In-vehicle wireless communication
The embodiments set forth herein disclose techniques for enabling a user device to seamlessly establish a secure, high-bandwidth wireless connection with a vehicle accessory system to enable the user device to wirelessly stream user interface (UI) information to the vehicle accessory system. To implement this technique, a lower-bandwidth wireless technology (e.g., Bluetooth) is used as an initial means for establishing a Wi-Fi pairing between the user device and the vehicle accessory system. Wi-Fi parameters associated with a Wi-Fi network provided by the vehicle accessory system can be communicated to the user device using the lower-bandwidth wireless technology. A secure Wi-Fi connection can then be established between the user device and the vehicle accessory system using the provided Wi-Fi parameters. The embodiments also disclose a technique for enabling the user device to automatically reconnect with the vehicle accessory system in a seamless manner (e.g., when returning to a vehicle).
1. A method for enabling a computing device to wirelessly stream a user interface (UI) to a vehicle accessory system, the method comprising:
at the computing device:
initializing a Bluetooth link with the vehicle accessory system;
receiving, over the Bluetooth link and from the vehicle accessory system, one or more parameters associated with a Wi-Fi network that is provided by the vehicle accessory system;
establishing a connection to the Wi-Fi network in accordance with the one or more parameters;
modifying a state of the Bluetooth link when (i) the Wi-Fi network operates using a 2.4 GHz radio frequency band and (ii) the computing device is not communicating, via Bluetooth, with any other computing device aside from the vehicle accessory system;
maintaining the state of the Bluetooth link when (i) the Wi-Fi network operates using a 5 GHz radio frequency band, or (ii) the computing device is communicating, via Bluetooth, with another computing device aside from the vehicle accessory system; and
wirelessly streaming the UI to the vehicle accessory system over the Wi-Fi network.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the state of the Bluetooth link comprises terminating the Bluetooth link.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of the following properties of the Wi-Fi network: a BSSID, an SSID, a security mode, a PSK, or an operating channel.
4. The method of claim 2 , further comprising:
streaming audio data in conjunction with streaming the UI.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
detecting that the connection to the Wi-Fi network is not active;
receiving, over the Bluetooth link and from the vehicle accessory system, one or more updated parameters associated with an updated Wi-Fi network that is provided by the vehicle accessory system;
connecting to the updated Wi-Fi network in accordance with the one or more updated parameters; and
wirelessly streaming the UI to the vehicle accessory system over the updated Wi-Fi network.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UI differs from a primary UI that is displayed on a display device included in the computing device.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the UI includes at least one icon corresponding to an application hosted on the computing device.
8. A method for enabling a vehicle accessory system to wirelessly receive a user interface (UI) generated from a computing device, the method comprising:
at the vehicle accessory system:
establishing a Bluetooth link with the computing device;
providing, over the Bluetooth link, one or more parameters associated with a Wi-Fi network provided by the vehicle accessory system;
receiving, over the Bluetooth link and from the computing device, a request to establish a Wi-Fi connection, wherein the request includes at least a portion of the one or more parameters;
establishing the Wi-Fi connection with the computing device in accordance with the at least a portion of the one or more parameters;
modifying a state of the Bluetooth link when (i) the Wi-Fi network operates using a 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, and (ii) the computing device is not communicating, via Bluetooth, with any other computing device aside from the vehicle accessory system;
maintaining the state of the Bluetooth link when (i) the Wi-Fi network operates using a 5 GHz radio frequency band, or (ii) the computing device is communicating, via Bluetooth, with another computing device aside from the vehicle accessory system;
wirelessly receiving, over the Wi-Fi connection, a stream of the UI generated by the computing device; and
displaying the UI on a display device that is communicatively coupled to the vehicle accessory system.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein modifying the state of the Bluetooth link comprises terminating the Bluetooth link.
10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of the following properties of the Wi-Fi network: a BSSID, an SSID, a security mode, a PSK, or an operating channel.
11. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
streaming audio data in conjunction with streaming the UI.
12. The method of claim 8 , further comprising:
providing, to the computing device, one or more updated parameters associated with an updated Wi-Fi network provided by the vehicle accessory system;
establishing a second Wi-Fi connection with the computing device in accordance with at least a portion of the one or more updated parameters;
wirelessly receiving, over the second Wi-Fi connection, the stream of the UI; and
displaying the UI on the display device.
13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the UI differs from a primary UI that is displayed on a second display device included in the computing device.
14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the UI includes at least one icon corresponding to an application that is hosted on the computing device.
15. A system for enabling a computing device to wirelessly stream a user interface (UI) to a vehicle accessory system included in a vehicle, the system comprising:
a computing device display; and
computing device electronics, wherein the computing device electronics are configured to carry out operations that include:
initializing a Bluetooth link with the vehicle accessory system;
receiving, over the Bluetooth link and from the vehicle accessory system, one or more parameters associated with a secure Wi-Fi network provided by the vehicle accessory system;
establishing a connection to the secure Wi-Fi network in accordance with the one or more parameters;
modifying a state of the Bluetooth link when (i) the secure Wi-Fi network operates using a 2.4 GHz radio frequency band, and (ii) the computing device is not communicating, via Bluetooth, with any other computing device aside from the vehicle accessory system;
maintaining the state of the Bluetooth link when (i) the secure Wi-Fi network operates using a 5 GHz radio frequency band, or (ii) the computing device is communicating, via Bluetooth, with another computing device aside from the vehicle accessory system;
generating the UI; and
wirelessly streaming the UI to the vehicle accessory system over the secure Wi-Fi network, wherein the vehicle accessory system outputs the UI to a display device that is communicatively coupled to the vehicle accessory system.
16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the operations further include:
detecting that the connection to the secure Wi-Fi network is not active;
receiving, over the Bluetooth link and from the vehicle accessory system, one or more updated parameters associated with an updated secure Wi-Fi network that is provided by the vehicle accessory system;
connecting to the updated secure Wi-Fi network in accordance with the one or more parameters; and
wirelessly streaming the UI to the vehicle accessory system over the updated secure Wi-Fi network.
17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the UI differs from a primary UI that is displayed on the computing device display.
18. The system of claim 17 , wherein the UI includes at least one icon for an application hosted on the computing device.
19. The system of claim 15 , wherein modifying the state of the Bluetooth link comprises terminating the Bluetooth link.
20. The system of claim 15 , wherein the one or more parameters include at least one of the following properties of the Wi-Fi network: a BSSID, an SSID, a security mode, a PSK, or an operating channel.