Lesson
Incorporate standardized over-the-air update procedures to permit efficient firmware updates for connected vehicle devices.
Success Stories from the USDOT’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Program.
11/01/2017
Background (Show)
Lesson Learned
The New York City CV pilot project area encompasses three distinct areas in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. The pilot will install after-market safety devices, a device installed after initial vehicle manufacture that can send and receive CV messages, on 5,850 taxis, 700 Metropolitan Transportation Authority buses, 1,050 sanitation and NYCDOT vehicles and 400 UPS vehicles.
Throughout the NYC pilot, updates to the device firmware will need to be made to dynamically update the after-market safety devices with custom firmware or threshold settings. NYCDOT will need to be able to quickly update all or a subset of the 8,000 vehicles mentioned above around the same time, restricting them to over-the-air updates. Firmware updates can be slow, requiring the device to have a consistent connection to the network relay supplying the update. Therefore, updates on-the-move cannot currently be supported as the connection can drop when switching between roadside units. Additionally, the updates need to be pushed out over Dedicated Short Range Communication. The NYC pilot does not use other networks such as WiFi or cellular to push updates.
To support these firmware updates, the CV infrastructure deployment conducted by NYCDOT will include the integration of over-the-air firmware updates into a subset of specialized roadside units. These specialized roadside units will be deployed at 36 support locations throughout the city. Support locations include airports and terminal facilities which are deemed "barns". These barns are locations that are frequently visited by fleet vehicles and where the vehicles will be parked for a sufficient amount of time to support firmware updates.
The firmware update process is initiated by the Traffic Management Center device management centers for the after-market safety devices. The device management center will send out Wave Service Advertisements over a control channel to after-market safety devices through select roadside units. Wave Service Advertisements notify a device when a new firmware update is available, so that an update can be initiated once the vehicle is at a support location. Once the after-market safety device connects to a roadside unit that supports updates, it is directed to a special service channel to receive the update data.
The firmware updates will be digitally signed by the device vendor so that they can be verified as legitimate by the devices before initiating the update. Failed verifications will block unauthorized update attempts and the Traffic Management Center will be notified in the event a verification fails. For data analysis purposes, data collected by NYCDOT will include custom metadata that has fields for the firmware version and settings in place when data was collected.
Updates are delivered by the RSUs in two ways: some are broadcast continuously for devices to monitor and capture, and some use the unicast system which requires the device to initiate the update.
These standardized over-the-air update procedures will allow the NYC CV Pilot program to efficiently update all or a subset of their vehicles to meet both device manufacturer recommendations and their own custom experimentation.
Lesson Categories
Application Areas
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Crash Prevention & Safety > Pedestrian Safety
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Crash Prevention & Safety > Road Geometry Warning
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Crash Prevention & Safety > Collision Avoidance > Obstacle Detection
Intelligent Transportation Systems > Arterial Management > Traffic Control > Advanced Signal Systems
States
None defined
Countries
None defined
Systems Engineering
Show the V
Feasibility Study / Concept Exploration
High-Level Design
Focus Areas
Major Initiatives > Integrated Vehicle Based Safety Systems
Major Initiatives > Cooperative Intersection Collision Avoidance Systems
Major Initiatives > Mobility Services for All Americans
Major Initiatives > Integrated Corridor Management Systems
Major Initiatives > Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII)
Other Program Activities > Intelligent Vehicle Initiative
Other Program Activities > Rural ITS Deployment
Keywords
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