Interchangeable Computing Nodes for In-Vehicle Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current in-vehicle computing systems are inflexible and difficult to modify or upgrade, as they are OEM-specific and lack modularization, making it hard to integrate new features, improve performance, and enhance connectivity and security without complex modifications.
Innovation Solution
An in-vehicle control device with a mainboard and interchangeable nodes that have scalable System-on-a-Chip (SoC) capabilities, modular connectors, and high-performance antennas, allowing for easy connection and upgrade of computing nodes without altering the mainboard or software stack, enabling flexibility and scalability across different vehicle models and generations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional fixed computing systems are used, then system stability is maintained, but adaptability and ease of upgrading are poor
Solution Approach 1:
The computing system is divided into a fixed mainboard and interchangeable computing nodes. The mainboard contains standardized connectors and interfaces, while computing nodes are modular units that can be easily replaced. This segmentation allows the system to maintain stability through the fixed mainboard while achieving adaptability through node interchangeability, resolving the contradiction between system stability and ease of upgrading.
Solution Approach 2:
The mainboard is designed with universal standardized connectors and interfaces that can accommodate different types of computing nodes. This universality allows a single mainboard design to support multiple generations and configurations of computing nodes, enabling easy upgrading without modifying the mainboard structure, thus improving adaptability while maintaining low complexity.
2Ease of manufacture
If computing nodes are made interchangeable and modular, then ease of upgrading is improved, but connection reliability and system stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The mainboard is pre-equipped with standardized connectors and the computing nodes are pre-configured with matching interfaces. This preliminary preparation ensures that when nodes are exchanged, the connection is immediately reliable without requiring complex alignment or additional configuration steps, thus maintaining both ease of upgrading and connection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized connectors are designed with specific electrical, mechanical, and signaling parameters that ensure reliable connections. By carefully controlling these parameters (contact resistance, signal integrity, mechanical retention force), the system achieves high connection reliability despite the modular interchangeable design, resolving the contradiction between ease of upgrading and connection reliability.
3Adaptability or versatility
If OEM-specific software stacks and interfaces are maintained, then software compatibility is ensured, but hardware modularization and interchangeability are hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The computing node is extracted as a separate interchangeable module that contains the OEM-specific software stack and processing units. This allows the software complexity to be confined to the node level, while the mainboard maintains a simplified, standardized hardware interface layer. The node can be replaced without affecting the mainboard's software stack, enabling hardware interchangeability while managing software complexity at the node level.
Solution Approach 2:
The standardized physical and electrical interfaces on the mainboard act as intermediaries between the fixed system architecture and the interchangeable computing nodes. These intermediary interfaces translate between the standardized connector protocol and the node-specific internal architecture, allowing hardware interchangeability while maintaining software compatibility through the intermediary translation layer.
Data Source
AI summary
An in-vehicle control device a mainboard with at least one connection exposed at a first panel of a housing. One or more connectors in a second panel of the housing are interconnected with the mainboard and accessible from outside the housing for connecting the mainboard to a vehicle system. A mounting frame cooperates with the housing at the first panel of the housing exposing the connection to the mainboard, and at least one interchangeable node, computing node and/or connectivity node, is detachably connected to the mounting frame. The at least one interchangeable node has a connector for connecting to the mainboard, and at least one System-on-a-Chip (SoC) having scalable performance capabilities, or a high-performance antenna.