Not a plane, but in the "clouds": Cars and cloud technologies
/ photo by Joi Ito CC
Clouds are increasingly strengthening their positions in various fields of activity. We have already written in our blog on Habré about how new technologies help the work of retail stores and large streaming services.
')
And cloud technology has come to the automotive industry. As an example, we give the car company Tata Motors. According to reports by Tata Motors, the use of web services in the cloud has a positive effect on the company's operations. Cloud solutions help in a short time to create new infrastructure projects, starting with the planning stage and ending with implementation.
Vyacheslav Chuprakov, deputy director for STP of Terra-Avto automobile holding in St. Petersburg, agrees with this. The company's management decided to bring business-critical services to the cloud, and for 6 years now, terminal servers, a gateway, database servers, an active directory server, etc. are located in the IT-GRAD IaaS provider cloud.
“In addition to transferring the server infrastructure to the clouds, the entire telecommunications component was transferred there, including postal services, and also implemented traffic filtering. - notes Vyacheslav. - Now we can rightly consider ourselves a "cloud company."
However, cloud technologies come in handy during the actual use of the car by the buyer. A modern car is not only a set of mechanical elements and electronic components, but also sophisticated software, which is the basis of programmable services that help the driver to control the car.
It is known that as a result of road accidents about 1.25 million people die worldwide every year. In an attempt to expand the “safety zone” around the car, Ericsson introduced the concept of a “cloud car of the future” based on the Ericsson Connected Vehicle Cloud solution.
Connected Vehicle Cloud is part of an integrated automated system that allows connected transport to share traffic data in real time in order to increase the safety and efficiency of transport flow management.
Today, the main driver warning tools are road signs, while the Connected Traffic Cloud will allow you to broadcast relevant information about a particular part of the way to the on-board computer display. This concept is consistent with what many drivers expect from their cars: it is a continuous connection with the infrastructure and other drivers, the functionality of the car and the availability of electronic assistants.
These issues are also dealt with by Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo. Auto giant Jaguar Land Rover is exploring a new technology that will allow vehicles to locate roadholes, broken storm nets and manhole covers, and then share the information received through the cloud with other road users and traffic services.
After receiving a warning from the vehicle in front, the driver gains extra time to slow down and avoid danger. This will help reduce the likelihood of wheel penetration and damage to the suspension, which, in turn, reduces the likelihood of an accident.
As for Volvo, it is developing a warning system for slippery roads — Volvo’s first safety technology based on cloud data transmission. When a Volvo detects an icy or slippery section of the road, information about it is transmitted to the Volvo Cars database, from where it arrives to all vehicles approaching the dangerous section.
Information about the problem is also sent to the road service, complementing the data provided by existing road infrastructure monitoring stations. This approach is designed to improve the quality of service of highways by road services in winter.
"Cloud" car diagnostics
In 2010, automakers recalled more than 20.3 million vehicles. This is due to the fact that as soon as the vehicle leaves the dealership, its systems become a “black box” for equipment manufacturers and suppliers.
The existing approach to the recall of cars is reactionary: the manufacturer recalls all cars of a certain year, brand or model only after the problem manifested itself on a large number of vehicles. It takes a lot of time, at which a critical system can fail and pose a threat to driver safety, which will damage the manufacturer’s reputation.
In addition, control modules in cars contain millions of lines of code, and the number of diagnostic trouble codes (DTC) sometimes does not exceed ten. Consequently, there is an urgent need for systematic diagnostics of software for driving control systems so that problems can be detected at an early stage.
For this reason, a research team from the University of Pennsylvania is developing an automatic program for remote diagnostics and testing AutoPlug, capable of sending patches for firmware control electronic components of the machine. Thus, AutoPlug acts as an intermediary between the control modules of the vehicle and the Remote Diagnostics Center (RDC).
The Remote Diagnostics Center receives data about the condition of the vehicle over the network, and prepares the response in the form of dynamic fault diagnosis codes (DyDTC), which “monitor” the control modules causing concern. When all the information about the problem is collected, a “patch” is generated for the controller.
Thus, a remote diagnostics system is able to detect and reprogram failed controllers with system (and non-system) errors.
As part of this issue, it is impossible to ignore the cloud service for the diagnosis of the car MECH5 - the cloud-based platform for analyzing vehicle data. The solution provides a remote connection to the car, the collection and transmission of data on the status of the vehicle systems and provides online access to maintenance logs. In addition, the technology allows you to search for auto repair shops located close to the user.
By gaining access to the vehicle's electronics, the MECH5 creates reports of vehicle health and detects minor problems, helping to prevent a problem before it occurs.
It is based on OBD2 protocols, which are responsible for the exchange of data between the electronic control unit and the diagnostic scanner, and the OEM protocols, which allow to extract more detailed information. MECH5 can connect to any electronic control unit and collect its performance: the condition of the air conditioner, airbags, gearbox, engine, etc.
MECH5 uses the standard VCI (Vehicle Communication Interface) interface to connect to the vehicle's diagnostic connector, and with the help of the X-Link application it organizes secure access to the cloud.
The domestic eZWay company, which entered the Russian market with gadgets for car diagnostics and a mobile application that monitors the state of the car and the quality of driving, also works in the field of cloud-based car diagnostics. The task is solved using a specialized device eConomy and a mobile Android application that works in conjunction with the cloud.
The user connects the eConomy device to the slot under the steering wheel of the vehicle, downloads the application and registers with the car club. After that, continues to freely use the car. As a result, statistics are accumulated for each user, which is stored in a database hosted in the cloud hosting provider.
eZWay, having in mind the information about the research of accidents on the roads, provides the user with useful tips in response to his driving style. The application evaluates the smooth start and braking and warns of dangerous maneuvers. Moreover, eConomy allows you to catch the perfect gearshift moment, optimizing fuel consumption and engine load. Assessment of the quality of driving - one of the business cards solutions.
In addition, eZWay is able to diagnose the engine of the car, reporting on the recorded problems through the mobile application. Thus, the driver monitors the state of his own car and monitors the parameters of the onboard system in real time.
Summing up, it is worth noting that cloud technologies have entered our lives so tightly that it is almost impossible to imagine it “cloudless”. Today, the cloud in the IaaS model , being the guarantor of reliability and high availability, is used to reduce the number of road accidents and monitor the technical condition of vehicles, which undoubtedly saves money for both automakers and car enthusiasts.
Other materials from our blog:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/283412/
All Articles