Platform solution for OTA software updates: ZF joins eSync Alliance
Regular software updates ensure efficiency, traffic safety and cyber protection when vehicles with state-of-the-art automated functions are on the road – and autonomously in the long term. At present, complicated and expensive product recalls have to be carried out in order to install the updates in the workshop or at the manufacturer. This causes high costs. Market analyses estimate the cost of such recalls in 2016 in the US alone at $3 billion.
Over-the-Air (OTA) updates can reduce this effort by sending current software versions directly from the cloud to the vehicle without delay. The eSync Alliance, to which ZF has now joined, uses the eSync system, originally developed by the Californian networking specialist Excelfore, for secure data exchange between the cloud and electronic devices installed in the vehicle.
The platform not only enables vehicles to receive software and firmware updates, but can also provide manufacturers and fleet operators with real-time diagnostic reports and telematics data. In addition, the system helps to protect the vehicle’s cyber architecture from hacker attacks.
Several OTA systems are currently active in the market, each with its own specific update mechanism. The eSync system aims to establish a common standard. Alliance members benefit from a simplified development environment based on a customizable, scalable and open platform with end-to-end features and programming interfaces.
Members of the eSync Alliance currently include the founding company, software specialist Excelforce as well as suppliers Molex and Alpine, and Indian software and engineering service provider Wipro.
As an open platform, eSync ZF also offers possibilities for controlling software updates outside the automotive sector, for example for the rail, marine, and industrial transmissions supplied by ZF.
Related articles:
A Data Pipeline for Effective Automotive OTA: Five Key Aspects of the eSync System
OTA platform puts an end to the complexity in software updates
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