Embedded systems has become a necessary part of the connected world. With the boom of the Internet Of Things (IoT), number and types of embedded devices is growing and so is the amount of software’s in these devices.
This article gives a solution to update embedded devices that are deployed in the field.
Before diving into how the devices can be updated, let’s try to answer the following question –
When do we need to update embedded devices deployed in field ?
Consider the following use-case – You’ve successfully developed a new product, manufactured 1000’s of devices and shipped them to different parts across the world. Down the lane, you find a major bug in the software and your customers may start shipping devices back for fixing, it can start eating into your profits. On other side you could have your engineers fix the bug, ship the fixes from a central cloud location to the deployed devices. The turn around time will be quicker, the logistical costs are significantly reduced.
What about devices that are already manufactured and deployed across the world ?
Traditional Approach:
In earlier days, a field engineer carries the an update in a flash drive or CD, travel to deployed fields and updates the devices manually. This is highly time consuming and resource intensive. The updates were generally bug fixes in firmware, a new version of the software or new drivers for upgraded hardware.
NextGen Approach:
Over-The-Air (OTA) updates.
An OTA update is a mechanism of distributing and applying updates to a device without physically going to them. This saves money for the owner and the user of the device on maintenance. The update happens through internet from cloud. Devices can be wired or wireless configured to receive software updates. With OTA, one can easily send updates to all devices from a central location. Any updates are available to devices instantly from the moment the updates are uploaded to cloud servers.
Advantages of Over The Air (OTA) Update:
- Distribute and apply updates easily from remote location.
- Complete firmware can be updated.
- Avoid product recalls.
- Avoid expenses on traveling service personnel.
- Instantaneous updates saves time and cost.
e-con systems™ has developed eSOMgears-OTA an OTA Firmware Upgrade solution that provides reliable & secure upgrades to your embedded devices, over-the-air (OTA). eSOMgears-OTA is a robust on-demand value added service to the customers who have built their products based on e-con’s eSOMiMX6.
Please visit https://www.e-consystems.com/OTA-software-linux-android-embedded-devices.asp for more information regarding eSOMgears-OTA.
Please refer https://www.e-consystems.com/blog/system-on-module-som/white-paper-design-firmware-update-solution-for-your-device/ for requirements and challenges while designing a solution for a device update.
Dharmalingam K