Containerized Control Architecture for Scalable Processor Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current powered system architectures are rigid and inflexible, requiring recompilation and code changes for new or updated software applications, limiting scalability and real-time operation, especially in vehicle control systems.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a control system with processors communicatively coupled by a data plane, running software applications in containers that can switch operations without recompiling code, allowing for modular and flexible deployment across multiple processing nodes, enabling seamless control/data planes (SCDP) for efficient processing power utilization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a point-to-point data connection architecture is used for control applications, then the system maintains stable and reliable communication between applications, but the system becomes rigid and difficult to scale, requiring recompilation and code changes when adding new software applications
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a message broker as an intermediary component that mediates communication between software applications. Instead of direct point-to-point connections, applications publish messages to topics and subscribe to relevant topics through the broker. This intermediary architecture enables flexible addition of new applications without requiring changes to existing application code, while maintaining reliable communication through the standardized publish-subscribe mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the communication architecture into independent, loosely-coupled components: publishers, subscribers, and a message broker. Each application operates as an independent segment that can be added, removed, or modified without affecting other segments. This segmentation enables the system to scale by simply adding new independent segments rather than reconfiguring the entire system.
2Adaptability or versatility
If new software applications are integrated into the control system, then the system gains enhanced functionality and versatility, but the complexity of integration increases due to requirements for recompiling and modifying existing application code
Solution Approach 1:
The message broker serves as a standardized intermediary that provides uniform interfaces for message publishing and subscription. New software applications can be integrated by simply implementing the standard publisher or subscriber interface, without requiring integration with existing application code. This standardized intermediary approach reduces integration complexity while enabling continuous addition of new functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a universal message broker that handles multiple types of communications and interactions between different applications through a single standardized interface. This universal component can mediate various communication patterns (one-to-many, many-to-many, filtered subscriptions) without requiring separate integration mechanisms, thereby reducing overall system complexity while supporting diverse software functionalities.
3Reliability
If software applications are deployed in a traditional embedded architecture, then the system maintains deterministic real-time performance, but new applications cannot be tested or deployed in real-time operation without extensive simulation and validation
Solution Approach 1:
The message broker acts as a time-independent intermediary that decouples the real-time performance requirements from the software deployment process. New applications can be developed, tested, and validated independently outside the real-time system, then integrated by simply connecting to the message broker. The broker's standardized interface ensures that pre-tested applications can be deployed without requiring re-validation of the entire real-time system, significantly reducing testing and deployment time while maintaining deterministic performance.
4Device complexity
If the control system uses a rigid point-to-point architecture, then the system structure remains simple and easy to understand, but the system cannot easily accommodate new or updated software applications without recompilation and code changes
Solution Approach 1:
The message broker provides a simple yet powerful intermediary structure that maintains architectural clarity while enabling flexible software updates. The broker's publish-subscribe mechanism is conceptually simple to understand, yet it allows any number of applications to be added or updated independently. This intermediary approach preserves system structure simplicity while dramatically improving software update capability compared to rigid point-to-point architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
A powered system may include a control system having processors communicatively coupled with each other by a data plane of a communication network. The processors may run software applications in containers to control operation of the powered system. The processors may switch which of the processors are running different ones of the software applications operating in different ones of the containers without recompiling code of the software applications or changing the code of the software applications.