OTA Data Distribution via Vehicle-to-Vehicle Relay
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing methods for over-the-air (OTA) data distribution to a large fleet of vehicles result in high server load and increased costs due to the need for massive investments in transmission systems, especially when a large number of vehicles require data updates simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) distribution mode where selected vehicles act as relays to indirectly transfer OTA data from the backend server to non-distributor vehicles, reducing the server's download load by only transferring data directly to a smaller number of distributor vehicles with higher data exchange speeds, and activating direct distribution mode when priority is critical for safety updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct OTA distribution is used to transfer data to all vehicles from the backend server, then data transfer completeness is improved, but server load and transmission time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the fleet of vehicles into distributor vehicles and non-distributor vehicles. The backend server only directly transmits OTA data to distributor vehicles, while non-distributor vehicles receive data through V2V communication from distributors. This segmentation reduces the number of direct server-vehicle connections, lowering server load and transmission time while maintaining complete data distribution across the entire fleet.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces distributor vehicles as intermediaries between the backend server and non-distributor vehicles. These distributor vehicles receive OTA data from the server and then relay it to other vehicles through V2V communication. This intermediary layer reduces the direct transmission burden on the backend server while ensuring data reaches all vehicles in the fleet.
2Productivity
If more backend servers are deployed to handle large data transmission loads, then data transfer capacity is improved, but system cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the vehicle fleet to serve itself by designating certain vehicles as distributors that automatically receive and share OTA data with other vehicles. This self-service mechanism among vehicles reduces the need for additional backend servers to handle transmission loads, thereby increasing data transfer capacity without proportionally increasing the number of servers and associated costs.
3Productivity
If V2V distribution mode is used to reduce server load, then server load is reduced, but data exchange speed may decrease for non-distributor vehicles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by having distributor vehicles receive and store OTA data from the backend server before it is needed by non-distributor vehicles. This pre-positioning of data at distributor vehicles enables faster V2V dissemination to non-distributors, maintaining high data exchange speed while reducing overall server load since the server only needs to transmit data once to each distributor.
Data Source
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AI summary
A computer-implemented method for transferring OTA data from a backend server (20) to a fleet of vehicles (10), the method comprising: S30) determining a download load (DL) of the backend server; S40) determining whether the download load (DL) is above a threshold; S50) when it is determined that the download load (DL) is above the threshold, activating a V2V distribution mode for distributing OTA data to the fleet. In this method, in the V2V distribution mode, when to-be-transferred OTA data is to be transferred to vehicles of the fleet: S230) vehicles of the fleet are selected as distributor vehicles; S240) the to-be-transferred OTA data is transferred from the backend server (20) to the distributor vehicles; and S260) said to-be-transferred OTA data is then transferred from at least one distributor vehicle to at least one non-distributor vehicle of the fleet. A backend server for implementing this method.