Over-the-Air-UpdatesZF is joining the manufacturer-independent Esync Alliance. This initiative’s goal is to create an open, scalable and inexpensive standard for over-the-air (OTA) updates and fault diagnostics.
Increasing digitalisation in vehicles requires periodically loading software updates to ensure efficiency, traffic safety and cyber-security. Over-the-air updates could save money and effort in future. According to ZF, market analyses estimate that the costs for recalls associated with updates amounted to three billion US dollars in the USA alone in 2016.
Current software versions could be sent directly and without delay from the cloud into the vehicle with OTA updates. The Esync system, which was originally developed by the California-based networking specialist Excelfore, is designed to ensure secure data exchange between the cloud and the electronic end devices in the vehicle. Manufacturers and fleet operators can also use this open, scalable platform to transmit diagnostic reports and telematics data in real time and to protect the vehicle’s cyber-architecture against hacker attacks. The Esync Alliance is working toward achieving a common standard for OTA systems.