eSync
Secure Bi-Directional OTA Platform
tQCS is a sole solution and service partner for Excelfore eSync in Asia-pacific region
including China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam.
The Excelfore eSync OTA is based on a secure bi-directional standard architecture for pushing data from the cloud to the end devices in the vehicle (for software updates), and for pulling data from those devices to the cloud (for data aggregation).
The eSync OTA consists of 3 layers: server software (eSync Server), client software in the vehicle (eSync Client), and agent software for end devices (eSync Agent) all of which are compliant with the specifications available through the eSync Alliance(https://esycnalliance.org). The standardization enables customer to have seamless adaptation to future specifications and compliance with evolving vehicle and Cloud architectures, security threats, privacy regulations, and WP.29 including Functional Safety (ISO26262) and Cyber Security (ISO21434) for the automotive.
Server – Client – Agent Architecture
A unified data pipeline that connects the cloud, the vehicle, and every ECU inside it — each layer with a distinct, purpose-built role.eSync Server
Excelfore offers 2 ways to access the eSync Server:
- Software-as-a-Service on Public Cloud (Hosted)
- Licensed and Ported (On-Premise)
Server can be implemented on a variety of public and private clouds shown right.
The eSync Application provides comprehensive OTA campaign management with detailed policy control, updating and monitoring of end devices (ECUs and sensors), and optional data aggregation across fleets of vehicles.
- Excelfore's patented automated Delta Tool enables efficient OTA updates.
- Content Delivery Network (CDN) is used for quick and efficient scaling of the number of vehicles and of geographic diversity.
eSync Client
The eSync Client establishes secure communications with the Server, and with Agents within the vehicle. The Client
- aggregates device status information from Agents for reporting to the Server.
- receives updates from the Server, verifies them, and transfers them to the correct Agent within the vehicle.
- The Orchestrator within the Client corresponds with the other Client Services to ensure compliance with OTA policies.
eSync Agent
The eSync Agent is the primary endpoint for Over-the-Air updating and the primary starting point for data gathering, exchanging data with the eSync Client. The Agent
- abstracts the characteristics of various ECUs, sensors and other electronic devices on Ethernet, CAN bus, or other in-vehicle networks or busses, enabling easy integration with a variety of SoC and Operating Systems.
- provides an abstraction layer, with a consistent data interface to widely divergent end devices in the vehicle, allowing scalability for the platform, more than 100+ ECUs in a single vehicle, enabling quick updating of many devices by distributing the processing workload throughout the vehicle.
- enables to gather data from the device as well as to update the device by porting an Agent per ECU, ensuring real-time updatable policy/rule specific to the edge device controls the way of update or gathering data.
eSync offers a flexible architecture that offers unlimited scaling to ECUs. Since the in-vehicle eSync Client builds the network of registered devices within a vehicle at each ignition-on, the eSync server database can detect upcoming anomalies. eSync also offers a rich set of features including advanced OTA (FOTA, SOTA, OS Partitions, Configuration, Containers, etc.), autonomous rollback, patented delta compression, and security-to-the-edge.
WHAT WE PROVIDE
Features
The eSyncTM System has been developed to provide specific capabilities under a set of guiding principles.
It is a single solution for data-push and data-pull. It can push data to the vehicle, for OTA updating of software and firmware. It also has the ability to pull data from the vehicle, for purposes of diagnosing and tracking vehicle status and performance.
It reaches all the way to ECUs, sensors, and actuators, and is designed to reach any number of devices inside the vehicle.
It provides end-to-end security. All OTA and diagnostic traffic is fully encrypted all the way from the Server to the Update Agent. The eSync System implements authentication in both directions. Authentication makes use of Public/Private Key (asymmetric) cryptographic technology.
It is policy-driven. Policies for OTA updates are established by the OEM during creation of the OTA campaign. The policy engine architecture allows for customized policies to be created for an OEM’s particular needs.
It scales to a virtually unlimited number of vehicles.
It is modular. Boundaries of software components are well defined, and Excelfore makes the APIs available for these boundaries. The eSync System operates as a complete system, but each component can be licensed separately.
Additional Features
Fault-tolerant – The eSyncTM System is highly tolerant of faults or glitches during the update process.
Adaptive Delta Compression Engine minimizes vehicle downtime cause by software updates.
eSync OTA pipeline for automotive
The eSyncTM System has components in the cloud and in the vehicle. In the cloud, there are eSync Servers for updates, diagnostics, and telematics. There is also a Campaign Manager cloud-based application. In the vehicle, there is one eSync Client and multiple eSync Agents for updates and diagnostics. Combined, these components provide a secure path for over-the-air (OTA) updates down to multiple end devices in vehicle, as well as diagnostics and telematics upstream to the cloud.
WP.29 Conformity
What is WP.29?
WP.29 was established on 6 June 1952 as the Working Party on the Construction of Vehicles, a subsidiary body of the Inland Transport Committee (ITC) of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). In March 2000, WP.29 became the "World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations (WP.29)". The objective of the WP.29 is to initiate and pursue actions aimed at the worldwide harmonization or development of technical regulations for vehicles. Providing uniform conditions for periodical technical inspections and strengthening economic relations worldwide, these regulations are aimed at:
improving vehicle safety;
protecting the environment;
promoting energy efficiency and
increasing anti-theft performance.
Source : UNECE
eSync v2.0 conformity to WP.29
eSync fulfills the WP.29 conformity on each of the following feature/functionalities required for automotive grade over-the-air in compliance with Safety (ISO26262) and Security (ISO21434) regulations.
| Feature/Function | CSMS | SUMS | AA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Software Updates | YES* | YES | YES |
| RBAC (Role-based Access Control) | YES | ||
| Policies | YES | ||
| Logs & Audit Trails | YES | YES | |
| Certificates | YES | YES | |
| Workflows | YES | ||
| Campaigns | YES | ||
| Rollback/Delta | YES | YES |
*eSync v2.0 fulfills WP.29 conformity. Empty cells indicates not applicable fields on WP.29 requirements.
CSMS : Cyber Security Management
SUMS : Software Update Management
AA : Approval Authority