OTA Mobility Platform for Modular Vehicle Software Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) face challenges in managing software updates across increasingly complex vehicle systems, particularly with the advent of self-driving vehicles, which require more frequent and sophisticated software updates, necessitating a robust and scalable solution for remote management.
Innovation Solution
An over-the-air (OTA) mobility service platform that provides distributed computing services for software updates, firmware updates, client connectivity, remote control, and monitoring, utilizing a data stream processing pipeline architecture and machine learning for predictive maintenance, while ensuring secure and efficient software distribution and installation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If vehicle features and functional complexity continue to increase with more ECUs and software, then vehicle functionality and performance are improved, but software maintenance and upgrade complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the vehicle software system into multiple ECUs and modular software components, each independently manageable. The OTA platform divides software updates into discrete packages that can be distributed and installed separately across different ECUs, reducing overall maintenance complexity while preserving functional versatility.
Solution Approach 2:
The OTA mobility services platform provides universal functionality for managing software across diverse vehicle models and ECU types. A single platform handles software distribution, activation, and management for multiple clients with different configurations, reducing the need for separate maintenance systems for each vehicle type.
2Adaptability or versatility
If self-driving vehicles are deployed with more software components, then autonomous driving capabilities are enhanced, but software update management becomes more challenging
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-packaging software updates with dependency information and installation instructions before distribution. The OTA platform prepares update bundles in advance with all necessary metadata, allowing clients to receive and install updates without requiring complex real-time decision-making during the update process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms where the OTA platform monitors software installation status, activation results, and system performance. This feedback loop allows the platform to adapt update strategies, retry failed installations, and ensure software integrity across self-driving vehicle fleets, simplifying management despite increased complexity.
3Reliability
If software updates are distributed to multiple mobility clients, then system-wide software maintenance is improved, but distribution and installation coordination becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The OTA mobility services platform acts as an intermediary between software developers and mobility clients. It manages the distribution channel, handles client registration and authentication, and coordinates update delivery across the fleet, reducing the coordination burden on both developers and individual clients while maintaining reliable system-wide maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual or mechanical coordination methods with automated electronic systems. The platform uses electronic messaging, digital signing, and automated installation scripts to coordinate software distribution across multiple clients, eliminating the need for complex manual scheduling and coordination processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An over-the-air (OTA) mobility service platform (MSP) is disclosed that provides a variety of OTA services, including but not limited to: updating software OTA (SOTA), updating firmware OTA (FOTA), client connectivity, remote control and operation monitoring. In some exemplary embodiments, the MSP is a distributed computing platform that delivers and/or updates one or more of configuration data, rules, scripts and other services to vehicles and IoT devices. In some exemplary embodiments, the MSP optionally provides data ingestion, storage and management, data analytics, real-time data processing, remote control of data retrieving, insurance fraud verification, predictive maintenance and social media support.