Remote diagnostics on a connected vehicle: present and future applications

In the last two decades the automotive industry has seen unprecedented technological advances. As a result, today’s vehicles offer the ultimate driving experience through outstanding performance specifications but also through a complete infotainment system already installed on the vehicle once it exits the production plant. This infotainments system brings the comfort of everyday life to the vehicle. The driver can enjoy all the benefits of an integrated navigation, radio and hands-free system while travelling safely in his/her vehicle A further technological advance was reached with the introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Vehicle To Cloud (V2C) communication. With this kind of technological advance, the possibilities and capabilities of an infotainment system became virtually infinite The SIM card is mounted on a Telematic Control Unit (TU), one of many electronic control units installed in the vehicle and allows the exchange of information between the vehicle and one or multiple servers, both in reception and in transmission. The Controller Area Network, also known as CAN bus, is a very robust communication network implemented in the automotive and manufacturing industry. It allows the exchange of information between embedded microcontrollers and electronic control units (ECUs) connected to the same network. Today the CAN bus is used as the main communication network in the automotive industry, connecting multiple controllers and ECUs to control all the vehicle systems ranging from the powertrain to the safety and ADAS systems. This thesis’s main focus is the detailed description of a diagnostic application installed on the TU. The diagnostic application’s main purpose is to correctly collect CAN signal data, as well as the diagnostic information of all the ECUs connected on the CAN bus, elaborate the collected data and send it to the cloud for further data analysis that, once completed, will forward the necessary data to generate a health report of the vehicle, stating which systems might be faulted and to which extent. Furthermore, these capabilities will be discussed from an OEM’s point of view to introduce a potential aftermarket strategic decision oriented towards a further profit from a niche market – the market of high performance vehicles.