Dependency-Aware Over-the-Air Framework for Reliable Software-Defined Vehicle Updates

Abstract

As the automotive industry transitions toward Software-Defined Vehicle (SDV), Over-the-Air (OTA) updates have become a critical capability. However, conventional update mechanisms often struggle to ensure update success due to the gap between static regulatory compliance and the dynamic operational complexities of modern vehicle architectures. This paper proposes a dependency-aware OTA orchestration framework that addresses these challenges by integrating four operational dimensions—Dependency, Safety, Update Sensitivity, and Governance—into a graph-based scheduling logic. Designed to align with major industrial standards such as AUTOSAR, UNECE R155/R156, and ISO 26262, our framework provides a standardized yet flexible foundation for managing software components across multiple Electronic Control Units (ECUs) environments. Evaluated against a Conventional Sequential Baseline that represents current industrial practices, the proposed approach demonstrates superior performance across three Research Questions (RQs): effectiveness in improving update success rates, efficiency in execution time and update requests through optimized scheduling, and feasibility in maintaining system-wide integrity by successfully reconciling stringent safety requirements and diverse update sensitivity constraints. These findings offer actionable insights for implementing high-integrity OTA solutions that meet both functional safety and legal requirements in production-grade SDV environments.