Test Plan for the Verification of the Robustness of Sensors and Automotive Electronic Products Using Scenario-Based...

The targeted shortening of sensor development requires short and convincing verification tests. The goal of the development of novel verification methods is to avoid or reduce an excessive amount of testing and identify tests that guarantee that the assumed failure will not happen in practice. In this paper, a method is presented that results in the test loads of such a verification. The method starts with the identification of the requirements for the product related to robustness using the precise descriptions of those use case scenarios in which the product is assumed to be working. Based on the logic of the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) method, a step-by-step procedure has been developed to translate the robustness requirements through the change in design parameters, their causing phenomena, the physical quantities as causes of these phenomena, until the test loads of the verification. The developed method is applied to the test plan of an automotive sensor. The method is general and can be used for any parts of a vehicle, including mechanical, electrical and mechatronical ones, such as sensors and actuators. Nonetheless, the method is applicable in a much broader application area, even outside of the automotive industry.