Configuration-Driven OTA Firmware Update Orchestration for Scalable ECU Management in Software-Defined Vehicles
Keywords:
Over-the-air update, ECU firmware, Software-defined vehicle, YAML configuration, UDS diagnostics, DoIP, FreeRTOS, RTOS, Automotive cybersecurity, Bootloader orchestrationAbstract
The rapid proliferation of electronic control units (ECUs) in modern software-defined vehicles has fundamentally transformed how automotive manufacturers deliver and manage software functionality. Over-the-air (OTA) firmware update mechanisms have emerged as a critical infrastructure component enabling remote diagnostics, feature additions, and security patching without physical dealer intervention. However, the heterogeneous nature of ECU bootloader strategies, memory architectures, and security access requirements imposes significant engineering complexity on scalable OTA orchestration. This paper presents a configuration-driven OTA firmware update orchestration framework in which ECU-specific update sequences are encoded in YAML-defined configuration schemas, eliminating hard-coded, device-specific C implementations that impede fleet scalability. The proposed architecture decouples update logic from ECU hardware specifics by centralizing policy definitions within cloud-managed configuration payloads, enabling dynamic enumeration, firmware validation, and post-update verification across distributed ECU networks. A key contribution of the framework is its cloud-initiated ECU authentication mechanism, wherein firmware-side validation sequences are dynamically triggered upon cloud requests, transmitting verified inventory data to ensure vehicle authenticity prior to update execution. The framework leverages Unified Diagnostic Services (UDS) over CAN and Ethernet (DoIP) for diagnostic session management and memory transfer operations, and integrates with RTOS task scheduling to maintain deterministic update progression across any real-time platform, including but not limited to FreeRTOS-based and microcontroller environments. Experimental evaluation demonstrates significant improvements in update orchestration scalability, reduction in integration overhead, and consistent maintenance of firmware rollback safety guarantees across heterogeneous ECU populations. The results establish a principled foundation for scalable, maintainable OTA infrastructure in next-generation software-defined vehicle platforms.
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