System and method for bringing programmability and connectivity into isolated vehicles
According to various embodiments, a system for vehicular application development is disclosed. The system includes a programmable on-board diagnostics (OBD)-connected dongle for providing computational and storage resources to a vehicle and hosting one or more applications in the vehicle. The dongle is configured to utilize one or more external devices, cloud servers, and add-on modules to provide additional resources for the applications and enable control of the applications. The dongle is implemented with a middleware that enables intended operations of the dongle.
1. A system for vehicular application development comprising:
a programmable on-board diagnostics (OBD)-connected dongle configured to be attached to a vehicle OBD port for providing computational and storage resources to the vehicle and hosting one or more applications in the vehicle;
the dongle configured to utilize one or more external devices, cloud servers, and add-on modules to provide additional computational and storage resources for the applications and enable control of the applications;
the dongle being implemented with a middleware that enables intended operations of the dongle, the middleware comprising:
an update management module configured to enable updating of the applications and the middleware itself from an update stored on the cloud servers;
a data collection module configured to enable access of at least one of sensory and non-sensory data from the vehicle and the one or more add-on modules;
an application management module configured to enable user control of the applications via the one or more external devices;
a port management module configured to enable control of the vehicle OBD port via the applications; and
an access control module configured to enable one or more policies regarding access of the applications and the one or more add-on modules to the at least one of sensory and non-sensory data from the vehicle.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the access control module comprises:
a policy enforcement subsystem configured to ensure the applications and the one or more add-on modules comply with at least one of predefined and user-defined policies;
a context recognition subsystem configured to continually detect a plurality of contexts to enable setting preferences with respect to these contexts; and
a policy management subsystem configured to enable policy preferences.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the sensory data comprises one or more of coolant temperature, engine rotation per minute (RPM), ambient temperature, and air pressure, and the non-sensory data comprises one or more of global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, vehicle identification number, and make and model of the vehicle.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the dongle is further configured to collect and process data for the applications and one or more third-party dongles.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the add-on modules comprise input/output devices, the input/output devices comprising one or more of cameras, sensors, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, microphones, voice assistant systems, and computing/storage units.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the dongle is further configured to communicate via at least one of short-range and long-range communication channels.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the applications comprise one or more of an amber response application and an insurance monitor application.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the applications comprise one or more of sign detection, collision detection, transmission assistance, vehicle performance enhancement, environmental crowdsensing, map creation, smart advertisements, and surveillance.
9. The system of claim 1 , further comprising an authentication subsystem to protect private information based on one or more of vehicle identification number, remote deactivation, and external authentication.
10. A system for vehicular application development comprising:
a programmable on-board diagnostics (OBD)-connected dongle for providing computational and storage resources to a vehicle and hosting one or more applications in the vehicle;
the dongle configured to utilize one or more external devices, cloud servers, and add-on modules to provide additional computational and storage resources for the applications and enable control of the applications;
the dongle being implemented with a middleware that enables intended operations of the dongle, the middleware comprising:
an update management module configured to enable updating of the applications and the middleware itself;
a data collection module configured to enable access of at least one of sensory and non-sensory data from the vehicle;
an application management module configured to enable user control of the applications via the one or more external devices;
a port management module configured to enable control of the vehicle OBD port via the applications; and
an access control module configured to enable one or more policies regarding access of the applications to the at least one of sensory and non-sensory data from the vehicle.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the access control module comprises:
a policy enforcement subsystem configured to ensure the applications and the one or more add-on modules comply with at least one of predefined and user-defined policies;
a context recognition subsystem configured to continually detect a plurality of contexts to enable setting preferences with respect to these contexts; and
a policy management subsystem configured to enable policy preferences.
12. The system of claim 10 , wherein the sensory data comprises one or more of coolant temperature, engine rotation per minute (RPM), ambient temperature, and air pressure, and the non-sensory data comprises one or more of global positioning system (GPS) coordinates, vehicle identification number, and make and model of the vehicle.
13. The system of claim 10 , wherein the dongle is further configured to collect and process data for the applications and one or more third-party dongles.
14. The system of claim 10 , wherein the add-on modules comprise input/output devices, the input/output devices comprising one or more of cameras, sensors, global positioning system (GPS) receivers, microphones, voice assistant systems, and computing/storage units.
15. The system of claim 10 , wherein the dongle is further configured to communicate via at least one of short-range and long-range communication channels.
16. The system of claim 10 , wherein the applications comprise one or more of an amber response application and an insurance monitor application.
17. The system of claim 10 , wherein the applications comprise one or more of sign detection, collision detection, transmission assistance, vehicle performance enhancement, environmental crowdsensing, map creation, smart advertisements, and surveillance.
18. The system of claim 10 , further comprising an authentication subsystem to protect private information based on one or more of vehicle identification number, remote deactivation, and external authentication.
19. A method for vehicular application development comprising:
providing a programmable on-board diagnostics (OBD)-connected dongle for providing computational and storage resources to a vehicle and hosting one or more applications in the vehicle;
configuring the dongle to utilize one or more external devices, cloud servers, and add-on modules to provide additional computational and storage resources for the applications and enable control of the applications; and
implementing the dongle with a middleware that enables intended operations of the dongle, the middleware comprising:
an update management module configured to enable updating of the applications and the middleware itself;
a data collection module configured to enable access of at least one of sensory and non-sensory data from the vehicle;
an application management module configured to enable user control of the applications via the one or more external devices;
a port management module configured to enable control of the vehicle OBD port via the applications; and
an access control module configured to enable one or more policies regarding access of the applications to the at least one of sensory and non-sensory data from the vehicle.
20. The method of claim 19 , further comprising implementing the access control module with:
a policy enforcement subsystem configured to ensure the applications and the one or more add-on modules comply with at least one of predefined and user-defined policies;
a context recognition subsystem configured to continually detect a plurality of contexts to enable setting preferences with respect to these contexts; and
a policy management subsystem configured to enable policy preferences.