Method for assessing the condition of a vehicle's wireless communication technology

Abstract

A computer-implemented method that, when executed by computing hardware, causes the computing hardware to perform operations including detecting one or more alarm events, assessing an impact of the one or more alarm events on wireless communication technology of a vehicle, estimating the health of the wireless communication technology, assessing resource management for use of a digital key, and providing a matrix of wireless communication technology to a mobile device.

Description

INITIATIONThe present invention relates generally to a method according to the preamble of claim 1 for evaluating the state of a wireless communication technology, as is known substantially from US 2023 / 0 078 691 A1.Some vehicles are equipped with systems that allow access to the vehicle via a digital key. The digital key may be stored, for example, in an NFC key card or in an E-wallet of a smartphone. In general, a user may attempt to use the digital key via a mobile device to provide access to the vehicle, and may be faced with numerous problems due to damage or interruptions in wireless communication technology that are not known to the user or the mobile device. Thus, the deficiencies of prior solutions are overcome by the principles of the present invention.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the invention, a computer-implemented method is presented which is distinguished by the features of claim 1.Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following optional features. In some examples, the wireless communication technology may include a cellular module, a wireless Internet module, a low-power wireless module, an ultra-wideband module, and a near-field communication module. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a dynamic impact estimation of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a pre-intel based evaluation of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a repair assessment of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a replacement assessment of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a compliance assessment of the wireless communication technology.Further described is a system including data processing hardware and memory hardware in communication with the data processing hardware, the memory hardware storing instructions that, when executed on the data processing hardware, cause the data processing hardware to perform operations. These operations include detecting one or more alarm events, evaluating an impact of the one or more alarm events on a vehicle's wireless communication technology, estimating the state of the wireless communication technology, evaluating resource management for use of a digital key, and providing a priority matrix of the wireless communication technology to a mobile device.Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. In some examples, the wireless communication technology may include a cellular module, a wireless Internet module, a low-power wireless module, an ultra-wideband module, and a near-field communication module. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a dynamic impact estimation of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a pre-intel based evaluation of the wireless communication technology.Further, a vehicle management system will be described. The vehicle management system includes a communication system using wireless communication technology. The wireless communication technology includes a central processing unit communicatively coupled to a cellular communication module, a wireless Internet module, a low-power wireless module, an ultra-wideband module, and a near-field communication module. The communication system further includes data processing hardware and memory hardware in communication with the data processing hardware, the memory hardware storing instructions that, when executed on the data processing hardware, cause the data processing hardware to perform operations. These operations include detecting one or more alarm events, evaluating an impact of the one or more alarm events on a vehicle's wireless communication technology, estimating the state of the wireless communication technology, evaluating resource management for use of a digital key, and providing a priority matrix of the wireless communication technology to a mobile device.Embodiments of this aspect of the invention may include one or more of the following features. For example, estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further comprise performing a dynamic impact estimation of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a pre-intel based evaluation of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a repair assessment of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a replacement assessment of the wireless communication technology. Estimating the state of the wireless communication technology may further include performing a compliance assessment of the wireless communication technology.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe drawings described herein are for the purpose of illustrating selected embodiments only. FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a vehicle environment including a vehicle, a mobile device, and a network in accordance with the principles of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a top view of the vehicle of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of the vehicle management system of the vehicle of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the connectivity spectrum around the vehicle of FIG. 1 ; FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing operations of the vehicle management system of FIG. 3 ; FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a method for evaluating near field communication wireless communication technology; and FIG. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method for evaluating wireless cellular communication technology, wireless Internet communication technology, low-power wireless communication technology, and / or ultra-wideband communication technology.Corresponding reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the drawings.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONReferring now to FIG. 1, an exemplary vehicle operating environment 10 is shown to illustrate the principles of the present invention. The vehicle operating environment 10 includes a vehicle 100 and a vehicle monitoring center 20. For purposes of illustration, the vehicle operating environment 10 is shown with a single vehicle monitoring center 20. However, in other examples, the vehicle operating environment 10 may include a plurality of vehicle monitoring centers 20 that are in communication with the vehicle 100 via a network 30 (e.g., the Internet, cellular networks). The vehicle monitoring center 20 may include a remote plant or system that receives and monitors diagnostic data and sensor data from the host vehicle 100 to determine one or more vehicle operating conditions. The vehicle operating environment 10 may also include a mobile device 40 configured to communicate with the vehicle 100, for example, directly and / or via the network 30.Referring to FIG. 2, the vehicle 100 is illustrated with a vehicle body 102 having an interior 104 (i.e., a passenger compartment) and an exterior 106. The vehicle body 102 may include a first or front end 108 and a second or rear end 110 longitudinally spaced from the front end 108 with respect to a longitudinal axis 112. The vehicle 100 may also include a first or left side 114 and a second or right side 116 that is transversely spaced from the left side 114 with respect to a transverse axis 118. The vehicle 100 may include one or more closure members 120 (i.e., doors, tailgate, etc.) and body members such as a front bumper 122 and a rear bumper 124. The front and rear bumper members 122, 124, as well as other body members, may be made of plastic or other material that does not interfere with the reception and / or transmission of radio signals over a broad frequency spectrum.Referring to FIG. 3, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with a vehicle management system 200 (e.g., telematics unit) that includes a network connection interface 202. In the present example, the network connection interface 202 is communicatively connected to the vehicle management system 200. The network connection interface 202 may be, for example, a twisted pair / fiber Ethernet switch, an internal / external parallel communication bus, a LAN interface, a CAN interface, a MOST interface, a LIN interface, and the like. Other communication interfaces may also be those that conform to the ISO, SAE, and IEEE standards and specifications. The network connection interface 202 allows the components of the vehicle management system 200 to exchange signals with each other and with various systems and subsystems both within the vehicle body 102 and outside or remote from the vehicle body 102. This allows the vehicle 100 to perform various vehicle functions, such as communication with the mobile device 40 via peer-to-peer communication or via the network 30 (i.e., via cellular or wireless Internet). The vehicle management system 200 may receive and / or send data to one or more electronic control units (ECUs) such as a digital key ECU 204 and a sensor interface module 206. The vehicle management system 200 may also communicate with other ECUs such as an engine control module (ECM), a motor control unit (PCM), a transmission control module, a brake system control module (BSCM), a climate control module (CCM), etc. The digital key ECU 204 may be configured such that a user or owner of the vehicle 100 may gain access to the vehicle 100 (i.e., lock, unlock, etc.) via a mobile application of the mobile device 40, such as a vehicle first-out agent application or applet 42 (discussed in more detail below with respect to the mobile device 40). Additionally, the digital key ECU 204 may be configured with a security element 205 (e.g., the NCJ38A Automotive Secure Element) that enables credentials to be stored and provided in the vehicle 100. The security element 205 may be communicatively connected to the digital key ECU 204 (see FIG. 3 ), for example, via the network connection interface 202.With continued reference to FIG. 3, the vehicle management system 200 may include a communication system 208 (e.g., an on-board computing device) that provides multiple functions both singly and through its communication with other networked devices. For example, communication system 208 may communicate wirelessly (e.g., via towers, base stations, and / or mobile switching centers (MSCs), etc.) over network 30 or with mobile device 40 with remote or external cloud computing system 50 (FIG. 1 ). Communication system 208 generally consists of data processing hardware 210, each of which may be embodied as a stand-alone microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a dedicated control module. The vehicle 100 may provide centralized vehicle control via a central processing unit (CPU) 212 operatively coupled to memory hardware 214, which may each take the form of a CD-ROM, a magnetic disk, an IC device, a semiconductor memory (e.g., various types of RAM or ROM), etc. The vehicle 100 may include a wireless communication technology 209 having remote communication capabilities of the vehicle and short range communication capabilities of the vehicle. The remote communication capabilities of the vehicle to remote networked devices external to the vehicle may be provided via a chipset and / or module 216 and / or a navigation and location chipset and / or navigation and location module 218 (e.g., global positioning system (GPS)) and / or a wireless Internet chipset and / or wireless Internet module 220 (Wi-Fi®). Short-range wireless connectivity may be provided via a short-range wireless communication device such as a low-power wireless chipset or module 222 (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE)), an ultra-wideband chipset or module 224, an NFC chipset or module 226, and / or dual antenna 228.Referring to FIG. 4, the various communication chipsets or modules disposed in the communication system 208 may provide a connectivity spectrum 230 around the vehicle 100. For example, the NFC module 226 may provide short-range communication capabilities with devices (e.g., the mobile device 40) within about a first distance 232 (e.g., about 5 inches or less) from the vehicle 100. The UWB module 224 may provide short-range communication capabilities with devices (e.g., the mobile device 40) within about a second distance 234 (e.g., about 30 meters) from the vehicle 100. The low-power wireless module 222 may provide short-range communication capabilities with devices (e.g., the mobile device 40) within about a third distance 236 (e.g., about 75 meters) from the vehicle 100. The wireless Internet module 220 may provide remote communication capabilities with devices (e.g., the mobile device 40) within about a fourth distance 238 (e.g., about 200 meters) to the vehicle 100 via the network 30. Cellular chipset 216 may provide remote communication capabilities with devices (e.g., mobile device 40) within about a fifth distance 240 (e.g., about 600 meters) from vehicle 100 via network 30.The CPU 212 may receive data from one or more sensor units of a sensor system 242 configured for cellular communication, wireless Internet communication, low-power wireless communication, ultra-wideband communication, and / or near-field communication, or other communication with the network 30 and / or the mobile device 40. According to the present invention, the vehicle 100 may be equipped with one or more sensors for each wireless communication technology 209. The one or more sensors may be disposed on or in the vehicle 100 and configured to receive wireless communication signals for, e.g., cellular communication, wireless Internet communication, low-energy wireless communication, ultra-wideband communication, and / or near-field communication. In the present example, each wireless communication technology 209 may include four sensors disposed at the corners (i.e., front left, front right, rear left, and rear right) of the vehicle 100. For example, the cellular sensors 244 a, 244 bmay be disposed front left and front right at left and right parts of the front bumper 122, and the cellular sensors 244 c, 244 dmay be disposed rear left and rear right at left and right parts of the rear bumper 124. The front left and front right wireless Internet sensors 246 a, 246 bmay be disposed at left and right parts of the front bumper 122, and the rear left and rear right wireless Internet sensors 246 c, 246 dmay be disposed at left and right parts of the rear bumper 124. The front left and front right low energy sensors 248 a, 248 bmay be disposed at left and right parts of the front bumper 122, and the rear left and rear right low energy sensors 248 c, 248 dmay be disposed at left and right parts of the rear bumper 124. The UWB sensors 250 a, 250 bmay be disposed at front left and front right parts of the front bumper 122, and the UWB sensors 250 c, 250 dmay be disposed at rear left and rear right parts of the rear bumper 124. The front left and front right NFC sensors 252 a, 252 bmay be disposed at left and right parts of the front bumper 122, and the rear left and rear right NFC sensors 252 c, 252 dmay be disposed at left and right parts of the rear bumper 124. Additionally, a first interior sensor 254 may be disposed in a portion of the interior 104 of the vehicle 100, for example, in a portion of a headliner in the vehicle 100. A second interior sensor 256 may be disposed in a portion of the interior 104 of the vehicle 100, e.g., in a portion of the center console of the vehicle 100. Receipt of data at the CPU 212 from the one or more vehicle key sensors 244- 256 may be desirable to allow the vehicle 100 to communicate with the mobile device 40 and / or an NFC key card and provide various communication paths to allow a user to gain access to the vehicle 100, e.g., by using a digital key.The mobile device 40 (e.g., a smartphone) may be configured to communicate with the wireless communication technology 209 directly or via the network 30, in particular with one or more of the following modules: the cellular radio module 216, the navigation and location module 218, the wireless Internet module 220, the low-power wireless module 222, the UWB module 224, and / or the NFC module 226. The mobile device 40 may be equipped with a digital key applet 42, an NFC controller 44 and a mobile security element 46. Mobile security element 46 allows credentials to be stored and provided on mobile device 40. a digital key 48 may be stored in an e-wallet, such as the Apple® wallet or Google® wallet.Heretofore, the mobile device 40 communicated with the vehicle 100 without information (i.e., data) about the state of the wireless communication technology 209 required for use of the digital key 48 for accessing the vehicle 100. In other words, the mobile device 40 blindly attempted to use the digital key 48 to gain access to the vehicle 100 by utilizing a transport and wireless communication technology such as a fixed technology access scheme such as Bluetooth® Received Signal Strength Indicator, UWB Ranging, and / or BLE transport before having the state of the hardware or software associated with one of these technologies. However, there are many vehicle scenarios or events (hereinafter "alarm events") that may affect the state of the wireless communication technology 209 of the vehicle 100, and multiple blind attempts (i.e., retry attempts) typically result in the unsatisfaction of a user attempting to gain access to the vehicle 100. For example, one or more alarm events may also result in high latency and / or inefficient short-range. A first alarm event may be a dynamic alarm event, e.g., an accident that may affect sensors, antennas, power supply, directivity of hardware and / or software binding, etc. A second alert event may be a pre-intel alert event, e.g., an over-the-air (OTA) update of the ECU, which may affect time, ECU functions, duty cycle, etc. A third alarm event may be a repair alarm event in which a component of the first out-of-test person has been repaired and is not functioning properly or as evaluated. A fourth alarm event may be a replacement alarm event in which a part originating from the first outbreaker has been replaced by a replacement part not originating from the first outbreaker and does not function according to the specifications of the first outbreaker part. A fifth alert event may be, for example, a compliance alert event, such as a regulatory or guarantee issue, that may affect the use of some wireless communication technologies, depending on which region the vehicle 100 is operating. Other alarm events are also possible that may affect the state of one or more aspects of the wireless communication technology 209 of the vehicle 100.In accordance with the principles of the present invention, a method 300 is provided that generally evaluates a state of the wireless communication technology 209 (i.e., hardware and software) available in the vehicle 100, prioritizes the wireless communication technology 209 based on the state and one or more constraints, and notifies the mobile device 40 of the priority of the wireless communication technology 209 before the digital key 48 is used or attempted to be used to access the vehicle 100. The method 300 may be referred to practically as dynamic reprimization of the wireless communication technology 209, which may be desirable for retry mechanisms and to accelerate range and connection processes for use of the digital key 48 with the vehicle 100. The method 300 may also be applied in situations other than vehicles. The method 300 may also be performed, for example, for digital key usage associated with a home security system (e.g., door locks), computer access, lockbox access, and other situations where the use of a digital key is required to gain access to a system such as the vehicle 100. The method 300 is explained in more detail below with reference to FIG. 5.At 302, method 300 is initiated. Method 300 is practically initiated as long as vehicle 100 is in at least one of a low-power mode (e.g., extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) and a power saving mode (PSM)). In other words, method 300 may also be carried out when vehicle 100 is stationary for a longer period of time and is in energy saving mode.At 304, the vehicle 100 may identify at least one of the alarm events presented above. The alert events may generally be events that cause a state change of at least some of the wireless communication technologies 209 of the vehicle 100.At 306, an impact of the one or more wireless communication technology 209 alarm events may be evaluated using one or more technology state scores. Examples of methods for technology state assessment are shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.Referring to FIG. 6, a method 400 for evaluating the state of wireless NFC communication technology is provided and discussed in more detail below.At 402, method 400 is initiated. Method 400 is substantially initiated and may be performed when at least one of the impact events occurs.At 404, the operating time of the NFC module 226 may be evaluated. An operating time greater than zero may indicate that the NFC module 226 is operating and ready for use. Thus, method 400 may continue with 406. On the other hand, an operating time of zero means that the NFC module is not functioning properly, and method 400 may continue at 408.At 408, the desired task may be critical (e.g., power usage, etc.) so that periodic checking of the availability of the NFC module 226 may be required at 410. Once the NFC module 226 is available, the method 400 continues to 406. If, on the other hand, the desired task is not critical, method 400 may proceed to 412 where the data is supplied to a matrix for further evaluation.At 406, the performance of the NFC module 226 may be evaluated. The near field signal strength, Rayleigh distance, latency, grid orientation and size, LF beam splitting, and spatial effect, among others, can be evaluated. Further characteristic numbers can also be evaluated. The data resulting from this evaluation may be provided to the matrix for further evaluation at 412, which is discussed below.At 414, method 400 ends.Referring to FIG. 7, a method 500 for evaluating the state of a wireless cellular communication technology, a wireless Internet communication technology, a low-energy wireless communication technology, and / or an ultra-wideband communication technology is provided and discussed in more detail below.At 502, method 500 is initiated. Method 500 is practically initiated and may be performed when at least one of the impact events occurs. The method 500 is shown for evaluating a mobile radio communication module, but may also be applied to other wireless communication technologies.At 504, it is first determined whether a user of the vehicle has subscribed to a cellular service. If this is not the case, method 500 continues to 508 where this information is supplied to the matrix for further evaluation. If, on the other hand, this is the case, the method continues with 506.At 506, availability of cellular is determined. According to at least one aspect, it can be determined whether the service is activated, available or unavailable.At 510, cellular capacity may be evaluated and estimated. For example, the strength, quality and / or bandwidth of the radio signal can be determined. In addition, for example, the carrier aggregation bandwidth and the MIMO power can be estimated on the basis of the antenna status and the cell measurements.At 512, the cellular capacity is evaluated and it is determined if it is sufficient. If this is not the case, the method 500 continues with step 508 in which the matrix is notified of the unavailability of the mobile radio for further evaluation. If the cellular radio capacity is sufficient, the method 500 continues to 514.At 514, latency (e.g., first hop latency) is estimated and determined whether it is sufficient to meet the requirements. If the latency requirements are met, the method continues with step 516, in which the mobile radio availability is transmitted to the matrix for further evaluation. If the latency requirements are not fulfilled, the method 500 continues with step 508 in which the unavailability of the mobile radio is transmitted to the matrix for further evaluation.After step 508 or 516, the method 500 ends at 518.Returning to method 300, at 308, the state (i.e., availability and performance) of the wireless communication technology may be estimated from one or more constraint-based technology scores. The one or more constraint-based technology scores 309 may include a dynamic impact estimate 309 a, a pre-intel-based score 309 b, a repair and / or replacement score 309 c, 309 d, and / or a compliance score 309 e. Each of these constraint-based technology evaluations 309 a- 309 emay be performed individually or simultaneously for each sensor 244- 252 located front left, front right, rear left, and rear right of the vehicle 100. For example, at the front right sensors 244 b, 246 b, 248 b, 250 b, 252 b, the dynamic impact estimate 309 amay be used to determine the effects of one or more alarm events. If the vehicle 100 has involved an accident (e.g., when resetting in a parking lot), the dynamic impact estimate 309 amay evaluate the front right sensors 244 b, 246 b, 248 b, 250 b, 252 bwith respect to the wireless technology 209 and determine whether one or more of the front right sensors 244 b, 246 b, 248 b, 250 b, 252 bare damaged and currently not ready for use. The dynamic impact estimate 309 acan also be made for the front left sensors 244 a, 246 a, 248 a, 250 a, 252 a, the rear left sensors 244 c, 246 c, 248 c, 250 c, 252 c, and the rear right sensors 244 d, 246 d, 248 d, 250 d, 252 d. The data obtained therefrom regarding the state (i.e., availability and performance) of the wireless technology 209 may help determine an optimal wireless communication technology 209 in the event a user attempts to use the digital key 48 to gain access to the vehicle 100.Similarly, the pre-intel based score 309 bmay be used to score the front left sensors 244 a, 246 a, 248 a, 250 a, 252 a, the front right sensors 244 b, 246 b, 248 b, 250 b, 252 b, the rear left sensors 244 c, 246 c, 248 c, 250 c, 252 cand the rear right sensors 244 d, 246 d, 248 d, 250 d, 252 d. Based on the pre-intel based evaluation 309 b, it may be determined whether the digital key ECU 204 is temporarily unavailable (e.g., due to an OTA update). In accordance with at least one aspect of the present invention, if a user attempts to use the digital key 48 for access to the vehicle 100, even though the digital key ECU 204 is not available, another wireless communication technology may be prioritized for location and transport. This may be desirable to avoid connectivity problems that would normally occur without such reprimation of the wireless communication technology 209.The repair rating 309 cand / or the replacement rating 309 dmay be used to rating the front left sensors 244 a, 246 a, 248 a, 250 a, 252 a, the front right sensors 244 b, 246 b, 248 b, 250 b, 252 b, the rear left sensors 244 c, 246 c, 248 c, 250 c, 252 cand the rear right sensors 244 d, 246 d, 248 d, 250 d, 252 d. For example, the repair rating 309 cmay determine whether one of the sensors has been improperly mounted to the vehicle 100 after repair or whether the performance of the repaired sensor has degraded compared to the acceptable specifications of a fully functional sensor. If a sensor of the vehicle 100 is replaced by a replacement part originating from the first outbreaker or a replacement part not originating from the first outbreaker, it can be determined on the basis of the replacement evaluation 309 dinside whether the performance of the replacement sensor continues to correspond to the specifications of the sensor originally installed on the vehicle 100. In some cases, non-first-out-of-place spare parts do not conform to the specifications of the first-out-of-place spare parts, which may interfere with the use of one or more functions of the vehicle 100, e.g., the use of the digital key 48 to gain access to the vehicle 100.Compliance assessment 309e may be used to assess front left sensors 244a, 246a, 248a, 250a, 252a, front right sensors 244b, 246b, 248b, 250b, 252b, front right sensors 244c, 246c, 248c, 250c, 252c, rear left sensors 244d, 246d, 248d, 250d, 252d, rear right sensors 244d. Compliance assessment 309 emay also be performed for the sensors disposed only on left side 114 or only on right side 116 of vehicle 100. Compliance rating 309e may determine whether the sensors are functioning to comply with, for example, legal requirements and / or guarantee standards. Some countries or regions of the world have introduced requirements and / or restrictions for the use of the wireless communication technology 209, and therefore the compliance assessment 309 emay be made to determine whether the sensors of the vehicle 100 (i.e., hardware and software) are functioning accordingly.At 310, the resource management of the wireless communication technology 209 may be evaluated. For example, other systems of the vehicle 100 (e.g., a battery management system and a tire pressure management system) may utilize a portion of the wireless communication technology 209 (e.g., UWB). As a result of one or more alarm events, one or more of the sensors (e.g., a UWB sensor) may have been impaired such that the functionality of one of the wireless communication technologies 209 (e.g., UWB) has been impaired. As a result of the effects on the sensor and use of the wireless communication technology 209 (e.g., UWB) by other vehicle systems, it may therefore be undesirable to use this particular wireless communication technology 209 (e.g., UWB) when a user attempts to access the vehicle 100 with the digital key 48.At 314, a priority matrix for wireless communication technology may be established. From the above technical evaluation and constraint-based impact estimation, data is collected and the following priority matrix is established in consideration of availability, software capacity, hardware capacity, load, and latency. An example of a released source matrix that may be sent to mobile device 40 is shown in Table 1 below. Table 1. Dissolved Starting Matrix Table 1. Dissolved Starting MatrixNFCY1 % (yellow)Z1 % (red)3Mobile radio telephone is mobile radio telephoneZ2 % (red)Z2 % (red)4UWBX1 % (green)Y1 % (yellow)2BLEX2 % (green)X1 % (green)1Based on state feedback from hardware and software, the low-power wireless communication technology (e.g., BLE) is the most desirable form of wireless communication technology available to the vehicle 100. Thus, according to this example, it should be used when a user attempts to use the digital key 48 to gain access to the vehicle. As can be seen from the table, the wireless Internet has no priority as wireless communication technology in the output matrix. The wireless Internet may be a costly (i.e., high power) form of wireless communication technology 209 so that it may be appropriately weighted and prioritized. On the other hand, low-power wireless connections such as BLE are cost-effective (i.e. they require little energy), so that they can also be weighted and prioritized accordingly.At 316, method 300 is ended.

Claims

A computer-implemented method that, when executed by computing hardware, causes the computing hardware to perform operations, comprising: detecting one or more alarm events; evaluating an impact of the one or more alarm events on the wireless communication technology (209) of a vehicle (100); estimating the state of the wireless communication technology (209); evaluating resource management for use of a digital key; and providing a matrix of the wireless communication technology (209) to a mobile device; characterized in that (i) the estimating of the state of the wireless communication technology (209) further comprises: - performing a repair evaluation (309c) of the wireless communication technology (209); and / or - performing a replacement evaluation (309d) of the wireless communication technology (209); and / or - performing a compliance assessment (309e) of the wireless communication technology (209); and / or that (ii) assessing an impact of the one or more alarm events on the wireless communication technology (209) of a vehicle (100) further comprises performing a technology assessment (309a-309e) and a constraint-based impact assessment; wherein providing a matrix of the wireless communication technology (209) to a mobile device (40) further comprises creating a priority matrix based on the results of the technology assessment (309a-309e) and the constraint-based impact assessment.The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication technology (209) comprises a cellular communication module (216), a wireless Internet module (220), a low energy wireless module (222), an ultra-wideband module (224), and a near field communication module (226).The method of claim 1, wherein estimating the state of the wireless communication technology (209) further comprises performing a dynamic impact estimation of the wireless communication technology (209).The method of claim 1, wherein the creation of the priority matrix includes ranking the wireless communication technology (209) for availability, software capacity, hardware capacity, load, and latency.

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