Embedded Modem Auxiliary Storage Offload
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Solution Overview
Problem
Embedded modems in vehicles face storage burdens when collecting and offloading diagnostic data and software updates, as they require sufficient storage capacity for core functionality and data transmission, which can be limited by the modem's own storage capacity.
Innovation Solution
The embedded modem acts as a router within the vehicle network, querying and utilizing available storage capacity of other in-vehicle controllers to offload data, prioritizing storage based on available capacity and vehicle tasks, and decimating or limiting data transmission when necessary to avoid resource burdens.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the embedded modem stores all diagnostic data and software updates in its own memory, then data completeness is improved, but storage capacity is exceeded
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the storage function by dividing data storage across multiple controllers (modem controller and auxiliary controllers) rather than concentrating all storage in the modem's memory. This allows the system to maintain complete data storage while distributing the storage burden across multiple devices with individual storage capacities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system expands the storage dimension by utilizing the storage resources of auxiliary controllers in addition to the modem's own memory. This creates a multi-dimensional storage architecture where data can be stored across different controllers, effectively increasing the total available storage capacity beyond what a single modem memory could provide.
2Quantity of substance
If the embedded modem uses auxiliary storage of other controllers, then storage capacity is expanded, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The modem controller is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a communication modem and as a storage management system. It can query auxiliary controllers for available storage, determine data placement, and manage data retrieval, thereby expanding storage capacity without requiring separate dedicated storage management hardware.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-service through the modem controller's ability to autonomously query auxiliary controllers, evaluate their storage availability, and automatically manage data storage and retrieval operations. This eliminates the need for external storage management systems, expanding capacity while keeping the control logic within the existing modem architecture.
3Productivity
If the embedded modem queries and manages multiple controllers for storage, then data offloading efficiency is improved, but communication overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The modem controller performs preliminary actions by querying auxiliary controllers for their storage availability and performance characteristics before actually storing data. This advance information gathering allows the system to make informed decisions about data placement, reducing communication overhead during actual data offloading operations by avoiding repeated queries.
Data Source
AI summary
An embedded modem communicates over a vehicle bus with controllers that each include data storage. The embedded modem queries the controllers over the bus to identify controllers having available storage, such that if the available storage is located on a priority controller, the embedded modem sends received data over the bus to the priority controller. Otherwise, if the available storage is available on a non-priority controller, the embedded modem send the data over the bus to the non-priority controller. The embedded modem queries the controllers over the bus to confirm that the controllers storing the received data are available for data offload, and responsive to the confirmation, requests the stored data over the bus and transmits the stored data over a wide-area network to a telematics server.