vss-translate 0.2.0

Translate between OEM-proprietary vehicle signals and the COVESA VSS standard

vss-translate

A Babel for car data. Translate between OEM-proprietary vehicle signal names and the open COVESA Vehicle Signal Specification (VSS) standard.

Every car manufacturer uses different names for the same data. Mercedes calls vehicle speed MB_ESP_VehicleSpeed, BMW calls it BMW_DSC_VehicleSpeed, Tesla calls it TESLA_DI_vehicleSpeed. The COVESA VSS standard defines it as Vehicle.Speed.

This library lets you write one codebase that works with any car brand.

Install

pip install vss-translate

Quick Start

from vss_translate import SignalTranslator

t = SignalTranslator()

# OEM → VSS standard
result = t.to_vss("MB_ESP_VehicleSpeed", brand="mercedes")
print(result.target_signal)  # "Vehicle.Speed"

# VSS standard → OEM
result = t.from_vss("Vehicle.Speed", brand="bmw")
print(result.target_signal)  # "BMW_DSC_VehicleSpeed"

# Cross-brand translation (Mercedes → Tesla)
result = t.cross_brand("MB_ESP_VehicleSpeed", "mercedes", "tesla")
print(result.target_signal)  # "TESLA_DI_vehicleSpeed"

# With unit conversion (Tesla mph → VSS km/h)
result = t.to_vss("TESLA_DI_vehicleSpeed", brand="tesla", value=60)
print(f"{result.target_value:.1f} {result.target_unit}")  # "96.6 km/h"

# Auto-detect brand from signal names
detection = t.detect_brand(["MB_ESP_VehicleSpeed", "MB_ECM_EngineSpeed"])
print(detection.brand)  # "mercedes"

Supported Brands

Brand	Alias(es)	Signals
Mercedes-Benz	mb, mercedes-benz, daimler	50+
BMW	-	30+
Volkswagen Group	vw, audi, skoda, seat, cupra	30+
Tesla	tsla	40+
Toyota / Lexus	lexus	20+
Hyundai / Kia / Genesis	kia, genesis, hkg	25+
OBD-II (generic)	obd, obdii	20+

Features

• Zero dependencies for core functionality
• Unit conversion — automatic conversion between OEM and VSS units (mph↔km/h, psi↔kPa, bar↔kPa)
• Brand detection — auto-identify vehicle brand from signal name patterns
• Fuzzy search — find signals by keyword across all brands
• Batch translation — translate entire data snapshots at once
• Cross-brand translation — go from Mercedes signals directly to BMW signals (via VSS)
• CLI tool — command-line interface for quick lookups

CLI Usage

# Translate OEM → VSS
vss-translate to-vss MB_ESP_VehicleSpeed -b mercedes

# Translate VSS → OEM
vss-translate from-vss Vehicle.Speed -b tesla

# Cross-brand with value conversion
vss-translate cross TESLA_DI_vehicleSpeed -s tesla -t mercedes -v 60

# Detect brand
vss-translate detect MB_ESP_VehicleSpeed MB_ECM_EngineSpeed

# List brands and coverage
vss-translate brands

# Search signals
vss-translate search "tire pressure" -b mercedes

Why This Exists

The EU Data Act (enforceable 2025-2026) mandates that vehicle manufacturers share data with owners and third parties. But every OEM uses proprietary signal names and formats. There is no developer-friendly library to bridge this gap.

vss-translate uses the COVESA VSS open standard as the Rosetta Stone between brands.

License

MIT