Performance evaluation of crash test data acquisition systems

This paper provides an update of the system implemented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for evaluating the performance of data acquisition systems at crash test facilities actively conducting testing for the agency. The system provides overall evaluation from sensor interface to delivered digital tape, including data reduction. Specialized signal generator hardware is combined with customized signal processing software, and an evaluation test procedure to assure conformance to Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and International Standardization Organization (ISO) recommended instrumentation practices. Reference signals with known characteristics are injected into the data acquisition system under evaluation. Time, amplitute and frequency performance measures, based on the SAE and ISO specifications, are computed and analyzed. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see IRRD 864606.