Digital Key Test API for Vehicle Interoperability Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing diversity of personal computing devices and vehicle models leads to an exponential growth in digital key testing complexity, resulting in time-consuming, costly, and error-prone manual testing processes due to software bugs and hardware irregularities, requiring substantial knowledge and significant ramp-up time.
Innovation Solution
An automated testing system using a unified digital key test application programming interface (API) that standardizes the testing of digital key applications and hardware, enabling interoperability and functional certification across different devices and vehicles, reducing the effort and costs associated with manual testing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual testing is used to test each digital key device against each vehicle model, then testing coverage can be achieved, but the testing time and cost increase exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of vehicles and testing environments through simulation. Instead of physically testing each digital key against every actual vehicle model, the system uses virtual vehicle models that replicate the behavior and communication protocols of real vehicles. This allows comprehensive testing coverage to be achieved without the exponential time cost of physical testing across all device-vehicle combinations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent develops a universal testing platform that can test multiple digital key devices across multiple vehicle models through a single standardized interface. The system uses standardized communication protocols and abstraction layers that allow one testing infrastructure to universally test against various vehicle types without requiring separate dedicated test setups for each vehicle model, thereby reducing the exponential growth in testing complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If manual testing is performed by human testers, then complex testing scenarios can be handled, but human errors and substantial knowledge requirements increase costs and ramp-up time
Solution Approach 1:
The testing system is designed to be self-executing and self-validating. Automated scripts and test frameworks perform the testing operations independently without requiring human intervention for each test case. The system automatically generates test cases, executes them against the digital key implementations, and validates results according to predefined criteria. This eliminates human errors while maintaining the ability to handle complex testing scenarios through programmable logic.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical human-operated testing process with an automated computer-based system. Instead of human testers manually operating devices and recording results, the system uses software agents and automated control interfaces to execute test sequences. This substitution eliminates the need for substantial human knowledge and expertise while reducing costs and ramp-up time, as the automated system can be deployed and executed without extensive training.
3Adaptability or versatility
If diverse personal computing devices and vehicle models are supported, then interoperability is improved, but testing complexity grows exponentially
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the testing system into modular components: a standardized testing framework layer, device-specific adapter layers, and virtual vehicle model layers. Each digital key device type has its own adapter module that translates device-specific behaviors into the standardized testing interface. This segmentation allows the core testing logic to remain simple and reusable while accommodating diverse devices through pluggable adapters, preventing testing complexity from growing exponentially with device diversity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces standardized communication protocols and abstraction layers as intermediaries between diverse digital key devices and vehicle models. These intermediary layers translate various device-specific protocols into a common standardized interface that the testing framework can uniformly handle. This mediation approach allows interoperability testing across diverse devices without requiring the testing system to directly manage the complexity of each individual device-vehicle combination.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of testing a digital key is described that provides, from a digital key test manager device, standard digital key instructions for a computing device to send messages to a device under test; communicates, from the digital key test manager device, with the device under test to determine operations of the device under test as a result of the messages; and evaluates, at the digital key test manager device, the operations of the device under test to assess functionality of the digital key.