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Says David ELIZALDE, ACTIA group innovation director.“With OTA, our priority is to best serve our long-time bus, coach and specialised machinery customers, equipped with ACTIA on-board technology. This means providing all of the technological components to support a swift time-to-market for vehicles, while achieving economies of scale through remote maintenance and repair.”
Over-The-Air technology is a process for distributing new software and configuration parameters to a vehicle from a computer.
OTA technology was initially used in the telephone sector, and is being opened up to connected objects, and vehicles in particular.
OTA is a communications technology that allows distribution and installation of new software or system (firmware) versions, as well as configuration parameters or new data in mobile equipment, including vehicles.
This means that, in addition to keeping the vehicles concerned up to the latest digital standards, this operation can provide access to new features.
Regular security updates to on-board firmware and software are absolutely essential. Over-the-Air updates mean there is no longer any need to take the vehicles to the garage.
– the cost of vehicle recalls;
– the advent of electric vehicles, particularly disruption by Tesla’s economic model: a new on-board electronic architecture (software-controlled vehicle) and no further need for a global network of garages
– more widespread vehicle connectivity.
TESLA, a pioneer in the field, only uses FOTA (Firmware Over-The-Air) technology to update the features of its vehicles that are already in service. This technology is therefore behind a new economic model for manufacturers, with no after-sales networks required.
Ten years ago, the first wireless updates mainly applied to information and entertainment features or non-sensitive security systems, such as maps or audio system modifications. Today, software updates to security systems or features directly related to driving or to the vehicle are vital.
– The vehicle no longer needs to be taken to a garage
When a car manufacturer detects a problem, or has to introduce new features in a vehicle, OTA updates can be carried out behind the scenes, right where the vehicle is parked, without the owner having to worry about it. This is a significant improvement for vehicle security, as unfortunately it is not uncommon for some customers to ignore or forget about crucial recall operations.
– Maintenance and repair savings
Over-the-Air updates allow these issues to be eliminated, and maintenance and repair costs to be significantly alleviated.
OTA updatesalso allow improvements and modifications to be made to a vehicle, such as:
The trend towards software-controlled vehicle architecture and on-request paid-for features means that short-term, mass or targeted software updates and patches are becoming increasingly important. Inside the vehicle, this concerns electronic control units (ECUs) including information and entertainment systems.
OTA therefore opens up various possibilities for vehicle operation.
For more than 10 years, ACTIA has been an electronic equipment manufacturer that is renowned for designing and manufacturing vehicle on-board connectivity systems. This expertise has been developed by two global-scale R&D centres, one in Sweden and the other in Toulouse.
Building on this know-how, ACTIA is also positioning itself throughout the connected vehicle value chain, having developed a backend digital platform for remote management of connected vehicles.
ACTIA develops and manufactures a comprehensive range of on-board ECUs dedicated to vehicle connectivity.
The ACTIA TGU-R unit, for example, is a generic telematics gateway developed and manufactured by ACTIA. It is the link between the vehicle and mobile internet, and is equipped with all of the latest-generation mobile communication capabilities (LTE, WI-FI, Bluetooth, GNSS).
The TGU-R unit is adapted to suit lorry, bus, coach and special vehicle connectivity needs. It is built into original equipment or retrofitted. ACTIA has produced several million telematics units in recent years.
D2HUB is the name of the backend platform developed by ACTIA allowing control of OTA operations to vehicles. The platform is already used by many vehicle manufacturers and transport operators.
Ensuring data security
ACTIA makes data and information system security a priority. How?
ACTIA is a long-standing player in vehicle electronic diagnostics.
With technological developments to these vehicles, and the advent of connected vehicles, the automobile diagnostics and repair profession is thoroughly transformed, and OTA is a new resource for auto-mechanics and after-sales networks.
ACTIA’s special position in the connected vehicle and automobile diagnostics markets gives it a unique advantage for making sense of the OTA revolution in automobile maintenance and repair.
