eCall system integration

raising safety standards in the automotive industry

the background

Created as an EU initiative, eCall is an in-vehicle emergency assistance system enabling rapid communication in the event of traffic accidents. When eCall In-Vehicle Equipment (IVE) detects a serious road incident, it automatically triggers a mobile phone connection via 112 to the nearest available public safety answering point (PSAP). The IVE creates a voice call and uses the same transmission channel to send details of the accident. These include time, cause of activation, GPS coordinates and Vehicle Identification Number.

how it works

the challenge

The key to the successful implementation of the eCall system across the EU is the close collaboration between the regulatory bodies, car manufacturers and leading technology companies. All eCall equipment or its new features must comply with standard requirements and undergo strict testing before market launch. Tronel has been contributing to the eCall initiative since its infancy working with an international provider of wireless testing solutions on their systems for connected cars. More specifically, the client turned to Tronel to deploy an eCall upgrade for their base station simulator firmware that would comply with the newest 3GPP standards.

the approach

Tronel developed the firmware upgrade that allowed for extracting the minimum set of data (MSD) transferred via the eCall channel according to strict standards defined in 3GPP specifications. Our work involved the redesign of firmware architecture, the development of communication protocol and detailed quality assurance. To verify the solution, we created Tronel Test Harness, a closed test environment simulating eCall emergency cases under laboratory conditions for 2G, 3G and LTE. Our engineers established software and hardware components simulating the IVE, the base station and PSAP. We also emulated the cellular networks via a radio frequency (RF) cable accurately replicating different scenarios.

technologies we used

the solution

The solution is a reliable firmware upgrade fully compliant with 3GPP standards that could be seamlessly integrated with the client’s devices. Tronel Test Harness provides a reproducible, end-to-end testing environment for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. This way, the setup allows us to confidently verify if both the IVE and base station support the eCall system correctly enabling detailed quality assurance. After the successful implementation, Tronel has been providing ongoing maintenance and support for the system.

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