAM standard and first approval as ASAM MDF. - 2010: The general assembly decides that ASAM standards are only freely accessible to ASAM members. Non-members have to buy standards and thus share in the development costs.
- 2011: First local project group in the USA to create an ODS Companion Standard.
Creation of an ASAM interest group in Japan. - 2012: ASAM MCD-3 is split into two independent standards: ASAM MCD-3 MC and ASAM MCD-3D.
First release of ASAM ATX. - 2013: Renaming of ASAM HIL to ASAM XIL and release of ASAM XIL 2.0 with open source software, which implements a large part of the standard API.
- 2014: ASAM first released a professionally developed open source software together with a standard (ASAM XIL 2.0.).
- 2015: ASAM opens an office in Tokyo, Japan, which aims to introduce Japanese members to standardization within ASAM.
First release of ASAM OTX Extensions. The standard is to be integrated as part 4 in the ISO standard ISO 13029. - 2016: First release of ASAM MCD-2 CERP and ASAM CPX
- 2017: First release of ASAM MCD-1 POD
ASAM has over 200 corporate members worldwide. They come mainly from the automotive industry, although ASAM does not limit membership to that industry. The largest member companies are AUDI, BMW, Bosch, Continental, Cummins, Daimler, Denso, Delphi, Ford, GM, Honda, MAN, Nissan, PSA, SAIC, Toyota, Porsche, Volkswagen, Volvo and ZF Friedrichshafen.
The member companies can be roughly divided into three categories:
- End users: OEMs and their suppliers who mainly use tools and processes based on ASAM standards
- ASAM system suppliers: Tool manufacturers and service providers who implement ASAM standards in tools and offer engineering services
- Educational institutions: universities and research institutes
Members pay an annual fee, which depends on the number of their employees. This gives you free access to all ASAM standards and checker tools and can use them for developing tools and as part of services. Membership also allows you to propose changes or new developments to standards and to participate in their development.
Large OEMs and suppliers usually have a strong interest in standards in order to replace proprietary and self-made systems and to make themselves independent of individual tool manufacturers or costly in-house developments. The use of ASAM standards enables OEMs and suppliers to reuse test and development systems multiple times and thus secure investments in the long term.
ASAM system suppliers also have a decisive advantage, as the standards create a global, OEM-independent market for their products. The standards enable them to sell products to end users around the world without complex customer adjustments. This minimizes development costs and maximizes income. Those companies that are actively involved in the development of the standards have an additional "first-to-market" advantage.
ASAM's strength lies in the very large number of system suppliers. Almost two thirds of all member companies belong to this group. Accordingly, ASAM-compliant tools and services are widely available. According to an expert estimate, there are around 500 products worldwide for MCD systems alone.
organization structure
ASAM is organized as a registered association. The structure enables the integration of new members into the existing organization.
The highest decision-making body of the ASAM is the general assembly. Each member company has voting rights proportional to its annual membership fee. The delegates alternately elect the Executive Board and the Technical Steering Committee every two years. They also relieve the board of directors, approve changes in the articles of association and vote on strategically important decisions.
The board of directors bears operational responsibility for the association. It consists of up to five members. The board represents the ASAM in all legal and public matters, is responsible for the finances of the association, decides on the admission or exclusion of members, sets guidelines for the other bodies and for the office, develops a long-term strategy for the association and reviews its implementation.
The Technical Steering Committee (TSC) mainly deals with the technical and market aspects of the ASAM standards. The committee consists of a maximum of 10 delegates from ASAM member companies. The most important goal of the TSC is to ensure that the standard portfolio of the ASAM meets the market requirements and remains competitive. The committee reviews technical proposals, monitors progress in the working groups and approves new or revised standards.
The actual development work on the standards takes place in the ASAM project groups. These groups can be closed to other members, which means that only those companies can send project group members who originally proposed the standard. An open project group, on the other hand, can invite other members to work on the standard. Project groups either work on the new or further development of standards (FVD Project: Future Version Development Project), or they carry out maintenance work on the standard, such as minor revisions or bug fixes (Maintenance Project).
ASAM has an office near Munich, which ensures the distribution of the standards, maintains an IT infrastructure for project groups, provides technical support on questions about the standards, as well as technical marketing and general member support.
Standard development process
Standard new developments, enhancements or corrections are initiated on the initiative of the members. The process starts with a so-called "Issue Proposal" which contains the purpose, use cases, technical content, estimated resources and a project plan. The proposal will be made known to the other members for comment. After a minimum discussion time of six weeks, the proposal and the comments are submitted to the TSC for assessment and decision. If the necessary resources are available and the TSC accepts the proposal, the project can be started.
25% of the required budget is usually borne by the ASAM. The remaining 75% are borne by the companies participating in the project, for example through the working time of the project group members, the provision of existing documents or through funds. The prerequisite for the implementation of a project is the participation of at least three member companies in the project group.
The ASAM provides the working infrastructure for the project group, which consists of an issue tracking system, a file repository and versioning system, a conference system, process descriptions and guidelines, document templates and support from the office.
The project team elects a project manager who is responsible for the work organization of the group, supports their work progress and ensures that the group stays within the approved project. The ASAM Office appoints a Maintenance Project Manager for the further development of existing standards who carries out operational work for the project group. Otherwise, the project group organizes itself independently and according to its own needs.
During the implementation phase of the project, the project members work on the standard through regular meetings, telephone conferences or independent work. The project manager reports regularly to the TSC on the progress of the project.
As soon as the project members determine that their standard is ready for approval, they submit their work results for review by the TSC. Work results can be documents, schemes, reference code or example files. The project manager presents the new standard in the TSC meeting. The TSC and the Board of Directors approve the release. The ASAM Office then publishes the release and makes it available for its members to download.
Standard portfolio
ASAM standards are mainly used in the automotive industry. They mainly deal with the definition of communication interfaces between measuring, application, diagnostic and test devices. The standards cover process and tool chains in these areas and aim to reduce the effort for their development, integration and maintenance. ASAM standards relate to specific use cases and are developed according to the following basic principles:
- Independence from hardware platform and operating system
- Use of object modeling
- Definition of semantics and syntax
- Independence from the physical data storage
They are therefore manufacturer and technology-independent, which makes system components of different origins interchangeable and decouples them from constant further developments of IT platforms. Investments in tools and processes are therefore stable in the long term.
ASAM uses common description methods for the technology definitions in the standards:
- Format description: defines the syntax and semantics of a file format for data exchange.
- API: defines interfaces and functional behavior of executable routines that are used as callable services and for data exchange between computer programs.
- Protocol definition: defines the syntax, semantics and synchronization of bus communication in order to establish a connection between two computer systems.
- Technology reference: specifies a technology-dependent interpretation of a technology-independent part of the standard, typically using mapping rules or program code.
- Application Area Companion: defines an extension of the basic standard for a specific application area or device type.
- Transport layer specification: defines the implementation of a generic protocol definition on a concrete, physical layer.
ASAM has divided the standards into three groups, which are briefly described in the following tables:
- AE: Automotive Electronics
- CAT: Computer Aided Testing
- COMMON: Overarching standards for AE and CAT
ASAM AE
ASAM AE standards (Automotive Electronics) are mainly used during the design and implementation phase of control unit software (left side of the V-Model). They focus on:
- the design of functional and interface specifications for software components
- performing measurement, calibration and diagnostic tasks on the control unit
- the automation of HIL tests
- the description of development artifacts
- the exchange of development requirements
| default | title | description |
|---|---|---|
| ASAM ATX | Automotive Test Exchange Format | Definition of an XML-based format for describing tests. Allows the test descriptions to be reused in different test automation systems. Covers activities such as test specification, test planning, test execution and test evaluation. Test specifications include test cases, sequences, steps, actions and associated metadata. Format allows the storage of test values for inputs (stimulus values), outputs (expected values) and execution conditions. Often used in connection with HIL. |
| ASAM CC | Container Catalog | Definition of an XML-based format for describing development artifacts, such as source code, compiled object code or document files, and associated meta information about the objects, such as creator, name and version. Is mainly used for the exchange of information between manufacturer and supplier. |
| ASAM CDF | Calibration Data Format | Definition of an XML-based format for storing application values and associated metadata about their origin and quality. Complements the MCD-2 MC by including the values of the application parameters described in MCD-2 MC. |
| ASAM CPX | Calibration Process Exchange Format | Definition of an XML- and ISO 13029 (OTX) -based format for the description of test sequences for the determination and validation of parameters of the ECU software. Standard contains an access API for application and measurement data on the ECU, access to meta information on this data (from the A2L file), functions for the execution control of measurement tests and simulation models, and special mathematical functions. |
| ASAM FSX | Functional Specification Exchange Format | Definition of an XML-based format for describing the functional specification of software, mainly to generate technical documentation from it. The format allows documentation via prose text in several languages, cross-references, links and specification of requirements. Variants of the specification can be expressed. Supplements MDX, which contains the interface definitions of the functions. |
| ASAM ISSUE | ISSUE Exchange Format | Definition of an XML-based format for the exchange of information between participants in a distributed development process. Covers change requests, clarification requests, bug reports and other use cases. Furthermore, definition of the associated machining process. |
| ASAM MBFS | Model Based Functions Specification | Definition of a block library with typical functions for the model-based development of control algorithms for vehicle control units. Contains definition of 70 blocks with icons, pseudocode and test vectors. Also contains the description of a reference implementation for MATLAB / Simulink. |
| ASAM MCD-1 CCP | CAN calibration protocol | Definition of a communication protocol between master and slave controller on a CAN 2.0B network. Includes the transfer of application parameters to slave controllers, continuous data acquisition from slave controllers and the execution of general control functions. Standard is also known under the name "ASAP1". |
| ASAM MCD-1 XCP | The Universal Measurement and Calibration Protocol Family | Definition of a bus-independent communication protocol between master and slave controller. Includes synchronous data acquisition and stimulation, read and write access to application data, memory page management, flash programming and other optional functions. Transport layer specifications are defined for CAN, Ethernet (TCP / IP & UDP / IP), FlexRay, USB and SxI. Is a generalization and further development of MCD-1 CCP. |
| ASAM MCD-2 CERP | Calibration Expert System Rule and Product Model Format | Definition of an XML and ISO 13029 (OTX) -based format for describing the dependencies of ECU application parameters. The current version covers the application of the parameter check. Standard has functions for access to data model information (according to ASAM MCD-2 MC), application runtime data (values, units) and the product model file. Product model describes properties and functions of the system. Check functions and procedures for the comparison and validation of data are defined. |
| ASAM MCD-2 D | Data Model Specification for ECU Diagnostics | Definition of an XML-based format for describing diagnostic, programming and vehicle-specific interface data for data exchange between the control unit and the external test device. Compatibility with the standard means that external test devices do not have to be specially programmed to process diagnostic data from the control unit. Standard is also known under the name "ODX". |
| ASAM MCD-2 MC | ECU Measurement and Calibration Data Exchange Format | Definition of application parameters (CHARACTERISTIC) and measurement data (MEASUREMENT) using a non-XML-compliant format. These data are located in the memory of the control unit. The format allows access to the data by an application system. Also contains the description of the HW interface of the control unit for the configuration of the drivers of the application system. Standard is also known under the name "ASAP2". |
| ASAM MCD-2 NET | Data Model for ECU Network Systems | Definition of an XML-based format for describing messages and their time behavior for communication buses in the vehicle. Format is mainly used for FlexRay and MOST, but also supports CAN, TTCAN, LIN and Ethernet. Used for design, configuration, data recording and simulation of communication on the bus. Standard is also known under the name "FIBEX". The content is harmonized with the AUTOSAR system template. |
| ASAM MCD-3 ASAP3 | Automation / Optimization and ECU Calibration System Interface | Definition of an RS232 protocol between software for test automation and a measurement and application system that is connected to a control unit. Standard is technologically out of date. MCD-3 MC should be used instead. |
| ASAM MCD-3 D | Application Programming Interface for MVCI Diagnostic Server | Definition of an object-oriented API for a diagnostic server that provides bus and protocol-independent services for communication between client applications and control units. Contains an illustration of the OO-API on C ++, Java and COM-IDL with code examples. Supplements MCD-2 D, which contains the actual diagnostic configuration of the control units and networks in the vehicle. |
| ASAM MCD-3 MC | Application Programming Interface for Measurement and Calibration server | Definition of an object-oriented API for a measurement and application server that provides bus and protocol-independent services for communication between client applications and control devices. Contains a mapping of the OO-API on COM-IDL with code examples. Supplements MCD-2 MC, which contains the actual measurement and application data description of the control units. |
| ASAM MDX | Model Data Exchange Format | Definition of an XML-based format for describing functional interfaces and their data (variables and application parameters), as well as scheduling in the control unit software. Allows the integration of the functions as object code in the overall control unit software without having access to the source code. Supplements FSX, which contains the functional description of the functions. MDX is the forerunner of the AUTOSAR software component template. |
| ASAM OTX | Open Test Sequence eXchange Format | Definition of an extension of ISO 13029 "Open Test Sequence Exchange" (OTX) with new functions. Contains new data types, change detection and triggering of events, general write and read access to files, general processing of XML files, flow charts and state machines. Contains document that clarifies specification gaps, limitations and known errors in ISO 13029. Should be transferred to ISO in the future and parts 4 and 5 of ISO 13029 will be. |
| ASAM XIL | Generic Simulator Interface | Definition of an API between programs for test automation and test execution, such as HIL systems (Hardware-in-the-Loop) or SIL systems (Software-in-the-Loop). Enables access to simulation models, ECU-internal measurement and application data, diagnostic data, electrical fault simulation and the ECU network. API is defined as a technology-independent UML model. Contains open source code in C # , which implements a large part of the standard API. The previous name of the standard was "ASAM HIL". |
ASAM CAT
ASAM CAT standards (Computer Aided Testing) are mainly used for the verification and validation of control unit software (right side of the V-Model), the automated application and the system test on engine and vehicle test benches. They focus on:
- the automated application
- the storage of test data
- the evaluation and analysis of test data
| default | title | description |
|---|---|---|
| ASAM ACI | Automatic calibration interface | Definition of a client-server and object-oriented API for application automation systems (client) for remote control of test bench automation systems (server). Standard includes
Client and server may run on different host systems, are connected via TCP / IP and are capable of performing static tests. Contains guidelines for middleware implementation with CORBA, an interface definition file and a description for interface certification tests. |
| ASAM CEA | Components for Evaluation and Analysis | Definitions of functional components for the evaluation and analysis of test measurement data. Often used for developing programs to process and visualize test data. Defined components are: input, worker, output, consumer, producer and viewer. Service routines are available for the creation of graphics, logging & tracing, unit conversions, undo & redo, intercomponent communication and help. Furthermore definition of a file format for the CAE component description. Contains reference code for Java and .NET. |
| ASAM GDI | Generic device interface | Standard defines the connection of devices for measuring and controlling test benches with test bench automation systems by means of a four-layer architecture. Contains the specification of
Standard defines APIs for all layers and provides formats for the description of device properties and data connections. Contains companion standards for communication on vehicle test benches, crash test devices, multi-channel DAQ systems and a mapping from MCD-3 to GDI. Contains schema and C header files as well as sample files for description formats and implementation. Also available as ISO 20242, but without the automotive-specific companion standards and code. |
| ASAM ODS | Open data services | Standard defines the permanent storage and retrieval of data independent of an IT infrastructure. Is mainly used in the test automation system environment. Contains the specification of
Contains application models for vehicle geometry, NVH tests, test bench calibration data, bus data and test processes. Contains schema and interface definition files as well as sample files for description formats. |
ASAM COMMON (Common)
ASAM COMMON standards are used in both areas of AE and CAT.
| default | title | description |
|---|---|---|
| ASAM LXF | Layout Exchange Format | Definition of an XML-based format for describing graphic layouts for the use of data processing programs and automatic document generators. Contains the definitions for the master layout, canvas and graphic objects such as images, charts, shapes and curves. May contain formulas that are resolved at execution time. Used in particular with CAE. |
| ASAM MDF | Measurement data format | Definition of a block-based and channel-oriented binary format for the storage of measurement data including descriptive metadata. Allows the synchronization of the data according to time, angle, distance and index. Allows efficient storage of data in real time. MDF files can be referenced in ODS databases. |
literature
- R. Bartz: Basics and use of ASAM standards. Expert-Verlag, 2001, ISBN 978-3-8169-2041-0 .
- C. Marscholik, P. Subke: Road vehicles - Diagnostic communication - Technology & Applications. Hüthig Verlag, 2008, ISBN 978-3-7785-4048-0 .
- W. Zimmermann, R. Schmidgall: Bus systems in vehicle technology. Vieweg + Teubner Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-8348-0907-0 .
- C. Marscholik, P. Subke: Data communication in automobiles. VDI Verlag, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8007-3275-3 .
Web links
- http://www.asam.net/ official website of ASAM e. V.
- https://wiki.asam.net/ official wiki of ASAM e. V. about its standards