Representative End User Clients
Representative Automation Clients
Representative Software Clients
Consider the revelation that Volkswagen created a software "switch" to detect when its diesel engine was in an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) test, and fake the test results. The EPA's Notice Of Violation (pdf) gives the specifics of the workings of this software switch:
The "switch" senses whether the vehicle is being tested or not based on various inputs including the position of the steering wheel, vehicle speed, the duration of the engine's operation, and barometric pressure. These inputs precisely track the parameters of the federal test procedure used for emission testing for EPA certification purposes. During EPA emission testing, the vehicles' ECM [electronic control module] ran software which produced compliant emission results under an ECM calibration that VW referred to as the "dyno calibration" (referring to the equipment used in emission testing, called a dynamometer). At all other times during normal vehicle operation, the "switch" was activated and the vehicle ECM software ran a separate "road calibration" which reduced the effectiveness of the emission control system (specifically the selective catalytic reduction or the lean NOx [nitrous oxides] trap.) As a result, emission of NOx increased by a factor of 10 to 40 times above the EPA compliant levels, depending on the type of drive cycle (e.g. city, highway).
This lie was discovered by the West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines & Emissions when comparing the EPA test results with real-world road tests. VW opened a new area of concern for Industrial IoT that may require verification of performance tests. While an IoT device may be considered reliable, one will need to audit occasionally, i.e., trust, but verify.
The "switch" senses whether the vehicle is being tested or not based on various inputs including the position of the steering wheel, vehicle speed, the duration of the engine's operation, and barometric pressure. These inputs precisely track the parameters of the federal test procedure used for emission testing for EPA certification purposes. During EPA emission testing, the vehicles' ECM [electronic control module] ran software which produced compliant emission results under an ECM calibration that VW referred to as the "dyno calibration" (referring to the equipment used in emission testing, called a dynamometer). At all other times during normal vehicle operation, the "switch" was activated and the vehicle ECM software ran a separate "road calibration" which reduced the effectiveness of the emission control system (specifically the selective catalytic reduction or the lean NOx [nitrous oxides] trap.) As a result, emission of NOx increased by a factor of 10 to 40 times above the EPA compliant levels, depending on the type of drive cycle (e.g. city, highway).
This lie was discovered by the West Virginia University's Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines & Emissions when comparing the EPA test results with real-world road tests. VW opened a new area of concern for Industrial IoT that may require verification of performance tests. While an IoT device may be considered reliable, one will need to audit occasionally, i.e., trust, but verify.