Vehicle Content Distribution With Cached OTA Software Updates
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current vehicle software update processes are inconvenient and inefficient, requiring vehicle owners to visit service centers and are proprietary, limiting third-party involvement in improving upgrade efficiency and convenience.
Innovation Solution
A managed content delivery service (MDS) with open interfaces and protocols allows multiple content providers to deliver digital content, including software updates, to vehicles, decoupling providers from the installation process and enabling asynchronous processing and caching for efficient content distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If vehicle software updates are performed through service centers using proprietary processes, then update reliability is ensured, but user convenience deteriorates and update efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a distribution service as an intermediary between content providers and vehicles. This service receives content items from multiple providers, manages distribution, and delivers updates to vehicles through distribution units. This intermediary approach maintains reliability through standardized protocols while improving user convenience by enabling over-the-air updates without requiring service center visits.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the software update system into distinct components: content providers, distribution service, distribution units in vehicles, and ECUs. This segmentation allows each component to operate independently with defined interfaces, improving both reliability through specialized functions and convenience through decentralized update delivery.
2Reliability
If proprietary update processes are used by vehicle manufacturers, then control over update quality is maintained, but system complexity increases and third-party involvement is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The distribution service implements universal interfaces and protocols that work with multiple content providers and vehicle types. This universal approach reduces system complexity by standardizing communication while maintaining quality control through consistent content validation and distribution procedures across all providers.
Solution Approach 2:
The distribution service acts as a mediating layer that simplifies the interaction between diverse content providers and vehicles. By handling content validation, formatting, and distribution through standardized processes, it reduces overall system complexity while maintaining quality control.
3Loss of information
If synchronous content delivery is used, then content freshness is ensured, but update efficiency deteriorates due to lack of caching capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The distribution service performs preliminary actions by receiving and validating content items from providers before they are needed by vehicles. Content is prepared, formatted, and staged in advance through the distribution service, enabling efficient delivery when vehicles request updates without sacrificing content freshness.
Solution Approach 2:
The distribution service as an intermediary enables asynchronous operations by maintaining a buffer between content providers and vehicles. It can pre-process and stage content while allowing vehicles to request updates at convenient times, improving update efficiency without compromising content freshness through its centralized management.
Data Source
AI summary
The technology disclosed herein enables a processor to receive, at a distribution unit, a first content request from a distribution electronic control unit (ECU) associated with a vehicle, wherein the first content request reflects one or more filtering criteria, determine whether a content item that satisfies the filtering criteria is stored on a storage device of the distribution unit, responsive to determining that the content item that satisfies the filtering criteria is not stored on the storage device of the distribution unit: send, to a managed content delivery service, a second content request, wherein the second content request includes the filtering criteria, and receive, from the managed content delivery service, the content item that satisfies the filtering criteria, and send the content item that satisfies the filtering criteria to the distribution ECU associated with the vehicle.