This site uses cookies.
Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site,
while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used.
For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
German to English translations [PRO] Tech/Engineering - Automotive / Cars & Trucks / Automated/networked driving
German term or phrase:Protokollstrecke
Can anyone help with an English translation of the following?
In this passage from a text "Künstliche Intelligenz schafft Mobilität der Zukunft":
Die Sicherheit und der Komfort des Automatisierten und Vernetzten Fahrens wird auch an einer anderen Stelle in der deutschen Bundeshauptstadt getestet. Entlang der Straße des 17. Juni, die östlich des Ernst-Reuter-Platzes bis zum Brandenburger Tor führt, wird seit Ende April 2017 eine digital vernetzte, für sämtliche Verkehrsteilnehmer offene Protokollstrecke entwickelt: Im zweijährigen Projekt „DigiNet-PS“, das ebenfalls vom „Bundesministerium für Verkehr und digitale Infrastruktur“ gefördert wird, arbeiten Akteure aus Forschung, Wirtschaft, IKT-Industrie und Verkehr als Partner daran, Automatisiertes und Vernetztes Fahren in Deutschland voranzutreiben.
Explanation: DIGINET-PS Digitally connected protocol route – urban test field for automated, networked driving in Berlin. http://www.dai-labor.de/en/projects/ ...The research project DIGINET-PS aims to facilitate the development and the validation of automated and autonomous driving including all of its broader aspects under real-life conditions. To make this work, the Straße des 17. Juni is turned into a connected, urban infrastructure test field. In doing so, DIGINET-PS sets standards as the first research project, which brings autonomous driving into the heart of a complex city infrastructure. Besides the project’s goals, DIGINET-PS directly contributes to the mobility section of the Smart-City strategy of the City of Berlin and supports the urban development programme “Digitale Agenda”. http://www.dai-labor.de/en/act/ongoing_projects/diginet_ps/
OK, it's a difficult case, but after weighing up all the evidence I've decided that it's basically a Teststrecke, even though it might well be used some time for ceremonial occasions and the like. The DIGINET flyer with its "protocol route" reads like a translation, and while I can understand why they used this term it still sounds strange to me. So applying a process of elimination - test area and test field don't fit - it can only really be a test route or testing route.
Thanks to one and all for your comments and references. 3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
@ Björn: Thanks a lot for taking the trouble to look out all these references, but I had to hand the thing in two days ago and can't imagine that there'll be any quibble about "testing route" .... However, some of them might well come in handy for the rest of the pages. Perhaps some of these dignitaries ought to set a good example and walk or cycle instead ....
I thought about motorcade, since Pennsylvania Ave is not unlike Straße des 17. Juni.
Cf. "In Washington, DC, if you spot a bunch of police shutting down a major road, keeping pedestrians from crossing the street and helicopters circling overhead, chances are you’re about to encounter an official government motorcade, not spot Beyoncé." https://washington.org/visit-dc/guide-to-presidential-motorc...
If you replace "für sämtliche Verkehrsteilnehmer offene Protokollstrecke" by test(ing) area (even though I know you weren't comfortable with "area") and add a sentence thereafter, explaining that this area also includes part of the route used by (government) motorcades, it might do the trick.
Similar to: "Public vehicle access is already restricted on Parliament Hill, with one entrance along Wellington used by motorcades carrying dignitaries, and another one where authorized vehicles pass an RCMP station before proceeding." https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/parliament-hill-barricades-...
Of course, it'd be a bit of a hassle to incorporate this into your paragraph, but it's possible if needed.
The fact that this route is also used when driving official guests around the city is mentioned once (starts at around 1:05) in more than 5 (!) minutes. Even then, the explanation is very undiplomatic (fitting word choice). He talks about "guests of the city" staying safe--as if no one else needs to be. You can tell him that should you ever meet him: Please don't say that again.
Well, I hope I do! I certainly seem to have started something here ... Will get back to it this afternoon or this evening (am working on the second half of the project at the mo ...) I'll just say for now that, while I can understand the reasons for maybe using a term including "ceremonial" or "protocol", it's not really suitable here. Of course, I have the "benefit" of having the whole 5-page article in front of me, and while the author(s) indeed want to create publicity about the project, the emphasis throughout is more on the technical aspects. And thanks for all the references!
...that you shouldn't omit "digital..."; it's an integral part and a distinctive feature of the project.
I was merely saying that the people involved don't seem to care much about the whole Protokoll thing. No one, aside from maybe two journalists, offers any kind of explanation. It's just not that relevant, especially because it's one of several "Testfelder."
Of course, I don't have the rest of the article, but Krokodil will know what to make of this.
Hello Bjoern, I agree with you that trying to include the connotation of a "ceremonial route" would unnecessarily complicate the translation which should be as pertinent and concise as possible, though that is not easy here, since this one word has a very complex meaning. Again, I agree that "test route" would be a better term to use here than "test field", perhaps with "for automated and digitally networked driving" in brackets after the term by way of explanation.
"Test field" is just another literal translation. I wouldn't trust it.
Personally, I think Krokodil should stick to "Teststrecke." Please take another look at the sentence that the asker posted: "...seit Ende April 2017 eine digital vernetzte, für sämtliche Verkehrsteilnehmer offene Protokollstrecke..."
See part in bold. I assume this is some kind of news article and you need to keep it as short and simple as possible. Some elaborate explanation why this is part of a ceremonial route is not just unnecessary but unnecessarily confusing. My advice would be to forget about it. In this context, it is important not to overcomplicate things. That's why I wouldn't reference Protokollstrecke at all. As shown below, the partners to this project don't do that either.
Strictly speaking, most of these translations are not "official." Many are of poor quality too. It's pretty sad, actually.
If we don't necessarily stick to nomenclature, then another option would be "digital test field for automated and networked driving", which is how it has been described by the Fraunhofer Institute, which is one of the development partners in the project. However, they, too, have referred to it as the "Digitally connected protocol route" and the above suggestion is how they have described this route. https://www.fokus.fraunhofer.de/en/fokus/news/digitally-conn...
...piece of evidence I can find to support your theory is that here: "Bei Staatsbesuchen soll die Teststrecke ebenfalls genutzt werden – weshalb das Projekt 'digital vernetzte Protokollstrecke' (DIGINET-PS) heißt. Auf den letzten Kilometern könnten die Gäste der Regierung automatisiert gefahren werden, sagt Albayrak." https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/verkehr/autonomes-fah...
What is highly odd about it is that not one of the project partners' documents contains anything close to the above. Even if their explanation were true, it would still not justify adding "showcase." How many people are actually going to see this?
I doubt most of them will connect the dots, aside from the fact that diginet PS only covers part of the actual Protokollstrecke. Sorry to say that I think this wasn't clever but maybe too clever by half.
However, we do agree about protocol route. I don't like it either.
You've been on here long enough to know that Germans like using compounds, regardless of whether they have any special meaning. Many of Susan's questions are perfect examples of this.
I quote: "Auf einer digital vernetzten Protokollstrecke, mitten in Berlin, treffen Forschungseinrichtungen und Industriepartner Vorbereitungen für den flächendeckenden Rollout eines Konzepts für das hochautomatisierte Fahren."
If it were something special, it wouldn't say "einer" (indefinite article). Later on, they write: "'Dass aber am Ende des Tages alle mit allen kommunizieren können', fasst Professor Albayrak zusammen, 'erfordert unter anderem die Standardisierung verschiedenster Protokolle und den Einsatz entsprechend leistungsfähiger Software-Stacks.'“
This could be the meaning of Protokoll here and yes, that's like an ICP protocol or close to logging; they also talk about monitoring, by the way.
First, somewhere else on this forum, you said: "This is one of my specialist subjects..." Renewable energies/electric vehicles/autonomous driving is one of mine. I have to deal with this kind of language a lot. These are scientists, mind you.
Second, it is not true that I haven't read your Wiki reference. In fact, I have gone way beyond that, looking at several pages describing the project. It is also not true that they don't call it Teststrecke--they do this on their own website! See: http://diginet-ps.de/de/timeline-post/die-digitale-teststrec...
I would suggest you read the official flyer issued by DIGINET: https://cdn0.scrvt.com/fokus/3ccf326f89e2af72/7e3b50860fd1/F... According to this flyer, "digitally connected protocol route" is the official translation of this term. All other discussion entries posted are also not wrong, but are explanations of this term, though the term implies much more than merely testing field. Also, please read the following definition of protocol in the context of IT and communication networks: In information technology, a protocol is the special set of rules that end points in a telecommunication connection use when they communicate. Protocols specify interactions between the communicating entities. https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/protocol
Autonomous vehicles can make journeys more convenient, more efficient and safer by communicating with each other, with the infrastructure and with the central backend services. Communication methods include direct vehicle-to-X communication...and the connection of intelligent road infrastructure via mobile communication technologies. https://cdn0.scrvt.com/fokus/3ccf326f89e2af72/7e3b50860fd1/F...
Protokoll is nothing to do with "logging". Protokollstrecke means something like "ceremonial avenue". It's the kind of place you take visiting heads of state when you want to impress them. In this case, it's a place for the autonomous vehicles industry to fly the flag as well as testing their products.
They could have called this a Teststrecke or something similar, but they haven't. They've deliberately chosen a clever name and a high-profile location, leading up to the Brandenburg Gate. It would be a shame to ignore this in the translation.
Your references are English, so they're not really relevant here. We know that "test area" exists in English, but we're looking for the meaning of the German word.
Not suggesting you should use it; what I meant to say was that Protokoll is more like "logging" here or similar to congestion monitoring. It's not about diplomats or showcase. That'd be a bit hard, too, considering most of the project is digital.
On other pages, it's called Testfeld. Maybe Phil's testing ground without the other bit...
It has little to do with showcase; that's not the aim of the project. In essence, Protokoll could be described as monitoring in this context. One example: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/ohim/handbook/chap3.pdf
Best
Automatic update in 00:
Answers
39 mins confidence:
(digitally connected) protocol route
Explanation: DIGINET-PS Digitally connected protocol route – urban test field for automated, networked driving in Berlin. http://www.dai-labor.de/en/projects/ ...The research project DIGINET-PS aims to facilitate the development and the validation of automated and autonomous driving including all of its broader aspects under real-life conditions. To make this work, the Straße des 17. Juni is turned into a connected, urban infrastructure test field. In doing so, DIGINET-PS sets standards as the first research project, which brings autonomous driving into the heart of a complex city infrastructure. Besides the project’s goals, DIGINET-PS directly contributes to the mobility section of the Smart-City strategy of the City of Berlin and supports the urban development programme “Digitale Agenda”. http://www.dai-labor.de/en/act/ongoing_projects/diginet_ps/
Sangeeta Joshi India Local time: 07:00 Works in field Native speaker of: Hindi PRO pts in category: 26
Grading comment
OK, it's a difficult case, but after weighing up all the evidence I've decided that it's basically a Teststrecke, even though it might well be used some time for ceremonial occasions and the like. The DIGINET flyer with its "protocol route" reads like a translation, and while I can understand why they used this term it still sounds strange to me. So applying a process of elimination - test area and test field don't fit - it can only really be a test route or testing route.
Thanks to one and all for your comments and references.
"Protokoll" essentially means "ceremonial". In London, for example, the Mall is a Protokollstrecke because the queen and other dignitaries drive down it on official occasions.
It sounds like the purpose is as much about publicity for autonomous vehicles as it is about testing them in real-life conditions - after all, Protokoll is about parading and being seen by the populace. So I suggest "testing ground and showcase".
philgoddard United States Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 70
Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.
You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs
(or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
