TVG concept:

Hardware

The Tesla Vehicle Gateway (TVG) is mainly based upon a two board concept:

1.       A CPU board called the TVG Core.

2.       A board with additional features not provided by the TVG Core board, called the carrier board.

The TVG Core board contains all the main elements that support the CPU like flash memory, SDRAM memory, RTC, mPCIe and mini-PCI interfaces, USB host port and two Ethernet interfaces. The detailed specifications of the TVG core board can be found under the specifications tab. Some of those features are marked optional since we can assemble the board according your requirements, eliminating unnecessary component cost and therefore reducing the price of the board.

The TVG Core board is a multilayer, high performance board making this module the most expensive part of the final unit. This is why we keep the possibility open to re-stuff the board with additional components if an upgrade is required, avoiding the fact that the board would become obsolete.

The Carrier board contains all the elements that are optional such as:

·         Automotive power supply with surge protection (9 to 32 VDC)

·         Remote power control

·         Additional Ethernet ports (up to 16 ports with PoE, if required)

·         GPIO’s

·         AD convertors

·         Tachometric input

·         CAN bus interfaces

·         RS422/485 interfaces

·         Extra USB client or host interfaces

·         The line-in/out amplifier for 3.5G voice GSM voice communication

·         Dual SIM support for 3.5G or 4G modules

·         GPS support (with dead reckoning option)

·         Bluetooth

·         ……

The carrier board is in general a simple dual layer board which is relatively cheap to manufacture. Upgrading a system with new functionalities that reside on this board can be done by simply changing the carrier board.

All this results in a highly modular system that can be tailored to your requirements. Upgrading a system in a later phase can be done by adding software support for some of the unused features, adding the components to the TVG core module or changing the carrier board.

All this results in a system with the following dimensions: 125 X 150 X 45 mm (maximum 8 Ethernet ports).

The temperature range goes from -20 to +80 °C for a unit with WLAN, 3G or other temperature sensitive components. This is achieved by using the Peltier elements (optional).

The system is approved for CE, Rail (50121/50155)(optional), ETSI and e-marking (automotive).

In order to achieve this all I/O’s will be galvanic isolated and system ground is isolated from the power ground system.

Software

In order to make everything work you will need of course System Software. The unit is always delivered with a standard Linux kernel. From thereon there are 3 main possibilities for a customer to work with us:

1.       The customer designs his own software platform. In this case the customer has all the flexibilities he wants to design his own functionalities on the hardware. In case the user requires support we can give him training and engineering support as a payable service. Access to the kernel is however never granted. If this is required, Tesla Networks will happily provide you with the required service.

2.       The customer uses our standard platform and writes additional software, for example a SQL database application or an application that controls the GPIO’s, on the platform. In this case Tesla provides you with an API that helps you to steer the right components inside the system.

The main functionalities of the standard software are:

·         WLAN support (AP and Client functionalities), with up to two WLAN cards.

·         Virtual Wifi support on the WLAN cards (optional)

·         Vlan support on the LAN interface.

·         3.5G & 4G support.

·         Routing between the LAN and WAN interfaces.

·         Etc…

3.       Tesla Networks designs a tailored application according to the customer’s specifications.

In most cases the standard software is more than sufficient.

Additional a middleware software server is under development. This server has a number of features like:

·         Mobile roaming support: Seamless handover of IP sessions even when your TVG switches between different technologies like from WLan to 3G.

·         Data exchange with integrity control.

·         Version management

·         Update management with time tables

·         Etc…