Search Results

Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) is increasingly being recognized as the protocol of choice for vehicle safety applications by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and road operators. DSRC offers the ability to communicate effectively from vehicle-to-vehicle and from vehicle to infrastructure with low latency and high reliability. A wide range of applications have been conceptualized to support safety, mobility and convenience, including: cooperative collision avoidance, travel information, and electronic payment. To be effective, infrastructure-based applications require an installed-vehicle base along with infrastructure deployment, while vehicle-to-vehicle applications require significant DSRC market penetration along with some degree of infrastructure support systems. Some vehicles currently include safety applications involving forward looking radar. The radar supplies information about objects, their distances and relative speed ahead of the host vehicle.

This paper deals with automotive software update (re-programming), describing the process as of today and suggests some alternatives, based on experience from the telecom industry. Specifically we analyze the Firmware Over The Air (FOTA) technology and its applicability to the automotive industry. Software update in the telecom industry has gone a great deal forward in providing an efficient FOTA solution. Today, all tier I mobile operators as well as device manufacturers are either providing a commercial FOTA service, or using FOTA in deployment phases. Some of them have already performed millions of firmware update transactions over the air, reducing costs, avoiding recalls and increasing customer satisfaction. Software in the automotive industry is growing quickly to become a significant part of the vehicle BOM. This growth and the exceptionally high warranty/recall cost could suggest a demand for FOTA.