Patent ID: 8364339

Claim:
A vehicle monitoring device comprising: a processor programmed to simulate the operation of an internal combustion engine or vehicle both at a first level and a second level; an input connection to the processor adapted to connect to an on board diagnostics port (OBD) of the engine; means, including a processor circuit, configured and arranged to interrogate the OBD to acquire data from signals identified by first parameter indicators (PID) as required for the processor to be able to create and run a first model of the engine or vehicle operation, and acquire in real time available signals identified by second PIDs that are different than the first PIDs and not required for the processor to create and run the first model; and processing means, including a processor circuit, configured and arranged to analyze and compare the signals identified by the second PIDs with signals obtained or derived from the first model of engine operation, and based on the analyzing and comparing, identify at least one of the second PIDs to the processor, the processor being configured and arranged to use the at least one of the identified second PIDs to simulate the engine or vehicle operation at the second level.