The tester consists of two or more motorized rollers that the vehicle’s wheels sit on. As the rollers spin the wheels, the system applies braking force and measures the resistance. The key measurements typically include: - Braking force (left and right wheel) - Brake force imbalance - Axle weight distribution - Brake disc runout (ovality) - Rolling resistance and drag Sensors and transducers such as load cells, rotary encoders, and proximity sensors feed real-time data to the controller system, where it is processed and displayed or logged.

Roller Brake Testers are used in: - Government-certified vehicle inspection stations - Fleet maintenance centers - Automotive repair shops - Technical schools and training centers They are especially important for testing heavy vehicles (trucks, buses) where roadside checks or manual testing would be unsafe or inaccurate.

Roller Brake Tester

Q: What's Inside the Machine?

An RBT typically includes: - Motorized rollers - to simulate road movement - Load cells - to detect brake force and axle weight - Proximity sensors - to detect wheel position and alignment - Controllers - to process signals and drive relays/contactors - Data acquisition modules - like DAS-882 to capture analog and digital signals accurately

Srdjan Furman
Jun 11, 2025
2 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

A behind-the-scenes look at brake testing and the critical role of Roller Brake Testers.

A Roller Brake Tester is a specialized diagnostic device used primarily in vehicle inspection stations and service garages to assess the braking performance of motor vehicles. It is a crucial part of periodic technical inspections in many countries.

How Does It Work?

The tester consists of two or more motorized rollers that the vehicle’s wheels sit on. As the rollers spin the wheels, the system applies braking force and measures the resistance. The key measurements typically include:

Braking force (left and right wheel)
Brake force imbalance
Axle weight distribution
Brake disc runout (ovality)
Rolling resistance and drag

Sensors and transducers such as load cells, rotary encoders, and proximity sensors feed real-time data to the controller system, where it is processed and displayed or logged.

Where Is It Used?

Roller Brake Testers are used in:

Government-certified vehicle inspection stations
Fleet maintenance centers
Automotive repair shops
Technical schools and training centers

They are especially important for testing heavy vehicles (trucks, buses) where roadside checks or manual testing would be unsafe or inaccurate.

Why It Matters?

Braking is one of the most critical safety systems on any vehicle. Testing brakes under real-world rolling conditions gives more accurate and actionable results than simple visual or manual inspections.

Without RBTs, faults like uneven braking, worn pads, or malfunctioning hydraulic systems might go unnoticed until it's too late.

What's Inside the Machine?

An RBT typically includes:

Motorized rollers - to simulate road movement
Load cells - to detect brake force and axle weight
Proximity sensors - to detect wheel position and alignment
Controllers - to process signals and drive relays/contactors
Data acquisition modules - like DAS-882 to capture analog and digital signals accurately

More detailed explanation of Roller Brake Tester fundamentals: Wikipedia

DAS-882 and Roller Brake Testers

The DAS-882 board is designed to interface directly with components commonly used in Roller Brake Testers, and serves as the experimental hardware platform in the Braketrax R&D project where its performance across heterogeneous legacy mechanical environments is currently under investigation.

Whether you’re building, maintaining, or upgrading a brake tester, understanding the fundamentals of how an RBT works is key to designing reliable measurement and control systems.

Let's take a brief step back and look at what led to the creation of the DAS-882 in the next post.

Stay tuned!