Over the past decade, technology has advanced rapidly. ZettaScale maintains its commitment to innovation, especially in the automotive sector. Our Eclipse Zenoh protocol plays a crucial role here.
Eclipse SDV, our collaborator, focuses on open-source software for automotive architectures. It provides a platform for collaboration and encourages companies to create blueprints addressing real automotive needs.
Eclipse Zenoh, a key project of Eclipse SDV, is essential for real automotive applications. We’re proud to work with other projects within this group. Notably, the Blue Dragon protocol is now part of General Motors’ Eclipse uProtocol, shaping the next-gen vehicle platform.
Eclipse SDV leads the automotive industry’s open-source movement. Sarah Gallian, the Programme Manager, spearheads their mission to create an open-source software platform and encourage industry collaborations.
The group believes open-source is essential but insufficient alone. Two critical elements for success are contribution and collaboration. Contribution involves transferring IP rights to a foundation like the Eclipse Foundation for a level playing field, while collaboration fosters a sustainable and predictable environment.
Sarah Gallian accepted our invitation to share more about Eclipse SDV’s role in the industry during our Zenoh User Meeting 2023.
Zenoh unifies car communication from the MCU to the cloud of vehicles
If you’re new to our community, Zenoh is a new communication protocol that aims to solve the complex challenges of building a system that spans from microcontrollers to data centres.
The current approach of using multiple protocols to communicate and deal with network addresses has become increasingly problematic. This creates a digital Frankenstein and projects hard to manage.
This communication protocol was created to address these limitations and provide a more data-centric solution. It aims to simplify the integration of different technologies and offer higher levels of abstraction to support complex applications.
If you want to learn more about the Blue Dragon protocol, take a look at the features we released in 2023 and the roadmap for 2024. As we move ahead, we continue to explore other features requested by our users.
Specifically discussing Zenoh’s contribution to the automotive industry, our team hosted a series of live webinars and a panel discussion with experts from Eclipse SDV, GM, Continental and ETAS. If you want to learn more, watch the recordings on our website.
The Integration of Eclipse Zenoh into Fleet Management Blueprint
The Eclipse SDV working group ecosystem offers essential components to address the challenges of Software Defined Vehicles.
Utilizing the blueprints initiative, various projects are combined to demonstrate technology tailored to real-world automotive scenarios. One such example is the Fleet Management blueprint, designed specifically to cater to the needs of truck fleet management.
The problem: Challenges in Truck Fleet Management
Imagine trying to navigate rush hour traffic with no standardised road signs. That’s the challenge facing the commercial fleet industry today. There’s no common way to organize data from trucks, making it difficult for fleet management software to work seamlessly. This means companies have to rely on custom solutions for each type of vehicle, hindering the creation of comprehensive fleet management systems.
Traditionally, data management has employed separate communication technologies for real-time (“data in motion”) and stored (“data at rest”) information. This approach results in a tangled network of dependencies on software artifacts.
Moreover, regardless of their locations (even in different cities), all truck data is channeled to a centralized, monolithic cloud platform. This centralized approach is akin to directing everyone through a single congested city center, irrespective of their destination being on the opposite side of the country.
The Solution: COVESA VSS powered by Zenoh
To tackle the challenge of inconsistent truck fleet management, the solution combines a smart communication technology and a data translator.
- Zenoh: is a pub/sub/query protocol unifying data in motion, data at rest and computations. It elegantly blends traditional pub/sub with geo distributed storage, queries and computations, while retaining a level of time and space efficiency that is well beyond any of the mainstream stacks.
- Eclipse KUKSA.val: Abstracts the vehicle data and interface to a common format based on COVESA Vehicle signal specification.
Our colleague and fellow Zettler, Phani Gangula (Senior Solution Architect focusing on automotive), wrote a blog post discussing unlocking fleet efficiency with COVESA VSS powered by Eclipse Zenoh over the Zetta Platform.
How Data Flows within the FMS Blueprint
In the blueprint, truck data is translated by the KUKSA broker. It takes signals from vehicles and changes them into a common format set by the COVESA Vehicle Signal Specification (COVESA VSS). This standard language organizes vehicle data neatly.
With COVESA VSS, fleet management providers can get information from different trucks easily, regardless of their make or model, using the Vehicle Signal Specification.
Now, this VSS data moves over Zenoh from the trucks straight to the services that need it. It acts as a single communication channel, removing the need for complex communication setups, making data delivery smoother. But Zenoh does more than just transport.
Picture Zenoh routers as small data storage hubs near the trucks – perfect for situations where real-time access is vital. This “edge storage” keeps important data ready. No matter where the data is stored, Zenoh Query works like a clever search engine focused on data. It automatically finds the quickest way to get the specific data the services need.
Here is a summary of the features that makes Zenoh a perfect match for Fleet Management Systems:
- Streamlined Communication: Unlike complex multilayered transports, Zenoh uses a single, efficient protocol to move data from trucks to fleet management systems. This ensures fast and reliable data transfer, minimizing delays.
- Intelligent Routing: Dynamic environments with constantly moving vehicles are no problem for Zenoh. Its adaptive routing algorithms automatically adjust data flow based on real-time changes, ensuring optimal performance even as your fleet grows or moves around.
- Distributed Storage: Zenoh routers act as mini data centers near your vehicles. This “edge storage” keeps critical data readily available for real-time needs, like diagnostics or immediate decision-making.
- Resource Efficiency: Zenoh optimises data transfer and storage, minimizing the strain on your systems. This allows for efficient operation even with large and dynamic fleets.
Conclusion
Exciting times lie ahead as open source continues to transform how we approach innovation in the automotive industry.
If you recently discovered Zenoh and want to learn more, watch the Zenoh tutorials our team recorded. If you want to join the community, visit our Discord channel. We are always excited to welcome new members.