Future requirements for the validation of sensors for autonomous driving is increasing in parallel with the number of sensors in the vehicle. Particularly when recording high-resolution raw data in the vehicle, the focus is on the exist of various and flexible interfaces that can handle with the enormous amounts of data and ensure time-synchronous recording for the further validation process. For this reason, b-plus now provides BRICK with expandable add-ons for its high-performance recorder, which can be flexibly designed in the compact system. 

With a data rate of up to 16 Gbit/s and a storage of up to 32 Tbyte per system, the BRICK recorder has the optimum prerequisites for recording a wide range of multi-sensor systems. With the new BRICK BMC add-ons, the recorder now additionally offers the use of 6x 1000 Base-T ports (module 1), as well as a free vehicle bus configuration (module 2), which can be customized according to CAN-FD and FlexRay ports.  

The big advantage compared to the previous use of external PCIe cards is the time synchronization. Each port of a b-plus module has a Time Sync protocol, which ensures the guaranteed time-synchronous recording of all data in the vehicle, be it (raw) data via Ethernet, CAN-FD or FlexRay communication paths. This is the basis for a reliable development and validation of new systems in autonomous vehicles.

In addition, the new interfaces enable the use of "Power over Ethernet", which means that the additional power supply for the camera sensors can now be provided via the Ethernet connection. Furthermore, there is also the reduction of further components in the vehicle, such as the use of switches if additional interfaces are to be added. The possible replacement of a switch due to additional add-ons in a compact recorder system minimizes additional acquisition and integration costs as well as the already small space in the boot including complex cabling and thus also reduces errors that occur during test drive recordings.