Secure Over-the-Air Updates Save Users Time and Money

Bosch Rexroth enables large-scale remote updating of off-highway machines – this will also be rolled out for third-party controllers in the future.

The new BODAS Connect module presented by Bosch Rexroth enables secure over-the-air updates of control units, regardless of the size of the vehicle fleet or how it is spread out. Manufacturers can now roll out new features, amend important parameters and ensure compatibility with new attachments across the board. The new OTA service works with all Rexroth controllers and in the future will also work with third-party devices where implemented by partners. Bosch Rexroth is therefore significantly helping to reduce the time and costs involved in the case of increasingly software-based vehicles with semi-automated and autonomous functions.

Manufacturers keen to swiftly roll out innovative functions require secure over-the-air services for the electric/electronic vehicle architecture. The new campaign management for blanket OTA updates reduces economic risks for manufacturers, OEMs and service providers. Ensuring that software is always up-to-date prevents the need for expensive recalls and field work, and lightens the operational and administrative load of service personnel.

Bosch Rexroth’s OTA mechanisms have been tried and tested over many years and ensure complete and continuous machine availability. The processor-based Rexroth Connectivity Unit (RCU) functions as a secure connection between the cloud and the vehicle. The robust telematics unit which features multiple safeguards first of all ensures a full file transfer, after which the corresponding authorization is provided before the target device is then updated in the vehicle via the CAN bus using a wired connection. This update process is therefore as stable and secure as the traditional update method using hardware such as a laptop and a diagnostics tool.

The BODAS Connect modular telematics architecture enables an asynchronous and parallel approach and therefore meets two other basic requirements for large-scale OTA updates. Firstly, update managers and machine operators can carry out the update independently of each other. Secondly, blanket updates can also be triggered simultaneously from a single location.

The new campaign management with its integrated version control enables users to always have an overview of the current software status of their vehicle fleet. As the size of the fleet increases, they benefit from significant time and cost savings. There are also other advantages linked to the reduced complexity in heterogeneous device environments. This is because the modular, open and scalable BODAS Connect architecture can be used not only to update Rexroth controllers over the air but also third-party control units too. 

Essentially, BODAS Connect creates the technological basis for large-scale flashing of a wide range of different control unit versions and models – including third-party controllers. In the case of the latter, Bosch Rexroth will play the role of a neutral technology partner, while the relevant partners add the individual flash sequences. Relevant pilot projects with international manufacturers are already under way.