EURO 7 Watchful eye According to the European Commission, vehicle emissions accounted for 70,000 premature deaths across Europe in 2018. In the wake of the Dieselgate scandal, the Commission introduced new tests to measure emissions on the road (the RDE method) and increased its market surveillance powers and those of member states to ensure that vehicles are as clean as expected according to Euro 6 norms. Euro 7 test conditions for RDE are derived from Euro 6, with some slight changes expected. The very strict (and sometimes unrealistic) driving conditions originally proposed within earlier Euro 7 drafts have not been carried forward. The on-road emission testing is expected to have the same testing basis as in Euro 6 for light-duty and heavy-duty vehicles, probably with multiplicative conformity factors equaling 1 for the pollutants NO X and PN, which would be stricter than they are now. The biggest difference is a request for a new pollutant particle number, PN10 (number of particles above 10nm instead of today’s 23nm size spectrum). “The software testing is not easy to predict at the moment,” says Trnka. “Nevertheless, the expected software focus will be functional onboard diagnostics testing the traditional way, onboard fuel consumption monitoring (as today) plus anti-tampering robustness and probably some extra features relating to onboard monitoring which, in the end, will enable transfer of driving data off-board, instead of originally planned over-the-air transfer.” WLTP and RDE are already central to TÜV Süd’s involvement in the technology and processes. As an independent testing entity, TÜV Süd’s mobility division undertakes verification and certification testing according to regulations. This is done either for homologation purposes or for post-homologation testing such as conformity of production or market surveillance analysis. “All these activities will also be requested in the future for Euro 7 type-approved vehicles,” explains Trnka. “This means the company will have to invest in new testing technologies, improved qualification of personnel (such as electrical education) and also new ISO 17025 accreditation for relevant test procedures within Euro 7 when it is enforced.” Before the provisional agreement for Euro 7 was published, some specialists such as TÜV Süd were 82 JUNE 2024 At a Euro 7 press conference in 2022, the European Commission (commissioner Thierry Breton pictured above) presented a proposal to reduce air pollution from new vehicles sold in the EU to meet the European Green Deal’s zero-pollution ambition already familiar with elements of the preliminary requirements relating to the legislative changes in analysis processes and laboratory equipment. But the final matrix will be confirmed later when the legally binding regulatory acts are finalized, known and realistic. However, Trnka believes that the goal posts of Euro 7 in all its aspects can be achieved using existing technologies, and that, where necessary, the industry is already capable of adapting to any future technological development requirements. At Bosch there is a belief that the entire evaluation process needs a rethink. The engineers should not have to go to the data, the data should come to them – and this should ideally happen in real time, the company insists. Most test vehicles collect information about current test drives on an in-vehicle computer connected to measuring instruments. However, access to live data via a remote connection to the vehicle’s computer system, which communicates with the cloud through a mobile data connection, enables remote access for engineers to provide feedback and make changes as required. Bosch provides a service whereby engineers can connect to the test vehicles via remote vehicle access (RVA), to transfer data and implement necessary changes at any time. This means the testing never has to stop. Already, fleet telematics, for example, includes engine diagnostics among a suite of monitoring solutions relating to individual vehicles. Soon, remote sensors will be able to monitor every vehicle throughout its life on the road. This data can be applied to scrutinize modeling accuracy, predicted reactions to weather, and wear and tear on real roads in real time – providing data that not only pertains to that vehicle but also contributes to a data history of an entire model on the road, comparing its behaviors in different geographies and prevailing conditions. The age of perpetual testing has arrived, or will be here very soon. www.AutomotiveTestingTechnologyInternational.com