OTA Vehicle Software Update via Interrogator Log Trigger
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for updating vehicle software require dealership visits and manual intervention, which are inefficient and resource-intensive, especially with the advent of over-the-air (OTA) software updates that aim to streamline this process.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing a publish/subscribe model with a message broker to facilitate OTA software updates, where vehicles generate and send an interrogator log in response to a trigger message, receiving a manifest with update locations from a service delivery network, allowing for automated software updates without periodic polling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional dealership-based software update methods are used, then software updates can be applied manually with technician intervention, but the process requires frequent dealership visits and manual labor which reduces productivity and increases time consumption
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle system automatically performs software updates without requiring technician intervention. The ECU receives update packages via wireless communication, extracts installation information, and autonomously installs the updates, eliminating the need for dealership visits and manual technician work while significantly improving update efficiency and reducing time loss
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical manual update process (technicians physically updating software at dealerships) with an automated electronic system. The ECU uses wireless communication to receive updates and automatically manages the installation process, substituting human labor and mechanical dealership infrastructure with electronic automation and wireless data transmission
2Reliability
If periodic polling is used to check for software updates, then the vehicle can proactively seek updates, but it increases energy consumption and network resource usage
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of continuous or frequent periodic polling, the system uses event-driven periodic action where the vehicle only initiates update checks when specific conditions are met (such as when connected to a wireless network or when triggered by the server). This reduces energy consumption while maintaining reliable update detection by acting periodically only when necessary rather than continuously
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements a feedback mechanism where the server pushes update notifications to the vehicle when updates are available, and the vehicle responds by sending its interrogator log. This bidirectional feedback loop ensures reliable update availability detection without requiring the vehicle to continuously poll, thereby reducing energy and network resource usage
3Measurement precision
If comprehensive vehicle configuration data is collected and transmitted for update determination, then accurate update matching is achieved, but data transmission volume and processing complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle configuration data is segmented into structured interrogator logs that contain only the specific configuration parameters needed for update matching. Rather than transmitting all possible vehicle data, the system identifies and transmits only relevant segments (software versions, hardware configurations, ECU identifiers), reducing data volume and processing complexity while maintaining measurement precision for accurate update determination
Solution Approach 2:
The server acts as an intermediary that receives the vehicle's interrogator log, determines update compatibility, and selects appropriate update packages. This intermediary processing at the server side reduces the complexity burden on the vehicle, allowing comprehensive configuration verification without requiring complex processing logic in the vehicle's ECU
Data Source
AI summary
A vehicle may subscribe to a topic of a topic tree maintained by a message broker and associated with the vehicle. The vehicle may send, to a service delivery network, an interrogator log enumerating configuration information of the vehicle generated responsive to a trigger message published to the topic by the network, and retrieve a manifest indicating network locations of updates determined by the network from the interrogator log.