Research on Construction and Optimization of Vehicle

Software Updates Management System

Hanyu Li, Wenxia Ji, Haijun Wang *, Yuwei Su

CATARC Intelligent and Connected Technology Co., LTd. 300000 No.68, East Xianfeng Road,
Dongli, District, Tianjin, China

*wanghaijun2019@[Link]

Abstract. With the development of intelligent vehicles in network connection,

intelligence and architecture technology, vehicles have irreversibly required
software iterative update both in firmware and software. The successive intro-
duction of domestic and foreign regulations and policies has made the construc-
tion of vehicle software update management system a general trend, in order to
better respond to the implementation of the relevant national policy require-
ments, to build a standardized, process-oriented vehicles software update pro-
cess, empowering automotive industry enterprises to better grasp the regulations
and build a process system that meets the requirements of the necessity to opti-
mize the construction of the system is self-evident.
This article will provide a detailed description of vehicle software update man-
agement system construction and optimization measures, with the intention of
facilitating the enhancement and implementation of vehicle software update
management system capabilities.

Keywords: Intelligent and connected vehicles, Software update, Management

System, OTA security.

1 BACKGROUND

Under the development trend of electrification, intellectualisation and internet con-

nectivity of vehicles, software update technology is widely used and has become an
indispensable part of enterprises to fix vehicle problems and improve user experience.
The increase of electronic control systems in intelligent and connected vehicles makes
the demand for update the control unit software and firmware increasingly strong when
vehicles electronic components or software encounter problems.[1]
Since smart vehicles have the ability to communicate wirelessly, vehicle manufac-
turers have begun to implement remote over-the-air download (Over The Air, OTA)
update of vehicle software wirelessly, which eliminates the need for a physical recall
process and provides users with the most convenient and fastest software update ser-
vices[2].OTA technology can reduce the recall cost of vehicles after mass production,
realize the unified management of vehicle software and vehicle data, and improve the
efficiency and quality of after-sales service.[3]Therefore, the emergence of OTA

© The Author(s) 2024

V. Vasilev et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 2024 5th International Conference on Management Science and
Engineering Management (ICMSEM 2024), Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research 306,
[Link]
1366 H. Li et al.

technology poses a serious challenge to the current management standardization of

automobiles. The construction of software update management system is essential for
the whole vehicle enterprises.

2 DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL REGULATORY

REQUIREMENTS

The UN/WP.29, based on the current status and future development trend of OTA, the
181st Plenary Session of WP.29 adopted the technical regulation R156 Software Up-
date and Software Updates Management System, which was formally published on
25th June 2020, and came into effect in January 2021.R156 covers all software updates,
including updates provided by OTA and traditional means, and applies to all ECUs and
software components of vehicles. R156 sets out the requirements for the certification of
Software Updates Management System (SUMS), which standardize the process of
implementing software updates and ensure that the process of software updates is safe,
controlled and compliant. the SUMS specifies six aspects: the update process, online
updates, the security policy, the update record, general requirements for the vehicle
model, and the requirements for online updates[4].The regulations clearly state that
having a Software Updates Management System (SUMS) Certificate of Conformity is
a prerequisite for product type approval, i.e., vehicle manufacturers are not allowed to
conduct VTA tests before obtaining a SUMS Certificate of Conformity. The regulation
puts forward a clear framework of safety assurance and system requirements for vehi-
cle manufacturers. The regulation applies to member states under the UNECE 1958
agreement[5]，totaling 54 contracting parties, including all EU countries, non-EU
countries such as Eastern and Southern Europe, and non-European countries such as
Australia, Japan and Korea. It applies to Class M, N, O, R, S and T vehicles,and all
vehicles to be sold in these 54 countries must comply with the requirements of R156.
In order to further standardize, specify and refine the requirements related to the
management of vehicle software updates, the Automotive Information Security
Standard Working Group of the Intelligent Networked Vehicle Substandard Committee
of the National Technical Committee of Auto Standardization has formulated the
mandatory standard of General Technical Requirements for Software Update of Ve-
hicles , which was formed into a draft standard in November 2021, and is expected to
come into force in January 2026 on a mandatory [Link] standard formulates OTA
development management methods, test management methods and remote upgrade
management methods, while sorting out the records and filing forms of each link of
R&D and after-sales, etc., and increasing the records of preparation and implementa-
tion of updates[6]. For the specific cases in China, two requirements of user confir-
mation and door anti-locking have been added to the test requirements. The standard is
implemented through the SUMS and vehicle requirements, which are currently divided
into general requirements, process requirements, information record requirements,
safety-related requirements, and additional requirements specifically for OTA online
updates. The formulation of the national standard will further enhance and improve the
management capability and technical requirements of vehicle manufacturers and ve-
 Research on Construction and Optimization of Vehicle 1367

hicle products, and provide guarantee for improving the safety of software online
update.

3 CORPORATE COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

CONSTRUCTION

3.1 SU Management System Building Programme

The UN regulation UN ECE R156 Software Update and Software Updates Manage-
ment System and the domestic GB General Technical Requirements for Software
Update of Vehicles clearly state that automobile manufacturers should meet
the“SUMS”and the“Vehicle Requirements”. Therefore, it is imperative for enterprises
to lay out vehicles of SUMS.

3.2 Overview of the Content of the Institutional Framework

Based on the requirements of domestic and international regulations and standards such
as ISO/SAE 24089 Road Vehicles - Software Update Engineering, UN ECE R156
Software Update and Software Updates Management System, GB General Technical
Requirements for Software Update of Vehicles, Opinions on Strengthening the Man-
agement of Intelligent Connected Vehicle Manufacturing Enterprises and Product
Entry and so on, the framework is set up to cover overall management, Software Up-
date Management System framework covering overall management, software update
activity management and safety management.

3.3 Route to System Building

The construction of SUMS follows the process model of PDCA, and is carried out in
four stages: gap analysis, construction and implementation, system trial operation, and
system optimization, so as to build a more comprehensive safety framework through
scientific and systematic management means, further standardize the management of
software update in the enterprise, enhance the management capability of software
update, and achieve the goals of safety risk prevention and control and software update
guarantee that meets the requirements of the laws and regulations.

Gap Analysis. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the implementation of the

management system, at the early stage of the system construction, combined with
ISO/SAE 24089, UN ECE R156, GB General Technical Requirements for Software
Update of Vehicles and other domestic and international regulations, we carried out a
gap analysis by means of research, diagnosed the coverage of the enterprise software
update management process, compared the requirements of the regulations and stand-
ards, and sorted out the gap items.
1368 H. Li et al.

Construction Implementation. In the process of system construction, based on the

requirements of standards and regulations as well as the output of gap analyses, the
responsible units, inputs and outputs, and upstream and downstream relations of
software update activities are determined from the pre-update, update and post-update
of software to form a software update management system applicable to the enter-
prise.(see Fig. 1)

Fig. 1. Full lifecycle information management for software updates

The construction of SUMS is carried out in several aspects, including software up-
date assessment process, safe software update process, update notification and disposal.
The software update evaluation process mainly includes: evaluation of update demand
and feasibility of update technology, evaluation of update system dependency, evalu-
ation of the impact of type certification, evaluation of software compatibility, evalua-
tion of vehicle safety and continuous operation. Update security mainly includes:
authenticity and integrity verification of the update package, security measures in the
update process, vehicle status and appropriateness of software code. Update notifica-
tion and disposal mainly include: notification of update contents and update results, and
emergency disposal of update emergencies.
After the completion of the system specification, the relevant personnel responsible
for system construction to convene a review meeting on the formation of the man-
agement system specification document for the demonstration of the review.

System Trial Run. After the completion of the SUMS, in accordance with the control
requirements of the management system specification document, the enterprise shall
publish and implement the SUMS document and enter the trial run stage. Software
update management personnel shall be in accordance with the requirements of the
sums, software update management activities related to the landing exercise, the for-
mation of the relevant business SUMS trial run records, verify the appropriateness of
the system specification, the adequacy and effectiveness of the system, according to the
results of the trial run of the system to correct, change.
 Research on Construction and Optimization of Vehicle 1369

System Optimization. After the system trial run, carry out the system review and
optimization and rectification, for process operation, personnel awareness, supporting
tools and templates to carry out evaluation and summary of the work, and for the trial
run of the system found in the process of the system document itself there are problems,
in accordance with the continuous improvement control mechanism to improve, to
ensure that to achieve the goal of perfecting the construction of software update man-
agement system, to ensure that the system's consistency, validity, appropriateness and
adequacy. The system is consistent, effective, appropriate and sufficient.

4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF

SYSTEM BUILDING

4.1 Building an Efficient Management Organization

When building a system, establishing a reasonable and efficient organizational struc-
ture will make the building process faster. Enterprises should establish a reasonable
organizational structure, so that the division of labour in each process of software
update is clear. Set up Vehicle Software Update Management Committee as the deci-
sion-making organization of SUMS, responsible for the implementation of domestic
and international policies, regulations and standards of software update requirements,
the company's deployment of vehicle software update decision-making, etc.; the
committee set up Vehicle Software Update Office under the committee, the director of
the Vehicle Software Update Management Committee and the director of the Vehicle
Software Update Office, responsible for the day-to-day operation of the SUMS. The
director of the Vehicle Software Updates Management Committee shall also be the
director of the Vehicle Software Update Office, responsible for the daily operation of
the SUMS. Set up a Working Group on Software Updates, responsible for the imple-
mentation and execution of the SUMS in each department, and process management
and correspondence based on the update [Link] should define the business
flow of the whole process of software update, clarify the relationship between upstream
and downstream, ensure that each business can be carried out effectively in accordance
with the procedures, realize the rapid delivery of software development, and improve
the efficiency of software development.(see Fig. 2. )
1370 H. Li et al.

Vehicle Software Update Management Committee

Vehicle Software Update Office

A B D E F
C

Working Group on Software Updates

Fig. 2. Full lifecycle information management for software updates

4.2 Optimization of Security Mechanisms

In order to address possible problems with OTA updates, various measures can be
taken to prevent vehicles from being remotely attacked as well as data tampering,
such as through integrity verification, authentication and key management. Data in-
tegrity requires that data is not authorized to be accessed and tampered with without
permission. Studies have shown that tampered data packets may allow vehicles to be
attacked remotely, threatening the safety of the vehicle and its users[7].Service integ-
rity requires that software updates are not interfered with by malware or other mali-
cious modifications throughout the process (DOS attacks, selective forwarding, node
capture, etc.)[8].Service integrity may be compromised from the time the package is
downloaded to the time it is installed. In order to avoid the data integrity and service
integrity of OTA service being compromised, the data integrity of the update package
should be verified both in the cloud and at the end of the vehicle to prevent unauthor-
ized access and tampering of the update package.[9] Data integrity assurance in the
update is mainly achieved through the hash function, common hash functions are MD5,
SHA-1, SHA-256, etc. The verification of the hash value ensures the integrity of the
firmware data. For car companies, the use of hash values for verification will lead to
excessive data memory occupation, you can use the hash function to verify the integrity
of automotive ECU data system. The system verifies the transmitted data through the
hash function to ensure the integrity of the data in the transmission and storage process,
thus reducing the risk of ECU data being attacked and tampered with, and making
verification more convenient and faster.
To ensure the efficiency and reliability of the OTA update process, OEMs and
network operators may choose to use robust and reliable communication protocols to
establish efficient communication between the cloud and the vehicle. In addition,
robust software programs need to be designed to meet the need to be able to automat-
ically renew, auto-detect, and perform failure restarts in the event of an update inter-
ruption[10].
 Research on Construction and Optimization of Vehicle 1371

4.3 Integration Management

Facing the requirements of the regulations, enterprises should establish and improve
the software update management system, covering the whole life cycle of the software
update management system and standardized processes, and pay attention to the
strategy of the software update related activities and the recording and storage of in-
formation on the implementation details. Enterprises should also set up corresponding
safety strategies to ensure the reliable implementation of the update, and carry out a
comprehensive assessment of the software update, focusing on its impact on the pa-
rameters/systems related to type approval or vehicle safety-related functions, as well
as the relevance of the updated systems/functions to the systems/functions of other
vehicles and the compatibility with the existing configuration of the vehicle. In order
to ensure effective handling of software update contingencies, the enterprise should
establish a risk control system and emergency response process for software update
events. In addition, the key to effective compliance of the software update manage-
ment system is its application, so enterprises need to apply the management system in
the development of specific vehicle models to realize the implementation of the sys-
tem on the ground. Enterprises should actively participate in the review of regulatory
agencies to ensure that the application of OTA update complies with laws, regulations
and regulatory requirements.
In the face of the shortcomings of traditional system-building,Enterprises can adopt
the “tool + system”integration management method to carry out the construction of
[Link] design of the software management platform is shown in the following
below.(see Fig. 3. )

Software Update Process Management RXSWIN Management

Achieve full life-cycle control of software updates; Responding to new requirements of domestic and
Achieve the update process to be compliant and international regulations;
legal; Realising systematic control of RXSWIN;
Achieve process controllability and traceability; Realising information systematic management of
Achieve the updating information record and model configuration;
traceability;

Automated Audit Regulatory Functional Library

Audit standard rules are standardised to reduce the Realisation of integrated tandem management
impact of human factors; of certification:
The filing and auditing process is front-loaded, which Global standards system enquiry;
improves the passing rate of formal auditing and Regulatory function association management;
reduces the auditing time. Functional ECU association management;

Fig. 3. Software management platform design

Introducing the vehicle software management platform, the platform integrates six
panels of software updates, which comprehensively covers the whole process of soft-
ware updates, RXSWIN management, system audits, and meets the compliance re-
quirements of R156 and GB and OTA filing [Link] automation and com-
1372 H. Li et al.

pliance of the whole life cycle process of software update system construction can not
only meet the requirements of regulations, but also improve the efficiency of enter-
prise configuration [Link] integrating the process system into the configura-
tion management tool and focusing on the regulatory requirements,the working effi-
ciency can be increased by nearly 35%, and the enterprise can free itself from the
dependence on the consultant, reduce the personnel investment, and realize the sys-
tematic management of the software update system construction and update filing
activities.

4.4 High-Quality Development of Software

In the process of software development, the quality of software delivery often deter-
mines the success of the software development project.
To ensure high quality software development, we need to formulate software up-
date process management procedures, define the business flow of the whole process
of software update, clarify the upstream and downstream interface relationship, en-
sure that each business can be carried out effectively in accordance with the proce-
dures, to achieve rapid delivery of software development, and improve the efficiency
of software development. Secondly, it defines the software quality assurance process,
establishes a comprehensive testing strategy, including software unit testing, system
integration testing, vehicle functional testing, etc., covering all software testing sce-
narios required by the standards, monitors the quality status of the software and estab-
lishes quality metrics during the software development process to ensure that the
quality of the software meets the standards and requirements. Third, establish the
software version management process, record and control the hardware and software
configuration information in the update process, formulate the software version re-
lease plan, carry out software version management according to the plan, and track
the latest status of the software version, organize the final version review meeting for
the final software configuration information, and after the review is passed by the
departments, release the latest software configuration of the update activity and carry
out the maintenance to ensure that each update There are clear version records and
change history. Fourthly, a reasonable release strategy is formulated to clarify the
update method, release cycle and release channels to ensure the smooth progress of
software update.

5 CONCLUSION

The current programme for the construction of SUMS is not perfect. This paper starts
from domestic and foreign regulations, systematically introduces the construction of
SUMS, as well as construction optimization analysis, puts forward the construction of
efficient organizational structure, optimization of safety mechanism, integration
management of three aspects of the optimization programme, to help enterprises to
improve the ability of software update construction.
 Research on Construction and Optimization of Vehicle 1373

REFERENCES
1. ZHU Y , WU S. (2022)Analysis on Software Online Updating Regulations for Intelligent
and Connected Vehicles. Au⁃ tomotive Digest (Chinese), 10:6-10.
2. RIGGS C, RIGAUD C, BEARD R, et al. A Survey on Con⁃ nected Vehicles Vulnerabili-
ties and Countermeasures. Journal of Traffic and Logistics Engineering, 6(1): 11
16,(2019).
3. Wang D,Tang L,Chen B.(2018)The Research of OTA Function Design for Intelligent and
Connected [Link] Technology,10: 29-33.
4. Kun, D. and Jiayi, L., Special Purpose Vehicle, UN Regulation Introduction,
78-81,4(2018).
5. UNITED NATIONS. Software update and software update management system, UN Reg-
ulation No. 156. [Link] 04-
04) [2022- 07- 29]
6. Jie Gao,Qing Wang.A Design Scheme of OTA Upgrade Service Platform for Electric ve-
hicles,Computer Knowledge and Technology,13(8):209-211.(2017)
7. KNOCKEL J, CRANDALL J R. Protecting Free and Open Communications on the Inter-
net Against Man-inthe-mid⁃ dle Attacks on Third-party Software: we’re FOCI’d//
USENIX Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet, Bellevue, WA,
(2012).
8. KUPPUSAMY T K, DELONG L A, CAPPOS J. Uptane: Security and Customizability of
Software Updates for Vehi⁃ cles. IEEE Vehicular Technology, 13 (1): 66-73,(2018).
9. WANG J, WEN H, CHEN Y.(2024) Analysis on Key Technology and Regulatory Re-
quirement for Automotive Over the Air Update. Automotive Digest (Chinese), 4: 19-27.
10. Xiaohui [Link] on Secure FOTA Upgrade Method for In-vehicle Domain Con-
troller Architecture[D]. Changchun:Jilin University,(2022).

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial 4.0 International License ([Link]
which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any
medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the
source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.
The images or other third party material in this chapter are included in the chapter's
Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material
is not included in the chapter's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not
permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain
permission directly from the copyright holder.