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Many modern automobiles’ infotainment/navigation systems store vehicle telematics and user-supplied infotainment data. This data is useful in a wide variety of analyses but is not available through traditional OEM tools. The necessity to access the infotainment module data for forensic analysis can be satisfied by utilizing the Berla iVe system. Similar to CDR/EDR technology, Berla iVe is a hardware and software tool that is used to acquire and analyze stored automotive data. However, CDR/EDR systems are generally developed in partnership with manufacturers or OEM suppliers. Berla iVe is a privately developed forensic system analogous to traditional forensic tools used to interrogate computer hard drives and smartphones. The technology is privately developed and tested. The data is then parsed using recognized forensics practices.

The accuracy of pre-crash data recorded in an Airbag Control Module (ACM) with Event Data Recorder (EDR) functionality has been studied and quantified for vehicles from several vehicle manufacturers. Most published research has involved vehicles with accessible data that can be downloaded via commercially available crash data retrieval equipment. Some Mitsubishi vehicles, including the 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer GTS, are capable of recording crash data that can be accessed only by the manufacturer. The accuracy of such data becomes important when it is intended to be used as part of a collision analysis. The pre-crash speed data recorded by a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer vehicle was evaluated by generating artificial deployment events while running the vehicle on a 4-wheel dynamometer and simultaneously capturing data through the OBDII port. The tests were run at speeds up to approximately 145 kilometers per hour (90 miles per hour).

Many late-model BMW vehicles are equipped with an NBT Evo infotainment system. This system is seen in BMW vehicles in all global markets. Like infotainment systems from other manufacturers, this system records data elements that can prove to be key evidence to investigators of vehicular incidents. This system records timestamped tracklogs that consist of GPS coordinates paired with date/time data. These tracklog points, however, are not recorded in regular intervals. Testing of an instrumented BMW 430i was conducted in and around the Bruntingthorpe Proving Grounds in the United Kingdom. The test vehicle was instrumented with a Racelogic Video VBOX Pro. Data from the instrumentation was compared to the data acquired from the BMW by the iVe Ecosystem from Berla Corporation. The accuracy of the GPS coordinates recorded in the BMW tracklogs was determined by computing the distance between the recorded BMW data and the reference instrumentation data.