Secure Two-wheeler Telematics Control Unit Development

CASE STUDY SNAPSHOT

Customer : Integrated Vehicle Telematics Solution Provider primarily in the Two-wheeler Telematics control unit development
Size : 51-200
Project vertical : Automotive
Challenge : Perform vehicle tracking and control along with understanding driver behavior
Solution : COTS ARM Modules powered Digital Vision Chart with Linux OS
Services Availed :  Turnkey Product Engineering, Embedded App, Embedded OS, Embedded Hardware, Sparklet
Tools and Technologies :
  • MCU : Renesas RH850/U2A
  • Tool : Renesas CS+
  • Programming Language : C
  • Compiler : GCC

INTRODUCTION

A telematic service provider wanted to expand their service offering by developing a next generation telematics unit and venture into the Usage based Insurance (UBI) Model. Embien supported by turnkey development of the Two-wheeler Telematics control unit.

CHALLENGE

Since the driver’s behavior has to be tracked it is essential for the telematics unit to incorporate many sensors and run complex sensor fusion algorithms to understand the quality of driving.

SOLUTION

Embien understood the client's existing telematics unit product which is a vehicle tracking system capable of collecting location information of two-wheelers and their wish to expand their telematics services to cover the insurance market as well and tap the growing Usage-based insurance (UBI) model. Every driver has his own unique driving style. Hence it is not fair to have the same insurance premium for all drivers by considering only their age, location, and gender. A good driver has fewer chances of accidents compared to a rash driver and hence the premium could be less. To achieve their goal of replacing the current method of fixed insurance premium with dynamic premium based on the driver’s driving habit, they decided to implement an extensive vehicle telematics data analytics system. Besides, they wished to add more value to the product by increasing security features such as anti-theft GPS tracker, remote ignition control etc.

For this, their existing product must be enhanced to collect a much larger set of telematics data and run complex algorithms.

Embedded telematics unit system design

After careful analysis, Embien designed and developed a two-wheeler Telematics control unit with dual core RH850/U2A MCU along with support for numerous sensors and connectivity options.

As Controller area network (CAN) is the primary interface to get vehicle data such as engine condition, coolant state, break information etc., dual CAN interfaces are provided for future expansion as well. Along with CAN based vehicle data, with support for 2 Automotive Ethernet interfaces and 2 LIN interface, the system became scalable for a variety of applications. Provisions were made to mount only necessary components based on the end application. On-board 6-axis inertial sensor (3D accelerometer and 3D gyro) is provided to collect vehicle lean/movement data. multiple Analog Sensor inputs were provided to input data from external sensors. Along with GPS receiver, multiple wireless connectivity such as LTE, WIFI and BT/BLE are supported.

Secure TCU development - Software design

On top of the Secure TCU development, with our extensive automotive telematics knowledge and domain experience, a sensor fusion based algorithm detects driving pattern and classifies the driving quality effectively. These algorithms are run on a core dedicated for sensor processing. While some parts of functionality such as fall and collision detection are implemented in the telematics unit itself, following data are sent instantly sent to the cloud for further processing.

  • Vehicle speed
  • Location
  • Trip duration, Fuel Consumption and distance
  • Collision and related information, if any
  • Breaking behavior
  • Road condition based on vibration
  • Motorcycle lean angle

In case of network connectivity issues, the data is logged internally in the telematics unit and pushed once connectivity is restored. Using telematics data analytics, the driver driving behavior and pattern classification is done in the cloud back-end with data transmitted securely over to the telematics server.

Automotive IoT based Anti-theft solution

Our client also wished to address vehicle security issue in their telematics solution by providing vehicle theft alerts, remote tracking and disabling to the vehicle owner and OEM. Embien implemented a 3-step process to implement the solution without increasing the manufacturing cost.

  • Vehicle telematics data collection -> Accelerometer, GPS location, gyroscope & ignition state
  • Telematics data analytics -> Apply analytics in the cloud and tracking
  • Remote control -> Push notification from cloud or via SMS

Since the theft alert is critical, it must be identified and reported instantly with precise location. To achieve this key performance of tracking the vehicle in real-time, there are few challenges when using the LTE network. Our expertise in cellular connectivity made tracking vehicle location possible within a 2m radius.

In the cloud, recorded data has been processed using analytics algorithms. Once the theft condition is detected, the user will be alerted via SMS as well as data-based popup notifications. The user is provided with the privilege to kill the engine or raise alarm by activating the horn either by sending an SMS or message over cellular network.

Finally, the two-wheeler Telematics control unit itself is protected by using a tamper detection system. The Secure TCU development also had its embedded firmware protected by Secure boot algorithm and Secure Firmware update be done over OTA.

Two wheeler Telematics Control Unit

Two Wheeler Telematics Control Unit - Architecture

BENEFITS

Backed by rich automotive experience, Embien could develop the two-wheeler Telematics control unit quickly that exceeded the customer expectations. Some of the unique benefits we offered to our customers include:

  • Support for advanced algorithms at the edge
  • A scalable product that can be used for wider range of applications
  • Optimized for production cost that offers higher RoI
  • Design compliant to AEC-Q100 qualification and AIS-004 ARAI standards
  • Secure TCU development with System Security enabled via Tamper proof mechanisms and secure boot

Embien also helped in setting up the production environment for the same, including the EoL (End of Line) configurations.

CONCLUSION

With this two-wheeler Telematics control unit, Embien is able to showcase its prowess in turnkey automotive product engineering and secure TCU development. Get in touch with us to realize your product development vision at competitive price point.

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