There were many announcements at TU-Detroit Automotive including awards, seminars and exhibitor news. We missed that BlackBerry now offers an over-the-air (OTA) update solution for automakers.
The OTA update solution is part of the BlackBerry IoT Platform and is designed to deliver secure, scalable update services for software in infotainment systems, telematics units, and other end-points in the vehicle.
Authentication, authorization, and data security are provided through patented BlackBerry cryptography and key management technologies. These techniques are designed for a wide range of devices, including those operating under resource constraints and those that require high performance.
A customizable dashboard shows how an automaker can track software update data remotely, viewing progress by update package, individual vehicle, or any segment of the fleet, and diagnosing the type and frequency of update failures that have occurred.
Vehicles contain tens of millions of lines code that should be updated to fix problems, improve functions or deliver new apps.
Physically updating vehicle software at a dealership is costly, inconvenient, and time-consuming. The BlackBerry OTA solution uses an architecture based on a decade of software update expertise.
BlackBerry claims it has applied its proven experience in updating more than 100 million globally distributed devices to the unique hardware, operating system, and application needs of the automotive sector.
The new OTA update solution is hosted within BlackBerry’s secure network and can scale to millions of vehicles. It can also address the unique demands of each automaker, providing an OS-agnostic solution that can adapt to different vehicle electronic designs.
The BlackBerry IoT Platform is hosted in the secure, global BlackBerry infrastructure.