Vehicle Power Distribution Unit Command Authentication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Autonomous vehicles face challenges in securely managing power distribution to electronic devices, including authentication of commands and monitoring for unusual conditions such as current spikes, to prevent electrical damage and ensure authorized operation.
Innovation Solution
A power distribution unit is configured to authenticate and validate commands for controlling electronic devices, monitor their operational parameters, and securely power-cycle or deactivate devices experiencing unusual conditions, such as current spikes, to prevent damage and ensure authorized operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If power distribution is simplified without authentication, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to unauthorized commands and electrical damage risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a power distribution unit as an intermediary component between the power source and electronic devices. This unit authenticates commands before executing power distribution actions, preventing unauthorized commands while maintaining ease of operation for legitimate users. The intermediary layer adds security without requiring changes to the operational interface for authorized users.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary authentication of commands before executing power distribution actions. By verifying command authenticity in advance, the system prevents unauthorized operations and electrical damage before they can occur, ensuring reliability while maintaining operational simplicity for authorized commands.
2Reliability
If monitoring of operational parameters is added, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The power distribution unit is designed to perform multiple functions: command authentication, power distribution control, and operational parameter monitoring. By consolidating these functions into a single multi-functional component, the system improves reliability through comprehensive monitoring while minimizing the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements self-monitoring capabilities where the power distribution unit automatically detects unusual conditions such as current spikes and deactivates devices without external intervention. This self-service approach improves reliability by preventing electrical damage while avoiding the complexity of external monitoring systems.
3Reliability
If authentication and validation processes are implemented, then power management security is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs authentication and validation of commands in advance, before power distribution actions are executed. This preliminary verification ensures security and reliability by preventing unauthorized commands, while the advance preparation minimizes the time penalty during actual operation by having authentication ready beforehand.
Data Source
AI summary
Among other things, techniques are described for controlling power of electronic devices of a vehicle. For example, a vehicle includes a power source, a power distribution unit configured to control power to at least one electronic device from the power source, a first processor configured for communicating power commands to the power distribution unit. The power distribution unit comprises a second processor configured to execute computer executable instructions stored in computer-readable medium for carrying out operations including adjusting a power distribution from the vehicle power source to the at least one electronic device based on a power command received from the first processor.