Enabling secure, efficient bi-directional communications between cloud and in-car ECUs
Fremont, Calif., August 6, 2020 – Excelfore, an innovator in connected car technologies, today announces it is working with Siemens Digital Industries Software to demonstrate its eSync OTA technology with Siemens’ Capital™ VSTAR™ software, an efficient implementation of the industry-standard AUTOSAR.
The two companies have created a demonstration platform which makes use of the components of the Excelfore eSync software development kit (SDK) and Capital VSTAR, to create a working solution for updating the AUTOSAR firmware for in-vehicle electronic control units (ECUs). This can facilitate updating AUTOSAR-based devices over the air (OTA) via the eSync secure bi-directional data pipeline to the cloud.
Henrik Olsen, Director of Embedded Software at Mentor, a Siemens Business, said, “The collaborative work between Excelfore and Siemens is designed to enable eSync to bring the advantages of a true end-to-end OTA pipeline to the AUTOSAR environment, extending all the way to the edge devices in vehicles.”
Shrikant Acharya, CTO at Excelfore, said, “Working closely with the Capital VSTAR team, we have created this working demonstration to show the tangible benefits of an integrated solution for OTA updates: simplifying integration for carmakers and Tier 1s, reducing vehicle down-time, and improving end-to-end security.”
The demonstration brings modern cybersecurity all the way to the edge device, with device-specific authentication, decryption and encryption, as a part of the OTA data pipeline. Prior solutions have generally secured the link from the cloud to the car, but not all the way to edge devices. The demonstration also shows how OTA related tasks including flashing and roll-back capability can be distributed to edge devices throughout the car.
eSync is based on a distributed architecture with a cloud-based server, and embedded software, called eSync Agents, running on in-car ECUs. The eSync Agents are integrated with the Capital VSTAR software platform as a ‘complex driver’ on the ECU, which enables the eSync Agent to work with the crypto and bootloader functions of Capital VSTAR, so that ECUs can handle more of the work of OTA autonomously. This frees up centralized resources in the car and allows many devices to be updated in parallel, which reduces vehicle down-time during updates.
eSync is a multi-company specification promoted by the eSync Alliance. It can deliver and update software and firmware over the air, while collecting real-time operational data from in-car devices including ECUs, domain master ECUs, network gateways, and smart sensors. With a global network of co-operating suppliers, the eSync data pipeline helps carmakers avoid costly and inconvenient vehicle recalls, and enables vehicle software and features to be updated in the field.
As well as the eSync integration, Excelfore also recently announced that it is licensing its Ethernet protocol stacks for inclusion with the Capital VSTAR software platform.
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About Excelfore
Excelfore, located in Silicon Valley, is unlocking automotive data through innovative platforms for connected cars, electric vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. Excelfore products include protocol stacks for in-vehicle networking, as well as a full implementation of the eSync™ bi-directional pipeline for OTA updates and data gathering. Excelfore has headquarters in the Silicon Valley in California, USA, and has offices in China, Germany, India and Japan.
Press Contact:
Cynthia Hoye, embedded PR
Phone: +1 408-858-2602 / E-mail: ch@embedded-pr.com
Reader Contact:
sales@excelfore.com
Excelfore is a trademark of Excelfore Corporation.
eSync is a trademark of the eSync Alliance.
Note: A list of relevant Siemens trademarks can be found here.
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