Automotive Radar Flashless Booting with Centralized NVM
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high cost and complexity of booting radar sensors in motor vehicles due to the use of multiple non-volatile memory devices for each sensor, which results in increased system costs and downtime during the boot process, affecting the reliability and efficiency of autonomous driving systems.
Innovation Solution
Centralizing the booting process by storing application images on a single non-volatile memory device connected to a network switch or local/remote host, which distributes these images to multiple radar sensors via a volatile memory, eliminating the need for local non-volatile memory at each sensor and enabling flashless booting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each radar sensor has its own local non-volatile memory device for storing boot images, then the boot process can be performed locally at each sensor, but the system cost and device complexity increase due to the need for multiple NVM devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent consolidates multiple distributed NVM devices into a single centralized NVM device that stores boot images for all radar sensors. The centralized host system manages the boot process by retrieving images from this single NVM and distributing them to multiple sensors over the Ethernet network, eliminating the need for each sensor to have its own local NVM.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a centralized host system as an intermediary between the NVM device and the radar sensors. This host acts as a mediator that retrieves boot images from the centralized NVM, processes them, and distributes them to the appropriate sensors, thereby decoupling the sensors from direct NVM access and reducing overall system complexity.
2Ease of operation
If multiple non-volatile memory devices are used for each radar sensor, then local booting can be achieved, but the system cost increases due to the high cost of NVM devices
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple expensive local NVM devices into a single shared centralized NVM device. By pooling the memory resources and sharing them across all radar sensors through the Ethernet network, the system achieves the same boot functionality at a fraction of the cost, as one NVM device replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate NVM devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The centralized NVM device is designed to serve multiple functions and multiple radar sensors simultaneously. It stores boot images for all sensors and can serve any sensor's boot requirements, making it a universal storage solution that replaces multiple specialized local NVM devices and reduces overall system cost.
3Device complexity
If boot images are stored on a centralized non-volatile memory device, then the number of NVM devices is reduced and cost is lowered, but the boot process requires network communication which may increase boot time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a mechanism where the centralized host system pre-loads and caches boot images into its volatile memory before the radar sensors need to boot. This preliminary action ensures that when a sensor requires a boot image, it is already available in the host's fast memory, eliminating network access delays during the actual boot process and achieving boot times comparable to local NVM solutions.
4Device complexity
If a centralized non-volatile memory device is used to store boot images for multiple radar sensors, then system cost is reduced, but security risks may increase due to centralized storage
Solution Approach 1:
The centralized host system serves as a secure intermediary that manages access to the centralized NVM device. It implements authentication, authorization, and encryption mechanisms to control which sensors can access which boot images. This mediator layer protects the centralized storage from unauthorized access while maintaining the cost benefits of consolidation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs cryptographic parameter changes including encryption of boot images stored in the centralized NVM, authentication tokens for sensor identification, and secure key management. These parameter changes transform the centralized storage from a potential security vulnerability into a secure, controlled environment where access is granted only to authorized sensors with valid credentials.
Data Source
AI summary
A radar system boots one or more radar sensors used in motor vehicles. Rather than storing software boot images, at different non-volatile memory (NVM) devices attached to each radar sensor module, the radar system supports booting of multiple radar sensors from the software boot images stored on the NVM device associated with a host. By booting multiple radar sensors with the boot images stored in a single NVM device, the overall number of NVM devices, and therefore the overall cost of the radar system, is reduced.