Vehicle Intelligence and Remote Wireless OBD 2000-01-3506

This paper introduces inexpensive methods for creating intelligent vehicles using existing technology which is aimed primarily at supporting the next generation of on-board diagnostic (OBD) regulations. Whereas these regulations may require remote wireless connectivity with the vehicular ECU, the technology needed to comply with these regulations will engender additional cost which can be best justified by harnessing the same technology for other purposes.

Compliance with future OBD requirements is achieved through a proposed standard called the Automotive Telemetry Protocol (ATP), which is derived from well-known methods for remote diagnostics and management of Internet nodes. An on-board data acquisition and communications device is described which implements this protocol while simultaneously providing for alternative wireless data links between the vehicle and the Internet.

One of the data links proposed is the IEEE 802.11 specification for wireless LAN's, using a direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) RF physical layer. This offers the possibility for vehicular transportation and environmental regulators to monitor high volumes of traffic, within the range of wireless LAN access points. The access points fulfill the role of Internet routers and Mobile IP mobility agents and can be strategically located relative to the highway infrastructure.

When the on-board device is enabled for IEEE 802.11, direct inter-vehicle communications becomes feasible. The proposed ATP standard for remote OBD is adopted as the fundamental mechanism for exchange of real-time operational information between vehicles. This provides a foundation for distributed processing within an ad-hoc network of vehicles moving within range of each other on the highway, which is called cluster intelligence. A basic set of services is defined that enables vehicles within a cluster to share critical operation information. This method of imbuing intelligence in the vehicles is seen as a more cost-effective approach to achieving intelligent transportation systems than one based on augmenting the electronics in the highway infrastructure beyond what is required for Internet connectivity.