Innovation Centre for Digital Vehicle Forensics

An innovation centre for digital vehicle forensics is being established at the CARISSMA Research Centre at THI. The aim is to investigate accidents involving automated vehicles in a way that is forensically sound and admissible in court. As traditional reconstruction methods are no longer sufficient for this purpose, the centre is developing manufacturer-independent methods for extracting and analysing digital vehicle data, and aims to establish itself in the long term as an independent point of contact for experts, investigating authorities and courts.

Features

Full-vehicle test bench (under construction) for reproducible driving tests up to 160 km/h and 400 kW, supplemented by a radar simulator and a 3D camera simulation system
Tesla Model 3 research vehicle with an integrated sensor platform comprising Multi-GNSS, MEMS-IMU, cameras, Ouster OS1-32 LiDAR, Continental ARS 548 radar and a V2X unit
Electronics laboratory for digital traces to analyse control units and extract accident-relevant data, such as from the Tesla Autopilot control unit
FARO Focus Core 3D laser scanner for three-dimensional surveying of accident sites with a range of up to 350 m
Mobile DC charging station (3000 W, ISO 15118-20) for security testing of charging communication, including sniffing and man-in-the-middle attacks
VR/AR laboratory for the immersive visualisation of accidents for judges, lawyers and other parties involved in proceedings
Outdoor test area covering over 1,000 m² with a drop tower for testing the mechanical load-bearing capacity of components

Planned research activities

Systematic investigation of driver assistance systems and automated driving functions on the advanced test bench, and validation in real-world driving trials
Creation of an information database on the storage locations, access methods and access requirements for digital vehicle data
Development of a forensic data retrieval tool for extracting digital evidence from vehicles involved in accidents
Three-dimensional reconstruction of accident scenes to verify digital traces
Research into automotive IT security, for example relating to charging communication and connected vehicles

Management

Research Professor Battery Systems, Head of CARISSMA C-ECOS, Head of Research Group Safe Electromobility
Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Hans-Georg Schweiger
Phone: +49 841 9348-4500
Room: H026
E-Mail: Hans-Georg.Schweiger@thi.de

Martin Schmieder
Phone: +49 841 9348-5224
Room: Q206
E-Mail: Martin.Schmieder@carissma.eu