Methods for transferring data

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for transferring data from a computing unit to a receiver, wherein the computing unit comprises two partitions, wherein application software runs on the first partition and data provisioning software runs on the second partition, wherein the second partition can access a memory of the first partition for reading, wherein the data provisioning software extracts target data from the first partition based on a data definition by accessing the memory and transmits the target data to the receiver. The invention further relates to a device, a computer program product, and a storage medium.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for transferring data from a computing unit to a receiver, a device set up for this purpose and a corresponding computer program product. State of the art

[0002] Vehicle connectivity is gaining in importance. In addition to infotainment and driver assistance functions, powertrain components, especially in high-priced electric vehicles, are increasingly being networked. This connectivity, and the resulting signal and data transmission to a backend or the cloud, enables new services as well as new data-driven development approaches, so-called field data-driven development. Bandwidth for data transmission is a limiting factor both within the vehicle's electrical / electronic (E / E) architecture and for external data transmission, which is typically handled via mobile networks. Particularly when using mobile networks, data transmission to a backend is also a cost factor.

[0003] It is known to read data from the memory of a vehicle control unit and send it to a backend. The software used for this is tightly integrated into the application software installed on the control unit and is therefore not very flexible. Changes to the data-providing software are only possible with considerable effort. Furthermore, any change would require extensive testing to determine whether the data-providing software could interfere with the operation of the application software. Disclosure of the invention

[0004] The inventive method for transferring data from a computing unit to a receiver has the advantage that the computing unit comprises two partitions, wherein application software runs on the first partition and data provisioning software runs on the second partition, wherein the second partition can access the memory of the first partition for reading, and wherein the data provisioning software extracts target data from the first partition based on a data definition by accessing the memory and transmits the target data to the receiver. By using two partitions, the data provisioning software can be executed without interference with the application software.Furthermore, the data provisioning software can be easily modified afterwards, since there are no dependencies between the data provisioning software and the application software, and therefore the interaction between the data provisioning software and the application software does not need to be extensively tested, at least for security reasons.

[0005] This is particularly advantageous when the processing unit is a vehicle control unit. The use of two partitions is especially beneficial in the context of vehicle control units, as these often perform safety-critical tasks, which necessitates a high degree of testing effort when the software is modified.

[0006] It is also advantageous if the receiver is an external computing unit, such as a backend. Alternatively, the receiver can also be a central computing unit within the vehicle, such as a connectivity unit or a central computer. The term "backend" here refers to a server, the cloud, or other forms of connection to an IT infrastructure.

[0007] The advantage is that the target data represents an internal state of the vehicle and / or a user input and / or a measured value from a vehicle sensor. If the target data represents the internal state of the vehicle, it can include, in particular, fault codes, status codes, or technical parameters such as torques, currents, voltages, etc. If the target data represents a user input, it can include, in particular, data representing the position of an input element of the vehicle. This could include, in particular, data representing a gear selection, a desired operating mode, a switch position, an input via a touchscreen, or, for example, voice input. If the target data represents a measured value from a vehicle sensor, it can include, in particular, data representing physical values ​​such as...These values ​​represent pressures, temperatures, electrical resistances, voltages, etc. The physical values ​​can relate to both external vehicle properties (i.e., environmental data) and internal vehicle properties. In particular, the measured values ​​can also be data acquired by long-range sensors, such as cameras, radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors, lidar sensors, etc. Advantageously, the target data can also be combinations of data representing a measured value, an internal state, and / or user input. Furthermore, the target data can advantageously be further processed data representing a measured value, an internal state, and / or user input.

[0008] It is particularly advantageous if the computing unit is capable of real-time processing. It is also particularly advantageous if the data provisioning software operates within the same timeframe as the application software. When applying the method according to the invention in conjunction with real-time capable control units, the flexibility gained through the presented method, combined with increased safety, results in a particularly high level of benefit. If the data provisioning software operates within the same timeframe as the application software, both can be executed particularly easily on the same hardware.

[0009] It is advantageous if the data provisioning software's execution is terminated when its processing exceeds a time window defined by the time grid. In particular, the data provisioning software's execution can be terminated by an interrupt signal. This advantageously ensures that the data provisioning software does not interfere with the execution of the application software.

[0010] It is advantageous if extracting the target data includes a preprocessing step. This preprocessing step can involve, in particular, compression or statistical analysis. If the preprocessing step is statistical analysis, the target data can, for example, represent averages from larger data sets, thus significantly reducing the size of the target data compared to the original raw data.

[0011] It is advantageous if the transmission of the target data to the recipient is continuous.

[0012] It is advantageous if the transmission of the target data to the receiver occurs when a triggering condition is present. This triggering condition can, in particular, be a configurable trigger. For example, the triggering condition could be the detection of a specific traffic sign by the camera. In such a case, the target data could comprise a video stream of defined length, the objects detected in the video stream, and contextual data such as vehicle speed and location. With this advantageous further development of the method according to the invention, the amount of data output from the vehicle can be significantly reduced, particularly through the selection of suitable triggering conditions. Furthermore, target data can be flexibly output according to current needs by subsequently modifying the triggering conditions.This allows a development engineer to access data from vehicles in the field without this data access having to be planned in detail at the time of the vehicle's production. This embodiment thus advantageously supports field-data-driven development.

[0013] According to the invention, a device is also provided which is configured to perform each step of the method according to the invention. The invention further relates to a similarly configured computer program product, as well as a data carrier on which the computer program product is stored.

[0014] An embodiment of the present invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings show: Brief description of the drawings Fig. 1 a schematic representation of a computing unit set up to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention; Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a sequence of the process according to the invention. embodiment of the invention

[0015] Fig. Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a computing unit (10) configured to carry out an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The computing unit (10) comprises a first partition (12) on which application software (13) is executed and a second partition (16) on which data provisioning software (17) is executed. The computing unit (10), which may in particular be a real-time computing unit of a vehicle, especially a control unit, also comprises a memory (14) assigned to the first partition (12). The application software (13) can, in particular, write data to the memory (14). The data provisioning software (17), on the other hand, can only access the memory (14) in read mode.

[0016] The processing unit (10) is connected to a receiver (20), which may in particular be a backend, i.e., a computer external to the vehicle. In particular, the data provision software (17) can transmit target data to the receiver (20).

[0017] Fig. Figure 2 shows a schematic sequence of an embodiment of the method according to the invention.

[0018] In step 100, triggering conditions, for example from the receiver (20), in particular a backend, are transmitted to the processing unit (10), in particular the data provisioning software (17). The triggering conditions describe the situations in which which data should be compiled as target data and transmitted to the receiver (20). A data definition is also transmitted to the data provisioning software (17), which defines the data required in connection with the triggering condition. In an advantageous refinement, several different triggering conditions, each with its associated data definition, can be simultaneously stored and processed by the data provisioning software (17). Step 110 follows step 100.

[0019] In step 110, the triggering condition transmitted in step 100 is compared with the vehicle's state. For example, a video stream from the vehicle's camera can be continuously checked for the presence of a specific traffic sign. If the triggering condition is met, step 120 is then executed.

[0020] In step 120, the data provisioning software (17) reads raw data from memory (14) based on the data definition. Step 130 is then executed.

[0021] In step 130, the raw data extracted in step 120 is further processed to obtain the target data. Specifically, step 130 may involve compression, statistical analysis, and / or enrichment of the raw data. Step 140 is then executed following step 130.

[0022] In step 140, the target data extracted in step 130 is transferred to the receiver (20).

[0023] The presented embodiment of the method according to the invention thus enables a flexible way to extract so-called field data from vehicles without disrupting the execution of application software on the vehicle's computing units.

[0024] Alternatively, the use of triggering conditions can be omitted. In this case, the data processing software (17) can continuously read data from the memory (14), preprocess it, and store it in another memory. This preprocessing advantageously includes a semantic assignment or linking with labels that characterize the content and / or nature of the data. A user can then, at a later time, have the data provisioning software (17) transmit all data relevant to a specific use case to the receiver (20), for example, based on the labels. In this embodiment, the data provisioning software (17) has the functionality of a computing unit-internal or vehicle-internal database.

Claims

[1] Methods for transferring data from a computing unit to a receiver, characterized by , that the computing unit comprises two partitions, wherein application software is executed on the first partition and data provisioning software is executed on the second partition, wherein the second partition can access a memory of the first partition for reading, wherein the data provisioning software extracts target data from the first partition by accessing the memory based on a data definition and transmits the target data to the receiver. [2] Method according to claim 1, characterized by that the computing unit is a control unit of a vehicle. [3] Method according to claim 2, characterized by that the receiver is an external computing unit, for example a backend. [4] Method according to any one of claims 2 to 3, characterized bythat the target data represents an internal state of the vehicle and / or a user input and / or a measured value from a sensor of the vehicle. [5] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the computing unit is capable of real-time processing. [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by that the data provisioning software calculates within a time grid of the application software. [7] Method according to claim 6, characterized by , that the processing of the data provisioning software is terminated when a time window specified by the time grid is exceeded by the processing of the data provisioning software. [8] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by that extracting the target data includes a preprocessing step. [9] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by that the transmission of the target data to the recipient takes place continuously. [10] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by , that the transmission of the target data to the recipient occurs when a triggering condition exists. [11] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by , that the transmission of the target data to the recipient is initiated by a transmission request from the recipient. [12] Apparatus configured to carry out each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 [13] Computer program product that causes a computing unit to perform each step of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 when the computer program product is executed by the computing unit. [14] Storage medium comprising the computer program product according to claim 13.

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