Vehicle Connectivity Unit Privacy Control via Service Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing vehicle-to-cloud systems do not adequately address privacy settings, leading to safety concerns when the vehicle's connectivity unit is switched offline, as vital operations are prohibited, compromising the vehicle's safety and user privacy.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling communication between a vehicle and a backend device that establishes lists of mobile online services and their data types, verifies authorization based on privacy levels, and allows essential services to connect even when the connectivity unit is in a high privacy mode, enabling vital data transmission by temporarily switching to a sending mode.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If the connectivity unit is switched offline to protect user privacy, then user privacy is improved, but vital services cannot be provided and vehicle safety deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments online services into different categories (vital services vs. non-vital services) and applies different privacy levels to each segment. Vital services are allowed to operate even in high privacy mode, while non-vital services are restricted. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by allowing privacy protection for general services while ensuring safety-critical services remain operational.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces privacy levels as a parameter to control the degree of offline operation. By changing the privacy level parameter, the system can dynamically adjust which services are permitted to connect to the backend device. This allows the system to balance privacy protection with service availability based on the selected privacy level.
2Loss of information
If all online services are blocked in high privacy mode to ensure privacy, then user privacy is improved, but service functionality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides online services into multiple segments with different privacy requirements. Instead of blocking all services uniformly, the system selectively permits vital services to operate while blocking non-vital services. This segmented approach maintains service functionality where needed while protecting privacy where appropriate.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts service availability based on the selected privacy level. The authorization verification process dynamically determines which services can operate at each privacy level, allowing the system to adapt service functionality to the user's privacy preferences rather than applying a static all-or-nothing approach.
3Loss of information
If privacy levels are verified for all services to protect user data, then user privacy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary classification of services into vital and non-vital categories, and assigns privacy levels to each service in advance. The authorization verification checks against pre-established privacy level requirements. This preliminary organization reduces the complexity of real-time decision-making by having authorization rules predetermined based on service classification.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for controlling a communication (C) between a vehicle (10) and a backend device (20) in a vehicle-to-cloud-system (100), the method comprising: - establishing a first list (L1) of mobile online services (MOD) used by vehicle devices (11) and corresponding data types (D) used by the mobile online services (MOD); - establishing a second list (L2) of the data types (D) used by the mobile online services (MOD) and corresponding privacy levels (P) of the data types (D); - receiving a request (r) from at least one of the mobile online services (MOD) to connect the backend device (20); - verifying an authorization of the at least one of the mobile online services (MOD) to connect the backend device (20) upon the request (r), depending on: - the privacy levels (P) corresponding to the data types (D) used by the at least one of the mobile online services (MOD) and - current privacy settings (S) of the vehicle (10), - connecting the at least one of the mobile online services (MOD) and the backend device (20), if the at least one of the mobile online services (MOD) is authorized to connect the backend device (20).