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Over the Air Updates

Online Services for Automobiles PART 2 Future-Mobility-

Series

Online Services for Automobiles Over the Air Updates

2

Automotive industry facing CASE and digitization

The race for the first fully autonomous car has flared up. Govern-ments like Norway, for example, will decide to abolish the internal combustion engine by 2025. At the same time, more and more young people are deciding not to own a car and are opting for al-ternative, usage-oriented mobility models.

Connectivity functions are already indispensable in modern cars – the most popular example is the E-Call, which has had to be ins-talled as standard in new cars since 2018. Cars are no longer just (electro) mechanical objects, but are becoming rolling computers and part of the Internet of Things. The trend towards the „intelli-gent“ car is irreversible. The intelligence first arises in the car itself through sensors and integrated computing units, but also comes from cloud backends, edge computing instances or through inter-action with other objects. The intense integration of and interaction with IT and telecommunications components also makes the car a prioritized object of digitization.

In our white paper series we will present the effects of CASE1 and digitization on specific automotive topics. In this second paper we focus on over the air updates.

Car users’ demands are increasing

CASE and regulations are one side of the coin, the other side are more demanding automotive users who perceive the car as an (on-demand) living space. And it’s by no means just the owners or dri-vers who expect an improved Driver Experience (#DX), better ser-vice and easier use of the car. Passengers also await new functionalities (such as WiFi and multimedia). Not to mention pro-fessional fleet operators who want to make their processes more efficient.

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are trying to meet the needs of a mobile generation with new functions and innovations. The digitization of the car and the software used in the car make a decisive contribution so that new generation cars can be created – cars for the CASE era that meet the new needs of customers and achieve efficiency effects for OEMs.

Another important effect that has high relevance for automotive software is the rise of connected cars. In Germany, around a fifth (19 percent) of all new cars sold in 2019 had Internet access1. The Connected Car Innovation Study 20192 states that the three major German automobile manufacturers Daimler, Volkswagen and BMW alone invested around € 30 billion in research and development in 2018; a large part of it flows into the area of connected vehicle technology. Strategy&/PwC expects that in 2022 all new vehicles supplied by OEMs will be equipped with mobile connectivity and intelligent telematics systems3.

We have already described the developments of the in-car software and the emergence of new E/E platforms in a previous white paper (The software-defined car). The global automotive software market will grow from US$ 34 to US$ 84 billion between 2020 and 2030, according to McKinsey4. Experts predict automotive software to emerge into a new huge market5. In this market automotive soft-ware will be a key differentiation criterion for cars. McKinsey estimates the future value of software at 30 percent of the car – currently it is 10 percent. Not to mention the contributions of elec-tronic and electrical (E/E) components. The focus of automobile manufacturers is consequently moving away from the engine and transmission to electronics and IT.

Never before in its more than 100-year history has the automotive industry faced such fundamental and sustainable changes. CASE/ACES (connected, autonomous, shared, electrical) and digitization offer a wealth of revolutionary potential, but also – as usual with any revolution – a whole range of challenges.

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Online Services for Automobiles Over the Air Updates

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Software updates are becoming the norm

But when software becomes a critical component, cars have to be understood much more as mobile devices (in the Internet of Things) – and the software thus has to be treated in the same way as is com-mon practice in the IT industry. This also includes regular software updates. Today, this happens in the workshops. With the extensive availability of network capacities, the update can also be carried out in a decentralized manner, for example via a private WiFi, smart-phones or onboard units.

But the connectivity of the car is only one component to treat the car as an end point in the IoT. The harmonization of the E/E platforms will play a crucial role for future flexible updates as well.„Updates don‘t just play new code or migrate additional data, they also adjust settings or configurations. Basic functionalities close to the vehicle are updated via firmware updates, while software up-dates are more aimed at driver-related services. Examples of OTA updates include security patches, the correction of malfunctions or the activation of completely new functionalities. Regular security patches are essential. They ensure that the vehicle can withstand state-of-the-art attacks and that driving safety is not endangered. Correcting malfunctions or optimizing software reduce costs and increase user comfort. New functions allow new business options in the car (adjustment of engine control or suspension tuning) and add-on services (entertainment).

Limited opportunities for updates in the classic way

Until now, the updates for the automotive software or firmware have mainly been carried out via workshop visits or in self-service. That’s personnel-intensive, complex and only scalable to a limited extent. In addition, it is locally limited: authenticated (and security-critical) updates can only be carried out in authorized workshops.

The foreseeable gain in importance of in-car software contrasts with the complex process. Update frequency and volumes will in-crease in the future. The advent of electric cars will also increase the need for software and respective software updates.

Over the air updates as a future solution

Connectivity via cellular is the answer to this challenge. It enables the central, concerted and location-independent rollout of updates to connected cars (OTA, over the air updates). This is accompanied by significant added value for automotive users and OEMs. The users get flexibility in terms of time and location; they get timely access to new and improved services without the need for an inter-mediary. For the OEMs, OTA updates mean an intensified customer relationship in connection with significant cost-cutting potential – for example by eliminating recall campaigns.

However, it must be noted that there are also limits for the rollout „over the air“. They are caused by the available network capacity and the requirements of car safety. In addition, the OTA updates require the active participation of the vehicle owner. The updates cannot be installed without his consent or participation.

Updates are performed in two stages. At first the new data or the code are downloaded and in a second step the new content is installed. For example, it is possible to download data (also in portions) during the ride, to save the data temporarily and, depen-ding on the technology used, to install it on an unused partition. However, the productive change to the new software component only takes place when the vehicle is not moving and is ready for operation.

In principle, the update is initiated centrally by the OEM. To do this, he compiles the codes and data to be transmitted into a package, compresses it and determines which specific models/cars are to be supplied with the updates (definition of a campaign). The package will be sent via communication networks (mobile net-works like 3G, 4G, in future 5G, as well as WiFi). The user of the car can receive it via smartphone or directly via a suitable on-board unit. The Transmission Control Unit (TCU) acts as the central gate-way into the car. From there, the individual packages are distributed to the various control units that are to receive updates.

OTA updates offer a wide range of application scenarios. Specifi-cally, they can be used, for example, for error analysis and debug-ging, security updates, the updating of maps, firmware updates, the activation of new vehicle functions and on-demand availability of infotainment offers.

Regular updates need a harmonized platform. Christian Senger,

Member of Volkswagen PKW Marketing Board6

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Online Services for Automobiles Over the Air Updates

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Further demands on OTA update systems

The OEM must ensure that the update process is absolutely secure on the IT side – without the risk of unauthorized code getting into the cars. Strong cryptographic security is essential for this. The transported package itself is encrypted before being sent. The dis-patch also takes place via encryption, for example TLS (Transport Layer Security). In addition, the sender and receiver must legitimize each other. This takes place via authentication using certificates: the update package has a certificate, as does the car. The firmware and software are stored in encrypted form in the car itself. The necessary keys must be stored in a protected memory area; a specific hardware security module is required for this.

A second aspect to be considered is the integration into different partner IT systems. First of all, this is the central software repository in which the OEM provides its automotive software centrally. From there, the OTA update system receives the software to be deli-vered. There is also a connection to a documentation/evaluation system. This records when updates were delivered and with what success.

A frequently underestimated moment is the scalability of the OTA update system. With the growing importance of the topic, scalabili-ty is becoming increasingly important. OTA update systems already sometimes reach their limits when extensive updates have to be delivered to tens of thousands of automobiles (and to several con-trol units within them).

For any type of data transfer – regardless of the automotive sector – amounts of data are a general challenge. Automotive OEMs use various approaches to reduce or control the amount of data, which is also a cost-relevant variable. A so-called delta calculation is initially used for the reduction. Similar to snapshot backups, the OTA update systems determine the proportion of new or updated code. And only this is actually delivered (delta update). A second approach to reducing the data volume are compression methods. Where these methods offer little benefit, the use of a content delivery network (CDN) can pay off. CDNs specialize in the decen-tralized delivery of large data volumes and ensure an acceleration of the delivery.

Another important factor for the provision of data/code are of course the connectivity capacities themselves. Experience shows that to date around 70 percent of all SOTA/FOTA updates are suc-cessful in the first attempt. In most cases fluctuating network ca-pacities or network interruptions are responsible for these 30 per-cent unsuccessful attempts. The introduction of 5G opens up new opportunities in this area. Nevertheless, it is important to create solutions for a higher rollout rate for the success of OTA updates in the current framework.

In reality, the technology behind OTA updates has to meet other requirements beyond these central aspects. First and foremost, this includes comprehensive end-to-end encryption of the OTA updates.

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Online Services for Automobiles Over the Air Updates

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CONTACT

Markus Lorenz Markus.Lorenz@t-systems.com

EDITOR

T-Systems International GmbHHahnstraße 43d60528 Frankfurt am Main

http://www.t-systems.de

Quellenangaben:[1] Statistiken zu Connected Cars, Andreas Ahlswede Statista.de, 2019 [2] Connected Car Innovation Studie 2019, Center of Automotive Management, CarIT [3] Digital Auto Report 2018, Strategy&[4] Automotive software and electronics 2030, McKinsey & Company, Ondrej Burkacky, Johannes Deichmann, Jan Paul Stein, 2019

[5] Autos werden vollvernetzte Computer auf Rädern, etailment, Wolfgang Borgfeldt, 2020 [6] Christian Senger, Mitglied des Markenvorstands Volkswagen Pkw, Ressort ’Digital Car & Services‘

T-Systems – Partner of the Automotive Industry

T-Systems is one of the largest European ICT providers for the automotive industry. In addition to the provision of classic (outsour-cing, on-premises) and modern (cloud, edge) IT infrastructures, the provider has countless connectivity, integration and development projects for well-known automotive companies, 13 of the top 20 OEMs and multinational tier suppliers, realized.

For OTA updates, T-Systems focuses on services that go beyond the basic functionalities of an OTA update system, such as soft-ware packaging, encryption and signing. The development of additional modules allows OEMs business development initiatives for new services. T-Systems also masters the integration of OTA updates into existing systems. With outstanding network know-how, including its own mobile network infrastructure, T-Systems can offer end-to-end solutions regardless of the respective OTA basic technologies.

An overview of the white papers in this series:

• Part 1: The Software-Defined Car – Developments in In-Car Software • Part 2: Over the Air Updates – Online Services for Automobiles • Part 3: Teleoperated Driving – Remote Vehicle Control• Part 4: Future Engineering – the New Way of Car Design

The most important facts about T-Systems

• Security/Privacy by Design• Secure software for secure functionalities• Specific security unit with more than 1,400 experts

and a comprehensive portfolio• 4,000 automotive experts• End-to-end integration expertise

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