Developing Datalogging Sessions

Refer to the following topics to learn how to develop datalogging sessions for your vehicle.

Editing Configurations

Adding Hardware Components to a Configuration

If you add a new hardware component to your system, ensure that the hardware component name listed in the Configuration Editor matches the hardware-specific channel name for that hardware component in MAX.

Modifying Application Startup Settings

You can adjust Data Record AD settings, such as startup state, default file paths, and debugging options, by editing the fields in the INI file located in the same folder as the Data Record AD executable file.

Working with I/O Plug-Ins

By default, the I/O plug-ins for your system are stored in the following file location: %Public%\Documents\National Instruments\ADAS\Plugins\IOPlugins.

You can create subfolders within this folder and move plug-ins into them to organize plug-ins by category. Subfolders and the plug-ins they contain will appear as groups on the palette in the Configuration Editor.

Refer to The Plug-In Creation Toolkit for more information about working with I/O plug-ins.

Testing Configurations

You can ensure your configuration works properly by running the Data Record AD application after selecting the JSON file that you want to test and then verifying that it loads correctly without errors.

Even if your plug-ins have hardware abstraction or hardware simulation capabilities, testing should always be done on the chassis containing the relevant hardware for maximum accuracy.

Debugging Configurations

Data Record AD provides several tools for you to monitor system status and errors.

System status alerts and errors will appear in the Debug Panel, the ETW Viewer, and the Processing Engine Console Log.

The Debug Panel

The Debug Panel displays plug-in errors.

In the PE Statistics cluster, Stream Items Behind indicates how many items are in the buffer for each plug-in. This number should be zero if the plug-in input is keeping up with the plug-in output. If the number of buffered items in your loaded configuration is greater than zero, this typically indicates that data is not being efficiently written to disk or processed.

Figure 13. Data Record AD Debug Panel

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The ETW Viewer

The Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) Viewer, which can be launched from the Debug Panel, allows you to open events by category to view event traces as each plug-in enters or leaves certain states. The ETW Viewer should be launched before Data Record AD has finished loading plug-ins, so it must either be launched from its source location before Data Record AD, or you must restart Data Record AD after launching the ETW Viewer from the Debug Panel.

The Processing Engine Console Log

The Processing Engine Console Log, which is located within the Debug Panel, reports all of the activity in the data processing engine, such as loading configurations, loading plug-ins, and linking plug-ins. These messages provide more detailed information about the execution of the datalogging session and the health of the system as a whole. Additionally, data processing engine errors are displayed in the Processing Engine Error Log next to the Processing Engine Console Log. Data Record AD also distributes data processing engine messages and errors over SystemLink.

Error Handling

The data processing engine provides a callback for handling errors thrown by I/O plug-ins. The default error handler behavior is passed down to any VI located in the %Public%\Documents\National Instruments\ADAS\Plugin Framework Error Handlers directory. You can also write custom error handling behavior. Refer to the Data Record AD GitHub Repository at https://www.ni.com/r/datarecord-devguide to learn how to extend your system with custom error handlers and view examples.

Executing Datalogging Sessions

The following list is a high-level workflow of tasks before, during, and after executing a datalogging session:

  • Remotely connecting to Data Record AD
  • Selecting a recording mode
  • Starting and stopping datalogging sessions
  • Verifying that datalogging sessions are running properly
  • Monitoring data storage drive bandwidth
  • Changing network, sensor, and ECU settings
  • Viewing recorded sensor captures
  • Viewing reported errors
  • Identifying and resolving data integrity issues
  • Logging data to data storage drives
  • Reading session data from data storage drives
  • Analyzing logged data

Once your configuration file is set up and loaded by Data Record AD, complete the tasks that are applicable to your workflow. Many of the workflow tasks may be specific to your vehicle or application. Consult your integrator for any instructions not provided in this documentation.

If you are using the Data Record AD User Interface, refer to The Visualization Toolkit for any software instructions not provided in this section.

Refer to Debugging Configurations for information about viewing reported errors during a datalogging session.