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Monthly Archives: March 2020

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Development of ASIL Compliant Secure Bootloader for Automotive Tier-1 Customers

 

Business Context

ECU Reprogramming capability is one of the pre-requisites of an automotive control unit. And Flash Bootloader is the piece of software that makes it possible.

With control units getting more safety critical, the security of the data to be flashed on to these ECUs assumes much importance.

Automotive Suppliers and OEMs developing applications like ADAS, Telematics, Body Control Modules, etc. require flash Bootloaders equipped with security features such as Digital Signature, Encryption, HMS and others.

ISO 26262 standard also has certain guidelines regarding the security aspect of the Flash Bootloader.

We have been technology partners to several customers who are developing ISO 26262 complaint applications.

Embitel, as one of the leading technology vendors for automotive suppliers and OEMs, has partnered with many customers for the development of such ASIL compliant secure bootloaders.
 

About the Secure Bootloader Solution

Our Secure Bootloader solution is equipped with five security components- AES-128, Digital Signature, CRC32, HMS Drivers, Secondary Bootloader (SBL). These components ensure that the inter-ECU data transmission is secure and data integrity is not compromised.

Secure Bootloader Solution Overview:

  1. Cyber Security: It is implemented as per the customer’s requirement as well as the ASIL grade assigned to the project. For one of our customers, we have used AES 128 algorithm for encryption/decryption of the image file. Data is secured using the AES 128 algorithm before sending it to the ECU from the flashing device.
  2. Secondary Bootloader (SBL): Our Flash Bootloader secured with the help of Secondary Bootloader follows the following sequence:
    • A Secondary Bootloader with the Flash driver (A small binary file) gets downloaded to the Bootloader’s RAM.
    • Read and Write function is performed by the Bootloader to flash the ECU.
    • After the re-programming is completed, the flash driver is deleted from the RAM of the Bootloader

    As per the ISO 26262 standard, Flash Driver, which is responsible for read/write/erase, is implemented outside the Flash Bootloader software. This is a safety mechanism implemented to prevent unintended writing/erasing of the data.

  3. Digital Signature: Our secure Bootloader solution uses SHA 256 Algorithm for Digital Signature. Depending on the project’s requirements, we have also used AES 128 and other algorithms for the purpose. When secured with Digital Signature, the Bootloader uses SHA-256 algorithm to 256 bits image of the update data. The automotive ECU validates this digital signature before downloading the image file for ECU flashing.
  4. CRC32: Data Integrity is validated using CRC32 that is an error detecting code which is part of the Base Software of the Bootloader solution. If there is a corruption in the data while ECU flashing, it will be identified by CRC32. In such an instance of corruption, the data will not be accepted by the ECU and will be notified to the flashing tool.
  5. Hardware Security Module: Some microcontrollers come with built-in HSM module that implements security for the Bootloader. We developed the HSM device driver for the Bootloader Software to access the HSM module of the microcontroller. HSM also works with the AES algorithm in order to implement secure Bootloader.

We have the expertise to develop the device driver for the HSM module for different MCU families like NXP, Atmel, Infineon, Texas Instrument, Renesas, Cypress, ST Micro, Fujitsu, Microchip, Silabs and more.
 

Value-Adds of our Secure Bootloader Solution

  • No loss of data during ECU Flashing
  • Completely secure bootloader that cannot be hacked
  • 100% Image Validation is achieved
  • ISO 26262 compliant Secure Bootloader
  • Readily available components with project-specific configuration and device driver development

 

Tools and Technologies

  • Microcontroller– Infineon, NXP, Atmel, Microchip, Texas Instrument and more
  • Tasking Compiler: Used for code compilation and debugging
  • VFlash: Tool for ECU reprogramming

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How Magento 2 Migration Provides a Competitive Edge to Ecommerce Stores

Category : ecommerce-insights

 

In a time where social distancing is encouraged for our safety, ecommerce stores are the need of the hour. Customers prefer to have their purchases delivered to their doorstep rather than risk stepping into a crowded store during the government-imposed quarantine. Online shopping has become a safe and convenient option for consumers around the world.

So, how can offline retailers make the best of the situation and provide a smooth and safe shopping experience to their customers? By setting up an online store backed by a robust ecommerce platform, of course!

In line with this, the implementation of Magento Commerce has an edge over other ecommerce platforms due to its ingenious features and ability to deliver exceptional customer experience.

Online retailers with stores operating on older versions of Magento should consider an immediate migration to the latest Magento 2 platform.

Migrating from any ecommerce store platform to Magento 2 is easy when store owners opt for reliable Magento 2 migration services or seek the help of expert Magento developers to guide them with the process. Here is an insightful Magento 2 migration guide that focuses on:

  1. Magento 1 to Magento 2 migration
    • Magento 2 migration steps
    • Benefits of upgrading to Magento 2
    • Risks of not migrating/upgrading to Magento 2
    • Magento 2 migration issues
    • Magento 2 migration cost and timeline
  2. Migration from other platforms to Magento 2
    • PrestaShop to Magento 2 migration
    • Opencart to Magento 2 migration
    • Shopify to Magento 2 migration
    • WooCommerce to Magento 2 migration
  3. How Magento 2 will resolve the existing pain points of customers and store owners

 

Magento 1 to Magento 2 Migration

3 important reasons for upgrading from Magento 1 to Magento 2 are:

  1. Magento no longer provides updates to Magento 1 versions.
  2. Magento 2 provides improved results and enhanced site performance.
  3. Any changes made to the Magento 1 platform will have to be repeated in Magento 2 whenever store owners decide to upgrade their ecommerce platform.

Before carrying out the migration process, adhere to these prerequisites in the Magento 2 migration checklist:

  • Create a backup of the Magento 1 website such as the database, folders and files.
  • Decide what features and data need to be retained in the Magento 2 website and what has to be removed.
  • If Magento 1 extensions/themes are compatible with Magento 2 then integrate the same. If not, then check for compatible extensions, themes and custom code on the Magento 2 marketplace that are equivalent to or match the current Magento 1 themes and extensions.
  • Use the cloned database of Magento 1 site to carry out the migration process rather than using the live store.
  • Use Magento 2 Data Migration Tool for migrating critical data like store settings and configuration, production information, order history, categories, customer data, etc. from Magento 1 site to Magento 2 site.

 

Magento 2 Migration Steps

Magento 2 migration can be carried out by hiring experienced Magento developers. The migration process broadly involves 4 steps: data migration, theme migration, extension migration and customizations migration.

Here is a step-by-step look at what needs to be done at a high level:

  1. Review the extensions on your current website and identify the ones that will have to be migrated.
  2. Prepare the Magento 2 store for migration. This involves the following steps:
    • Setting up of the Magento 2 hardware system that is in alignment with the Magento 1 system
    • Ensuring that the system meets all the Magento 2 system requirements
    • Installing Magento 2.x and Data Migration Tool
    • Making custom adjustments to the Data Migration Tool, if needed
  3. Next is the dry run phase. It is advisable to test all the migration steps in a test environment before the actual migration is executed. Dry run includes the following activities:
    • Copying Magento 1 store to a staging server
    • Completely migrating the cloned Magento 1 store to Magento 2
    • Testing the Magento 2 store thoroughly
  4. Initiate the migration. This involves the following activities:
    • The Data Migration Tool should have access to the Magento 1 and Magento 2 databases. The relevant ports should be opened in the firewall.
    • Stop specific activities in the Magento 1.x Admin Panel.
    • Stop all Magento 1.x cron jobs.
    • Manually copy the Magento 1.x media files to Magento 2.x
    • Using the Data Migration Tool, move the data from Magento 1 database to Magento 2 database.
    • Reindex all the Magento 2.x indexers.
  5. If desired, you can make changes to the migrated data.
  6. Incrementally capture data updates from Magento 1 store and move these to Magento 2 store.
  7. The final step is going live. This involves the following steps:
    • Put the Magento 1 store in maintenance mode and stop incremental updates.
    • Start the Magento 2 cron jobs.
    • Reindex the stock indexer in Magento 2 system.
    • Hit pages in the Magento 2 system to cache pages before customers.
    • Modify the DNS and load balancers to point to the new production hardware.
    • The Magento 2 store can be operational now.

 

Benefits of Upgrading to Magento 2

Magento Migration

 

The Magento ecommerce platform has been successfully serving small, medium and large-scale ecommerce enterprises around the world so far. However, since the announcement of the end of official support for Magento 1 versions from June 2020, it’s imperative that online stores switch to Magento 2 at the earliest to gain an upper hand in the world of ecommerce.

Those who have migrated to Magento 2 are enjoying the following benefits:

  • Intuitive UI
  • Supports PHP 7
  • User-friendly checkout method
  • Easy navigational capabilities
  • Default full-page cache setting
  • Increased page load speed
  • Database optimizations
  • Improved and powerful inventory management
  • Over 30 security improvements
  • Live chat support
  • Powerful message queue framework
  • Improved indexers
  • Excellent performance capabilities
  • Better B2B infrastructure

According to a study conducted by Stax (a global strategy consultancy) on the business value offered by Magento 2 migration, the benefits of upgrading to Magento 2 which offers native B2B functionality, multi-site capabilities and comprehensive security standards include:

  • Improved website conversion rates
  • Increased site traffic
  • Increased average order value
  • Ability to drive revenue growth
  • Easy-to-use content development functionality which enabled cost savings of up to 62% when developing and maintaining new content
  • Cost savings of up to 91% when using an average Magento 2 extension rather than building comparable functionality on prior platform
  • Greater efficiency was achieved by purchasing from Magento 2 extension marketplace, as they offer built-in premier extensions that reduce the time and money spent on implementing key capabilities.

 

Risks of Not Migrating/Upgrading to Magento 2

  • Losing the edge to outmaneuver competitors
  • Operating on outdated software can be cumbersome and expensive if the site crashes
  • Missing out on improved site performances, greater efficiency, cost savings and higher search engine rankings provided by Magento 2 features
  • Violating PCI compliance
  • Old Magento 1 versions are pervious to security attacks without updated support

Taking the risks into consideration, it is wise to jump on the Magento 2 bandwagon before it is too late!
 

Magento 2 Migration Issues

Many ecommerce store owners have already recognized the competitive edge that the new version of Magento Commerce has to offer and begun the migration process from Magento 1 to Magento 2 platform. While some migrations have been simple and smooth sailing, some others have been experiencing issues during and after the process. Here is a list of some of the common Magento 2 migration issues that one may face, along with effective solutions:

  1. Slowing down of website operation: During the Magento 2 migration process, operations can slow down for myriad reasons. It is prudent to plan the migration carefully and to learn how the Magento migration process works.
    • Solution: To combat this issue, store owners can carry out the migration process during their off season, keep the customers informed of the migration and request their co-operation until the migration is completed.
  2. Lowering search engine rankings: Ecommerce site rankings can lower due to change in URL, duplicate content, store redesign, broken links, etc. during and after the migration.
  3. Theme/extension incompatibility: Magento 2 platform may not have the same customized themes and extensions that ecommerce store owners used in Magento 1 platform. This incompatibility or inconsistency in themes and extensions can result in poor UX.
    • Solution: The good news is that Magento 2 offers more than 5,000 extensions; therefore, finding a theme or extension equivalent to the existing Magento 1 theme is definitely easy.
  4. Risk of losing valuable site information: Many shop owners are known to carry out the migration process by themselves. However, migration of important customer data and product information can be difficult.
    • Solution: In order to ensure safe and thorough migration of data from the existing ecommerce store platform to Magento 2 platform, it is important to have a backup of the Magento 1 website and also to prioritize the data. Migrate crucial data first then move down the priority list. Another viable option can be to hire an expert Magento 2 migration services company to carry out the process.
  5. Mismatch of entities in the document: This is an error code that you may come across during volume check migration. This occurs as a result of inconsistency in the record count of Magento 1 and Magento 2 databases.
    • Solution: This issue can be fixed by running the Data Migration Tool in delta mode to transfer incremental changes.

After migration, it is very important to run full tests on the Magento 2 website repeatedly before going live. Tests must ensure all Magento 1 features have been migrated to Magento 2 successfully as well as the optimum functioning of shopping cart, payment methods and shipping setup on the Magento 2 website.
 

Magento 2 Migration Cost and Timeline

The cost of Magento 2 migration for small and medium-sized businesses with minimum customizations can vary from approximately $5,000 to $50,000, respectively. It can take anywhere between 2 to 5 months for the migration process to be completed. Addition of features and customizations to the new platform can increase the Magento 2 migration timeline.

The factors that affect the cost of migration are:

  • Customization: Every business has specific concerns when it comes to seasonal shopping patterns, shipping methods and sales tax. Therefore, the Magento 2 store will have to be customized accordingly. This may affect the cost and time of migration differently for different businesses.
  • Extensions: Businesses usually opt for customized extensions to give their customers an optimum shopping experience. If the old platform extensions don’t match the new Magento 2 platform then time and money will have to be invested in creating compatible extensions for the new site.
  • Site redesign: Magento 2 platform offers an excellent opportunity to upgrade ecommerce stores with enhanced features site redesign. This will, of course, require additional time and money to execute.

Magento holds the top position among the global ecommerce platforms with over 25% market share. So, it’s not a surprise to learn that many store owners are migrating from other ecommerce platform solutions like WooCommerce, Shopify, Opencart, PrestaShop, etc. to Magento 2.
 

Migration from Other Platforms to Magento 2

 

PrestaShop to Magento 2 Migration

Here are some reasons why migrating from PrestaShop to Magento 2 sounds reasonable:

  • Magento is the leading ecommerce platform that is used by business in the US, the UK, India and China.
  • While PrestaShop is commonly used in industries such as online marketing, Internet and telecom, web hosting and the like, Magento claims extensive usage coverage among most business categories. It ranks first among 200 different categories like shopping, clothing, arts & entertainment, and so on.
  • Magento is the leader in top 10K, 100K and 1M sites.
  • Magento 2 boasts of power functionality, wider community and more ecommerce opportunities.

There are specific modules available for PrestaShop to Magento 2 migration via data files and API.
 

Opencart to Magento 2 Migration

Although Opencart is not as famous as other ecommerce platforms like Shopify and PrestaShop, it is used by a small number of businesses. Lack of flexibility, functionality and commercial options can be hindering for businesses using Opencart. If store owners desire a sophisticated site design, rich features, customized themes and extensions to suit their business requirements, they should definitely switch to Magento 2.

There are a few third-party tools that can be used for Opencart to Magento 2 migration, to transfer and synchronize data between the two systems.
 

Shopify to Magento 2 Migration

While Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform, Magento is an open source ecommerce platform. Advantages of switching from Shopify to Magento 2 are:

  • Since Magento is an open source type, it allows store owners to modify existing features to meet their site requirements.
  • Magento allows owners to set up multiple languages and currencies on their websites for different customer groups.
  • Store owners can set up many sites and manage these from one admin panel.
  • Magento supports several third-party extensions.

Hire expert Magento developers to switch from Shopify to Magento 2 or use third-party tools to carry out the migration, as the standard migration tools offered by Magento may not check all the boxes.
 

WooCommerce to Magento 2 Migration

WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that is easy to install and use. Therefore, it is more commonly used than Magento. However, simplicity of WooCommerce translates to limitations when it comes to gaining a competitive edge over one’s competitors. While WooCommerce is home to numerous websites, Magento ranks first in ecommerce platforms for online stores that offer flexibility, scalability and powerful performance.

To keep with the times and not be left behind, it is advisable to switch to a more robust enterprise solution like Magento 2. There are a few third-party tools and exclusively designed modules that can be used for migrating from WooCommerce to Magento 2.
 

How Magento 2 Resolves Existing Pain Points of Store Owners and Customers

Existing pain points of store managers and customers who use other ecommerce store platforms or older versions of Magento 1 platform include:

  • Losing customers as a result of lagging page load speed
  • High cart abandonment rate because of slow checkout process
  • Limited number of orders per hour
  • Limited number of page views per hour
  • Decreasing mobile conversions
  • Discontinued security updates
  • Lacking advanced reporting and analytics tool
  • No new features to upgrade the site and user experience

Here is how Magento 2 resolves the existing pain points of store owners and customers:

  • Magento 2 uses the latest PHP which, in turn, will improve the site speed, performance and flexibility.
  • 6-click steps to checkout in Magento 1 is reduced to 2-click checkout process in Magento 2, thus, increasing page speed, reducing cart abandonment and improved caching.
  • Most customers shop using smartphones and tablets. Magento 2 offers support for responsive mobile sites which, in turn, take the customer’s shopping experience to a whole new level.
  • Lightning-fast page loading speed and responsive mobile themes can also help in improving search engine rankings of the sites.
  • Magento 2 claims capacity for significant increase in page views and orders per hour compared to Magento 1.
  • Receiving official security updates for the latest versions of the Magento platform will keep hackers away.
  • Magento Business Intelligence is provided for advanced reporting and analytics.
  • New features are provided with every release. Store owners can also take advantage of the offerings from Adobe like stock images galleries.

Leverage our decade-long experience in the implementation of sophisticated ecommerce solutions for a global customer base.

Through our extensive suite of e-commerce service offerings, we deliver accelerated growth for customers in multiple business domains.
 

Meet our Ecommerce Leaders


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Types of Mobile Apps – Mobile Web vs Native vs Hybrid App

Category : iot-insights

 
The connected world of the Internet of Things (IoT) is evolving at an enormous pace. It is well-known that IoT has already revolutionized the industrial sector and is gradually gaining momentum in the consumer appliances market. This has led to a lot of speculation around how IoT will become an intrinsic part of our daily lives in the near future.

In line with this, a new stream of product development services has evolved – the IoT application development services. This includes the design and development of intuitive mobile apps that can be easily integrated with an IoT infrastructure to send and receive signals for controlling connected IoT devices.

Let’s take a deep dive into the different types of mobile apps that can be developed for an enterprise/industrial/home automation IoT solution.
 

Different Types of Mobile Apps for IoT Applications

IoT mobile apps can be categorized into three types, as described below:

  • Native Apps – These apps are commonly found for download on the Play Store. A native app appears on a mobile phone as an icon, which opens up the application upon clicking.

    Native apps are built for specific platforms and coded in languages suited for the platform.

    These apps can be developed in the following ways:

    • Using tools provided by the OS manufacturer – Native apps can be developed through native Software Development Kits (SDKs) that the platform provides, i.e., iOS SDK, Android SDK, etc.
    • Using cross-platform tools – It is possible to develop native apps through cross-platform tools such as Xamarin, RhoMobile, etc.
  • Mobile Web Apps – This category constitutes one of the most commonly used practices of designing a website today – a Responsive Web Design (RWD). A responsive web app renders a website in a way that it is fully functional and looks good too! In other words, the design of a responsive web app is such that it fits any form factor, type of device (desktop, mobile or tablet) and operating system.

    More recently, an enhancement to the responsive web design has resulted in the existence of Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). This is essentially a hybrid between a regular web page and a native mobile app. A progressive web app app is designed to appear like a native app to users.

    Some of the key features of a progressive web app are as follows:

    • Has access to push notifications, unlike standard web apps
    • Will have a simple icon on the home screen
    • Can be launched in full screen
    • Responsive design
    • Ability to function offline or on low-quality networks
    • The app shell model enables app-style interaction and navigation
    • Instant updates possible
    • Easy installation at the click of a link
  • Hybrid Apps – These apps are essentially a combination of web apps and native apps. Technically, a hybrid app is a web app that has the look and feel of a native app. This is achieved through the deployment of a wrapper that acts as a bridge between native and web platforms.

    Hybrid apps consist of the back-end code that is developed using languages like CSS, JavaScript or HTML. The app also consists of a native shell that loads the code through a webview.

    • Hybrid apps do not run inside a browser, but on the device itself. In that sense, it is very similar to a native app. However, it is developed using web technologies and is underpinned by a hybrid app framework.
    • A hybrid app utilizes the browser engine of the device (not the browser) to process the backend code and render the HTML.
    • The presence of a web-to-native abstraction layer enables the app to access the device’s camera, local storage, accelerometer, etc. Traditional mobile web apps are not capable of accessing device hardware/capabilities such as these.

 

Mobile Web vs Native vs Hybrid Apps – Which One Should You Choose?

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the three types of mobile apps. This will help you in deciding the most optimum one for your IoT business application.

Feature Native App Hybrid App Mobile Web App
Cost Highest Lower upfront cost, but significant maintenance cost Most economical option
Time-to-market Slow Slow Fastest
User Experience and Performance Best Good Suboptimal
Access to device hardware Complete access Complete access No access
Security Highly secure Good security Prone to security threats
Network access Internet connection is not mandatory for operation Internet connection is not mandatory for operation Requires internet connection for operation
Single codebase Absent Present Present
Suited for long-term investment Most optimum Optimum Not suitable

 

If you are in a quandary while deciding on the right IoT mobile app for your business, you should think about the use case for which you are developing the app.

  • In case you need the development activities to be completed within a restricted timeframe, you can explore the option of developing a mobile web app. This will provide you responsiveness across a wide range of platforms and a host of other benefits.
  • If you are not pressed for time, and would like to integrate multiple complex features in the app, it is prudent to target your efforts on the development of a native app.
  • Remember, hybrid apps provide you several advantages that are offered by native apps with lot less complexity.

In case you are still at the crossroads and unable to make up your mind, give us a shout!

Leverage our decade-long experience in the realm of IoT mobile app development for crafting cutting-edge mobile applications for your business requirements.
 

Meet Our IoT Leaders


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FMEA: How to Identify Failure Modes for Effective ISO 26262 Compliance

Category : Embedded Blog

If you look at the safety lifecycle of an automotive solution, the safety analysis part comes in between the architecture design and design implementation. This a juncture where HARA has already been performed, the engineers have the Technical Safety Requirement (TSR) in place and they are well-aware of the safety goals and the software safety requirements.

Safety analysis can be performed at any level, i.e., software, hardware or system.

Now before the actual design implementation is performed, there is a need for the engineers to understand the failures that the system might encounter, their root causes and their effect on the safety of the system. Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is one of the industry-wide accepted methods for such analyses.

What is FMEA?

FMEA is an inductive analysis method, which follows a bottom-up approach. It not only helps zero-in on the causes and effects of a failure but also contribute to the identification of functional and non-functional requirements which might not have been identified during HARA.

The failure modes and their resulting effects on the rest of the system are recorded in a specific FMEA worksheet.

Failure Mode and Effects Analysis can be performed using tools such as Enco SOX, Exida, etc. Alternatively, it is possible to create an FMEA worksheet on Excel as well.

Whichever way you choose for your project, the inputs and the outputs remain constant. In the subsequent sections, we will throw light on all these aspects and more..

How are the Failure Modes Identified during FMEA?

FMEA is all about managing the faults that could possibly occur in a system at the software or hardware level. ISO 26262 compliant system development does not necessarily mean developing a system that has zero bugs. It is in fact, a pursuit to develop a solution that has an acceptable failure rate, and in the instance of a failure, the system should be capable of getting into a safe state.

Therefore, understanding every possible failure along with their effects assumes maximum importance. So how do the FuSa experts figure out these failure modes? Well there is no magic there, just a set of guidelines, best practices and automotive domain experience can work wonders.

Let’s delve a little deeper into the world of FMEA and understand the ways of identifying failure modes:

  1. Past Failure History: Recall of various car models or variants has been quite common in the automotive industry. In 2012, Chrysler had to recall approximately, 1,19,000 units of Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger due to a fault related to fuse overheating in the ABS.

    In a similar recall incidence, General Motors had to take 4 million cars off the road due to an issue in the AIRBAG system. The root cause was found to be a problem in the software that prevented the timely opening of the airbag.

    These faults constitute the past failure history that help engineers understand what can go wrong while developing a similar system.

    Such faults may be the result of any of the three components- software, hardware or system itself. This is where the domain experience of the engineers come into play. With experience, it becomes possible to pin-point the cause of the failure.

    For instance, the reason for the presence of moisture in the airbag system may be due to a design error, environmental factors, etc., that should have been taken care of during the hardware development stage. Similarly, fuse overheating may be due to over/under current or voltage. This is again a hardware failure.

    Such past history of failure gives the Functional Safety experts an insight into the different failure modes and their causes/effects. Also, while performing the FMEA, the FuSa experts do have the system design architecture, safety goals and safety requirements with them. All the data along with the past failure history constitute a robust analysis.

  2. Field/Onsite Failure: In the context of Automotive Functional Safety, a Field or onsite failure is the one occurring on the road while the automobile is being tested on the field. In fact, the past failure history that we discussed in the previous section can also be seen as field failure.

    However, the scope of an onsite failure is wider, and a lot of factors come into the picture – For example, temperature, driving condition, driving style, etc.

    Such failures may not manifest during the functional testing but during an onsite testing. Failure data collection and its analysis play a pivotal role in identifying safety-critical failures, their causes and effects. To collect and analyze such data, certain tools can also be used.

    One example of a Field/Onsite failure can be the testing of an AIRBAG system. The hardware and software may be working just fine; however, such critical components can develop faults due to environmental conditions also. For instance, during one such onsite test, a moisture related issue was found in the airbag system. Moisture accumulation caused untimely deployment of the airbag.

    Safety mechanisms for such a failure can be devised through hardware FMEA.

  3. Functional and Operational Failure: These failures are the ones that occur during the operation of the system in the actual driving conditions. Whether we are doing a Software, Hardware or System FMEA, the failure modes can be different.

    Let’s examine one these failures modes, it’s probable causes and effects. This example considers a seating control unit that has memory settings as one of the features/functions.

    Design Item/Function Description Potential Failure Mode Local Effect Vehicle level Effect (if in scope) Potential Cause of the failure
    The driver enables the memorized Seat settings by pressing the switch (M1/M2/M3 – driver profiles), when the vehicle is not moving.

    >> Seating Control ECU shall allow the Seat settings memory recall only when vehicle speed is “0”.

    >> The vehicle speed is received over CAN every 10ms from Engine ECU.

    >>The Seat profile settings are stored in the ECU’s NVM.

    Program runs producing Incorrect results System considers vehicle speed as zero and allows change of driver profile. During driving, the recall of Seat settings is enabled, it impacts the driving conditions and puts the passengers under life risk. Seat ECU incorrectly reads the vehicle speed as zero though correct value received over CAN from Engine ECU is 10kmph.
  4.  

  5. Benchmarking Models: These modes essentially constitute a predictive analysis model that takes a large set of data gathered during field testing and uses this to predict the failure modes for a system. The data can be used as benchmark that can help in validating any process for other tests and analysis in the future. Technically, the benchmark depicts the failure rate of a system during its entire lifecycle.

    A collected set of failure data for a system is compared to this benchmark to understand the differences and identify issues that can arise in the future.

  6. Brainstorming with the Team: A team of automotive engineers who have worked on diverse projects and have been a part of safety lifecycle for several automotive solutions, have a lot to contribute. Brainstorming sessions with the team helps in identifying several failure modes just out of experience. For instance, an engineer who has worked on motor controllers for a considerable part of his career, may have some very valuable feedbackson such a project.

    Design thinking is another major aspect that defines the modern age of automotive engineering. New concepts like Telematics, advanced Body Control Features, Infotainment and Autonomous cars are highly safety critical and require out-of-the-box thinking in terms of failure identification.

    Now, that you have understood the different ways of failure mode identification, it’s time to have a sneak-peek of the steps involved in the FMEA process.

Steps Involved in Execution of FMEA

The process of FMEA is a widely covered topic and over the course of time, a process has been defined across the automotive industry. Here’s a snapshot of steps involved in Failure Mode and Effects Analysis:

FMEA Execution

Best Practices for an Efficient FMEA

  • Failure Mode and Effects Analysis should always be a team exercise and the FMEA worksheet should be filled by everyone on the team.
  • People with extensive experience in the domain as well as the FMEA process should be part of the team.
  • Data related to field failure must be gathered before executing FMEA as it enhances the chance of identifying failure modes.

Conclusion

Safety is only as strong as its weakest link. And FMEA helps identify these weak links at system, design and process levels. With a cross-functional team, a properly defined scope and the right tools at their disposal, FMEA helps the engineers meet safety goals more efficiently.


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[Vlog] Success Story for FuSa Consulting and FMEDA for ASIL-B Compliance of a BLDC Motor Controller

Category : Embedded Blog

There are certain hardware metrics that are required for ASIL-B compliance of an automotive ECU. While our customer, a Tier-1 supplier, was aware of these metrics, they were limited by their competency in ISO 26262 standard.

They required a technology partner with comprehensive knowledge of the BLDC motor controllers as well as the ISO 26262 safety lifecycle.

As the scope of the project was clear- Derivation of Hardware Architectural Metrics including SPFM, LFM and PMHF, our first task was to come up with the best method for the same.

We chose FMEDA for the metrics derivation as it was a highly efficient and industry-accepted method.

In the video, we explain the process of FMEDA that we executed for the project and the output that we achieved.

Major Takeaways of the case study video:

  • About the Product- the BLDC motor controller
  • The Business Challenge faced by the customer
  • The Snapshot of FMEDA process
  • Tools and Technologies that helped us deliver the project successfully.

This video is our attempt to give you a glimpse of the FMEDA case study. If you wish to know the entire success story, do check out the detailed version here.


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Magento and Adobe Experience Manager: The Most Modern CMS Meets the Ecommerce Powerhouse

The key to a successful Ecommerce business is no longer merely a great shopping experience. But a personalized customer experience! Adobe after acquiring Magento, has been putting in efforts to enhance site capabilities to merge content and commerce together.

This would lead to better customer segmentation and targeting, better content management and will also enable quick changes across the customer touch-points. Additionally, the stakeholders will be able to put in focused efforts on content as well as the catalog leading to the improvement in business processes.

After the acquisition of Magento by Adobe, the path to such innovations has become clearer. And the integration of Magento with Adobe Experience Manager has been a huge step in this direction.

Adobe Experience Manager, known as AEM in ecommerce parlance is  robust content management system equipped with digital asset management capabilities. Once integrated with Magento, it delivers an unmatched customized experience to online shoppers.

Magento did provide a CMS, but as the business scaled up , the need for a dedicated CMS is felt. Although open source CMS solutions are out there in the market, they have their pros and cons. With AEM, the symbiosis between the content and commerce is at a different level. Thanks to Commerce Integration Framework (CIF), the integration of Magento and AEM is a seamless one.

We will talk about these new terms in our blog. But first, let’s delve deep into the features that AEM and Magento together will bring to the table.

The Magic that AEM and Magento is!

Customer Experience is at the core of AEM. The platform is built on the premise that content and commerce have to work together to uplift the overall customer experience. Magento is great but it has its limits as far as content and digital asset management is concerned. But when Magento and AEM meet, it’s like the best of both worlds (CMS and Commerce).

Commerce Integration Framework (CIF) plays the cupid in this integration. The role of CIF is to let AEM access the Magento instance and enable the transfer of catalog data using the GraphQL (a query language that fulfills queries using the existing data). In addition to enabling the catalog data transfer, CIF also provides a storefront that can help users accelerate the integration of commerce. We will talk about CIF in detail when we explain the CIF architecture and how it enables Magento and AEM integration.

But let’s first check out some of the striking features of AEM and CIF:

  • CIF provides an out-of-the-box storefront that can accelerate integration of commerce data
  • CIF enables deeper integration with Magento and thus enhances AEM authoring experience
  • AEM CIF core components are designed to be used with minimum or no modifications
  • Provides a perfect platform to combine commerce and marketing content

A Comparison Table- Magento vs Magento + AEM

Magento Magento + AEM
Content and UI are tightly bound; limitations on storefront User Experience Provides a rich store front experience with features like page builder and PWA studio
Absence of certain features limit the marketing capabilities within the ecommerce platform Components like Product Teaser/Product Carousel enable creation of experience pages
Additional tools required to enhance the customer experience Single platform for both brand and commerce experience
Ability to market and merchandise the product a headwind Seamlessly infuses commerce capabilities and ability to market
To manage connected experience across devices is a challenge Magento and AEM together has robust omnichannel capabilities

The Value Adds of Magento and AEM Integration

  • It enables the marketer to bring the brand to life with built-in page builder, Product Carousel, Product Teaser, etc.
  • By integrating the marketing capabilities in the ecommerce platform, the demand for products can be driven.
  • Seamless omnichannel experience is the USP of AEM and it helps marketers to extend the reach of the ecommerce brand.
  • With integrated Magento and AEM, there is enhanced speed and agility in managing both the brand and commerce experience using a single tool.
  • The integration of Magento and AEM strives to make every moment shoppable by providing the enterprise the capability to market and merchandise the product.

How Does Magento and AEM Integrate?

In its pursuit of integrating commerce systems in its suite of solutions, Adobe has developed the Commerce Integration Framework (CIF). After the release of its revamped version, CIF has completely changed the approach towards commerce integration to support complex commerce scenarios.

Magento acts as the ecommerce backend solution that stores the business logic and commerce data. CIF on the other hand, enables this integration between Magento and Adobe Experience Manager with a well-defined architecture.

It provides a set of tools, components, code and documentation to accelerate integration between AEM and Magento.

AEM Magento.

Different Components that Make AEM-Magento Integration Possible:

  1. AEM Venia Storefront: It is a production-ready reference storefront that is designed to implement a B2C commerce website. It can be used to rapidly start an ecommerce project using the power of Magento, AEM and CIF.
  2. AEM CIF Components: The basic components that are common across ecommerce implementation are provided by CIF. These include Product List, Search Bar, Navigation, etc. They can also be easily extended. These components are designed to easily connect to Magento over GraphQL.
  3. AEM Commerce Connector: These are links between the Magento products and the commerce console of AEM. They also provide authoring features like product/category pickers. These features help create marketing campaigns efficiently.

The AEM storefront is a mix of Magento and AEM where AEM powers the UX and Magento takes care of the commerce backend. Everything is in a headless way, i.e., UX and Commerce data are not tightly bound to each other. This is the secret recipe for providing omnichannel experience that AEM proudly claims.

The static content such as product and catalog pages are rendered utilizing server-side components such as Product Detail and Product List. The data is provided by Magento over GraphQL.

On the other hand, the dynamic content such as inventory, geography-specific price, delivery schedule, etc. are rendered using client-side components.

The Big Picture!

The impact of AEM and Magento Integration on commerce market has been noteworthy. Small businesses planning to scale up have lapped up the idea of a headless way of managing their commerce site.

The advantage of one tool doing it all, is also a good idea considering the number and varieties of SKUs to manage. Advanced analytics also help the marketers understand the customer journey and optimize the experience accordingly.

In today’s marketplace, building experience matters the most. AEM is equipped with every weapon in a marketer’s arsenal to win the experience war. And with Magento integrated to the platform, the ecommerce market has to brace itself for a big leap.


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What are the Hardware and Software Challenges in EV Battery Charging System?

Category : Embedded Blog

Electric Vehicles’ sale has been seeing an upward trend in countries like United States and China. In USA alone, 1.2 million electric vehicles are on the road. Compared to 2017, the sale of EVs has gone up by 81% in 2018.

But if you compared this number with internal combustion (IC) engine cars sold in the same year, the figure seems dismal. So, what’s stopping EVs from mass adoption? Well that’s almost a no-brainer! The inadequacy of the charging stations and that too, fast charging stations, is one of the culprits.

Can’t we have a higher number of EV charging stations just like we have gas stations?

It’s easier said than done, as the efforts required to set up a petrol/diesel station is nothing compared to a public EV charging station. There are issues related to protocols, safety, software/hardware challenges, and what not.

In our latest EV blog, we focus on the challenges related to the development and setting up of a battery charging station for electric vehicles.

Here, it is also very important to understand that battery charging stations are just one side of the coin. Protocol incompatibility issues along with safety challenges are also associated with the battery charger fitted inside the electric vehicle.

Before, we start enumerating the challenges and the possible solutions, let’s first understand how a typical EV battery charging system works.

How Does an EV Battery Charging System Work?

A battery pack and an on-board battery charger system replace an IC engine in an electric vehicle. The on-board battery charger system connects to an AC supply network (mains), converts power from AC to DC and charges the battery pack.

Alternatively, an off-board charging station can directly deliver DC and charge the batteries at a faster rate.

EV Battery Charging System

The fixed cable from the charging station has a charging connector based on the protocol supported by the station. If the charging station supports multiple protocols, it might have multiple connectors.

  • Once the connector goes inside the charging inlet (vehicle), there are a couple of conditions that have to be met. The charging type (AC or DC) is chosen and, in some protocols, the mode of charging is also selected.
  • After the software and hardware checks are complete, the charging begins. The software inside the on-board battery charger or the firmware installed in the external charging station monitors the charging. In an instance of overvoltage or overcurrent, the charging systems take appropriate measures.

In a basic EV charging setup, the aforementioned actions are involved. However, depending on the protocols, additional safety and authorization mechanism can be put in place.

The battery charging system might appear fairly simple, but there are tons of challenges associated with the development and setting up of such a system. Let’s learn about them in detail.

Hardware and Software Challenges in an EV Battery Charging System

Challenge 1: Conformance to Various Charging Protocols: Software & Hardware Challenges

Can you charge a smartphone with a micro USB port using a Type-C charger? No, you cannot, as the charging point slot is completely different.

Now try charging a smartphone that does not support fast charging, with a fast charger.  It won’t work either. And even if it does, the charging will be at a regular or slow speed.

How does this example tally with the charging process in an electric vehicle?

  • There are several types of AC and DC chargers for EVs with different communication protocols. An incompatibility between the Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) and the AC-DC converter on board the vehicle could result in charging issues.
  • There could also be Voltage/Current/Frequency mismatches or other such incompatibilities that prevent the intended charging.

As far as electric vehicle charging systems are concerned, the stakes are high, and protocols are more complicated. Various protocols such as CHAdeMO, CCS (Combined Charging System) and Bharat EV Specifications are in use and a battery charging station has to be designed to incorporate the relevant protocols.

This is important because the battery charger system inside an EV may be equipped with any of these protocols and the charging station has to be prepared to cater to the protocol.

As these protocols have different voltages/currents, handshake methodologies and safety mechanisms, the cost to incorporate them is quite high. This, in turn, increases the cost of the charging station.

  • Hardware Related Challenges: The signal lines facilitate communication between the charging station and the electric vehicle. Hardware Components like proximity sensors and control pilot manage the connection and ensure that the charging starts when the conditions stipulated in the protocol are met. The challenge lies in designing the hardware for various protocols with different conditions.

    Some of the other issues that need to be fixed to meet the conditions of these protocols are power issues, heat dissipation, insulation, grounding, voltage measurement, etc. The hardware is not alone in these endeavors as the software components also take up various roles.

  • Software Related Challenges: Charging protocols mandate that the charging should start only when certain criteria like connection to ground, current filtering, etc. are met. The software needs to be designed to detect that such criteria have been fulfilled.
  • The real challenge here is to program the software to detect the protocol that the EV supports and change the charging modes accordingly. For instance, the CCS (Combined Charging System) supports SAE J1850 for diagnostics and data sharing applications in EVs. Hence, the battery charger system has to be equipped with the same protocol.

Challenge 2: Safety during Voltage Fluctuations

Risks like Voltage Fluctuation, Ground Fault and Over-Current pose potential threats for both the battery charging station as well as the electric vehicle being charged. A sudden spike in voltage may end up damaging some very expensive components.

Regulating the voltage is a challenge in itself, as various scenarios are possible where different actions are required to be taken. For instance, CCS protocol mandates that the battery will charge only when the voltage is in the range of 170-230 volts. If the voltage drops below 170 V, there has to be some converter or stabilizer circuit to increase the voltage, and vice-versa.

However, if the voltage is in a range that is beyond regulation, there should be a provision to shut down the battery charging station.

Here, the software components play a pivotal role of monitoring the voltage and signaling the hardware circuits to regulate the voltage accordingly.

Noise filtering is another aspect that requires software and hardware components.

In the context of the battery charger inside the vehicle, functional safety also comes into the picture. The voltage fluctuation while charging an EV can be an ASIL-D level risk. In order to mitigate this risk, the high voltage component inside the vehicle needs to be developed as per ISO 26262 standard.

EMC/EMI tests as per IEC 61851 standard are additional safety assessments that need to be performed.

All of these safety activities may turn out to be quite expensive; hence, these pose a major challenge in the mass-adoption of EVs.

Challenges 3: Achieving Fast Charging Capabilities

One of the biggest advantages that an Internal Combustion Vehicle (ICV) has over its EV counterpart is the time taken for “refuelling”. In electric vehicles, DC charging is an exciting breakthrough as it charges at a much faster rate. But it has its own set of challenges.

DC charging occurs at 200-300 kW which is almost 5 times the rate of AC charging. Higher power entails higher risk related to electric shock, overvoltage or overcurrent. The cost obviously become higher, thus impacting the entire ecosystem.

Several protocols like CHAdeMO and CCS have come up with unique specifications that aim to make the process less costly, universally applicable and reliable.

The Bigger Picture

Stakeholders in the electric vehicle industry are coming forward to standardize battery charging systems. The path to standardization encompasses the discovery of solutions to overcome the challenges listed here.

Establishment of protocols like CHAdeMO and CCS are testament to the conviction of the EV industry to make EVs the mainstream vehicles (and possibly replace IC engine cars completely) over the course of the next few years. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!