System and method for vehicle diagnostics with synchronized vehicle acoustic and vibration data with on-board diagnostic data
A diagnostic system for assessing engine wear utilizes data from sensors in a vehicle engine compartment and electronic data from a vehicle communications network to provide a comprehensive diagnostic evaluation. The system includes a sensor device with an audio sensor for capturing engine sound, an accelerometer for detecting vibration, and a near-field communication (NFC) tag for sensor information. The sensor device communicates sound and vibration data to a remote server, while a data acquisition and transfer (DAT) device connected to the vehicle's diagnostic port transmits engine performance metrics. A Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm aligns time-series data from the sensor and vehicle metrics to identify engine problems. The system supports cloud-based diagnostics and enables optimal sensor placement using geo-location or positional data. Applications include smartphone integration, Wi-Fi 6 communication for high-speed data transfer, and scan modes for varying diagnostic detail levels.
1 . A diagnostic system for diagnosing engine wear using data derived from at least one sensor in a vehicle engine compartment and electronic data from a vehicle communications network to provide a comprehensive vehicle diagnostic assessment, the device being adapted for use in a cloud-based server environment, the diagnostic system comprising:
a sensor device having:
an audio sensor configured to capture sound data corresponding to engine sound when the sensor device is disposed in the vehicle engine compartment;
an accelerometer configured to output vibration data corresponding to engine operation when the sensor device is disposed in the vehicle engine compartment; and
a near-field communication (NFC) tag associated with sensor device information;
the sensor device configured to facilitate communication of the sensor device information to a remote device to enable identification of optimal sensor device placement within the engine compartment based on the sensor device information;
the sensor device configured to facilitate communication of the sound data, and the vibration data to a remote server; and
a data acquisition and transfer (DAT) device connectable with a diagnostic port on the vehicle for receiving vehicle data including event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics from an electronic communication network on the vehicle, the DAT configured to facilitate communication of the vehicle data to the remote server to perform diagnostics, wherein a Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm is applied to align time-series data from one or both the sound data and the vibration data, and the event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics prior to identifying engine problems.
2 . The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the remote device is a smartphone.
3 . The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the sensor device information is geo-location information of the sensor device.
4 . The system recited in claim 1 , wherein the sensor device information is positional information of the sensor device relative to a reference point.
5 . The system recited in claim 4 , wherein the reference point is a secondary sensor device.
6 . The system recited in claim 5 , wherein the reference point is a location in the vehicle engine compartment.
7 . The sensor device recited in claim 1 , further comprising a wireless transceiver configured to implement wireless communications via Wi-Fi communication to enable high-speed data transfer and mitigate communication interference by metal-rich vehicle components.
8 . The sensor device recited in claim 1 , wherein the event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics are associated with scan modes comprising a rapid scan mode, an intermediate scan mode and an enhanced scan mode, each scan mode corresponding to different levels of data sampling frequency and diagnostic detail.
9 . A diagnostic system for diagnosing engine wear using data derived from at least one sensor in a vehicle engine compartment and electronic data from a vehicle communications network to provide a comprehensive vehicle diagnostic assessment, the device being adapted for use in a cloud-based server environment, the diagnostic system comprising:
a sensor device having:
at least one sensor configured to output vehicle operation data corresponding to vehicle operational conditions when the sensor device is disposed in the vehicle engine compartment; and
a near-field communication (NFC) tag associated with sensor device information;
the sensor device configured to facilitate communication of the sensor device information to a remote device to enable identification of optimal sensor device placement within the engine compartment based on the sensor device information;
the sensor device configured to facilitate communication of the vehicle operation data to a remote server; and
a data acquisition and transfer (DAT) device connectable with a diagnostic port on the vehicle for receiving vehicle data including event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics from an electronic communication network on the vehicle, the DAT configured to facilitate communication of the vehicle data to the remote server to perform diagnostics, wherein a Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm is applied to align time-series data from the vehicle operation data, and the event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics prior to identifying engine problems.
10 . The system recited in claim 9 , wherein the remote device is a smartphone.
11 . The system recited in claim 9 , wherein the sensor device information is geo-location information of the sensor device.
12 . The system recited in claim 9 , wherein the sensor device information is positional information of the sensor device relative to a reference point.
13 . The system recited in claim 12 , wherein the reference point is a secondary sensor device.
14 . The system recited in claim 13 , wherein the reference point is a location in the vehicle engine compartment.
15 . The system recited in claim 9 , further comprising a wireless transceiver configured to implement wireless communications via Wi-Fi 6 communication protocol to enable high-speed data transfer and mitigate communication interference by metal-rich vehicle components.
16 . The system recited in claim 9 , wherein the event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics are associated with scan modes comprising Quick Scan, Normal Scan, and Deep Scan, each scan mode corresponding to different levels of data sampling frequency and diagnostic detail.
17 . A diagnostic system for diagnosing engine wear using data derived from at least one sensor in a vehicle engine compartment and electronic data from a vehicle communications network to provide a comprehensive vehicle diagnostic assessment, the device being adapted for use in a cloud-based server environment, the diagnostic system comprising:
a sensor device having:
at least one sensor configured to output vehicle operation data corresponding to vehicle operational conditions when the sensor device is disposed in the vehicle engine compartment; and
a near-field communication (NFC) tag associated with sensor device information;
the sensor device configured to facilitate communication of the sensor device information to a remote device to enable identification of optimal sensor device placement within the engine compartment based on the sensor device information;
the sensor device configured to facilitate communication of the vehicle operation data to a remote server; and
a data acquisition and transfer (DAT) device connectable with a diagnostic port on the vehicle for receiving vehicle data including event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics from an electronic communication network on the vehicle, the DAT configured to facilitate communication of the vehicle data to the remote server to perform AI-based diagnostics to identify engine wear patterns, wherein a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is applied to the vehicle operation data, and the event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics to analyze temporal sequences for purposes of identifying the engine wear patterns.
18 . A diagnostic server system for diagnosing engine wear based on vehicle engine operation, the diagnostic server system comprising:
a communication circuit configured to receive:
a vehicle identification number (VIN) of a vehicle;
sensor position data associated with a vehicle operation sensor for placement in the engine compartment of the vehicle;
time series data corresponding to engine operation captured by the identified vehicle operation sensor, and event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics from an OBD-II port of the vehicle;
a memory storing:
engine compartment layout image data associated with the VIN of the vehicle; and
placement data corresponding to one or more optimized placement positions of vehicle operation sensor relative to the engine compartment layout image data;
a processor in communication with the communication circuit and the memory, the processor being configured to:
communicate the engine compartment layout image data and the placement data to an associated user device for display;
apply a Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) algorithm to align the time series data with the event-driven or asynchronous engine performance metrics and identify engine wear conditions based on the aligned data.
19 . The diagnostic server system of claim 18 wherein the processor is further configured to generate augmented reality or virtual reality overlays of an engine compartment layout image on the associated user device, the overlays including visual indications of the optimized placement positions of the vehicle operation sensor.
20 . The diagnostic server system of claim 19 wherein the augmented reality or virtual reality overlays render engine compartment components as interactive objects that the user can virtually move, rotate, or remove to reveal underlying optimized placement positions for the vehicle operation sensor.
21 . The diagnostic server system of claim 18 wherein the communication circuit is further configured to receive diagnostic measurement data including thermal, acoustic, or vibration maps from one or more sensors, and wherein the processor is further configured to overlay the received diagnostic measurement data onto the engine compartment layout image or a CAD-derived model, the overlays being communicable to the associated user device to assist in identifying optimized sensor placement and diagnosing engine wear conditions.