Analysis of selected diagnostic protocols with a focus on digital tachograph manipulations

Abstract

In order to improve the safety of road freight transport, the social conditions of drivers and fair competition, the European Union has laid down rules for the operation of road transport, in particular limiting maximum driving times and minimum breaks and rest periods for drivers. Compliance with these rules is the subject of roadside checks, using in particular the output of a compulsorily installed recording device, the tachograph.

It follows that an attack on the tachograph system could give drivers, and hence hauliers, a significant advantage in terms of being able to drive without a proper record of driving time. For the purposes of roadside inspections, but also for expert examination of the tachograph system, knowledge and skills in vehicle control unit diagnostics and truck technology are essential. A particular feature of roadside inspections is the time limit available for vehicle inspection.

In this work, the authors have focused on the analysis of the use of selected diagnostic protocols ISO 14229 and SAE J1939 in order to verify their general applicability for tachograph system analysis. The tachographs under investigation in this thesis will be exclusively digital, not analogue. For the analysis, the authors used software tools and hardware from Vector Informatik GmbH and a tachograph from the manufacturer Continental.

Based on the research, the elements of the standards applied in the tachograph system were identified, but without knowledge of the proprietary system specifications and effective orientation in the standards, the above method is of very limited use for tachograph analysis. Thus, future research should focus on the embedded and software design level and the identification of potential methods suitable for tachograph analysis.