What really happened at Volkswagen

Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by asmithmd1 on Sunday June 04, 2017 @10:32AM (#14481771)

When I first heard about the cheating I saw VW engineers (both management and practitioners) as totally at fault. I thought they were directly detecting that the vehicle was undergoing a test and modifying the engine computer in response. I later found out they were changing the computer algorithm only when the inputs to the throttle and gearshift matched the test protocol. To me this seems like a legitimate way to "cheat." They are using TDD and are passing the test. The test writers should have thrown in a secret or random test as well as the pre-defined tests.

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Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by nathanvanfleet on Sunday June 04, 2017 @11:04AM (#14481915)

Laws don't work that way

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Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by asmithmd1 on Sunday June 04, 2017 @11:12AM (#14481939)

In this case the law is written precisely like a unit test:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_European_Driving_Cycle

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FTP-75

The problem with the testing is that it also followed the exact same unit test. I have not read the law, but they certainly violated the spirit of the law if not also the letter.

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Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by kwillets on Sunday June 04, 2017 @04:10PM (#14483246)

If the law worked the way you think, they wouldn't need a test.

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Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by kwillets on Sunday June 04, 2017 @11:42AM (#14482075)

Part of the problem is that the old analog systems were never expected to match the tests in the real world either -- that's the origin of the YMMV phrase. But I suppose the tests were sufficient to keep them within some bound.

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Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by gech on Sunday June 04, 2017 @12:09PM (#14482189)

Why do you want to encourage a race to the bottom?

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Re:What really happened at Volkswagen by asmithmd1 on Sunday June 04, 2017 @01:10PM (#14482415)

I fully agree with the regulations that is why I was at first appalled when I thought they cheated in an un-interesting way. I thought maybe they exploited the fact that only the drive wheels were turning during the test and used that information to switch modes. I regard that as simply breaking the rules.

What VW did do was more interesting and could be interpreted as exploiting a loophole in the law. They very precisely met the requirements of the emissions test as it was written in the law. I see this as a regulation failure and should be used to inform future emission laws and testing.

This whole video is interesting but at least watch starting at this point to see how clever VW engineers are:

https://media.ccc.de/v/32c3-7331-the_exhaust_emissions_scand...

If there had not been such a public outcry VW might have pushed back saying they are in compliance with the law as written.

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