Universal User Profiling Personalization and Support System Antonio Maña, José M. Marín, Daniel Serrano Computer Science Department ETSI Informática. University of Malaga Málaga, 29071, SPAIN.
[email protected] Abstract Cars are important elements in the life of people. Two key issues to improve the satisfaction of car owners are car personalization and post-sales support. Usually, the possibilities of personalization are limited to some cosmetic elements and some adjustments in the settings of seats, steering wheel, etc. On the other hand, post-sales support by the manufacturer is normally done through authorized dealers. This paper presents th e Universal User Personalization, Profiling and Support System (UUPPSS), which addresses both problems. The UUPPSS system is designed to maintain contact with the manufacturer, to improve the post-sales support and to enable online services. Examples of these services can be the establishment of appointments for car revision, online diagnosis, etc. UUPPSS allows car personalization either by downloading contents or by creating your own profiles. In order to achieve these objectives, secure access and exchange of information in the system is supported by the use of smart cards. The system is designed to be secure as well as flexible, easy-to-use and robust, following the philosophy of pervasive computing systems.
1
Introduction
In the age of globalization, people struggle to feel different and the need to give a personal touch to common elements such as computers, phones and cars is more evident. The personalization of all elements of daily use is a natural desire of many of us in our increasingly uniform society. Furthermore, this personalization makes users to fell more comfortable with these elements. Therefore, a huge market for this new business model is now open. Personalization parameters may include very different aspects of the car and may vary depending on the specific characteristics of each car. However, it is not unusual for a single user to drive several cars. In this sense, profile migration is one of the more interesting features that are
not currently available. Examples of these parameters include speed limitations (which can be set up by the authorities for novel users), cockpit settings (seats, steering wheel), dashboard elements, engine settings (economy, smooth, aggressive), radio presets, etc. The profiling system allows owners to restrict some specific features, which is important when somebody else has to drive your car, and you want to limit the use of these features for any reason. Online support is also an important factor for client satisfaction. In our 21 st century online world users demand much more flexible and responsive support systems. Some companies offer some online support, frequently in the form of FAQs, forums and online questions about general problems. However, users demand much more interesting services such as performance evaluation, problem identification and scheduling of service appointments. UUPPSS addresses these two important problems . On one hand, the system allows users to manage several profiles, which are stored in their smart card, allowing users to personalize many aspects of their cars. Furthermore, UUPPSS allows the seller to maintain contact with users by way of their smart card, which can convey important information (diagnostic data, car use, etc.) to the car manufacturer. UUPPSS represents a new point of view in consumer support and car engineer procedures. UUPPSS enables more convenient ways of relation between manufacturer and user. UUPPSS also introduces the digital content business in the world of c ars.
2
Background
Smart cards are a central element in the UUPPSS system. We use Axalto e-gate cyberflex smart cards. In addition to the standard ISO7816, these cards have a USB interface that provides very important advantages. It has been
proved that the main bottleneck in the performance of smart card applications is the communication between the card and the host [1], therefore the introduction of these new USB-enabled smart cards will greatly reduce this problem. For our purposes, USB cards are the ideal choice because they represent the solution of the performance problem while they also facilitate the introduction of smart card based applications in different environments avoiding the need for specific smart card readers. Cyberflex cards are based on Java Card 2.1.1 technology, which brings the Java programming language to smart cards (and other resource-constrained device) by providing a customized subset of core and extension Java packages and classes for programming smart card applications; a "split" Java Card virtual machine (JCVM) that provides an on-card Java Card bytecode interpreter and an off-card Java Card converter and verifier; and a Java Card Runtime Environment (JCRE) that handles card resource management, network communications, applet execution, and on-card system and applet security. There are several unique benefits of the Java Card technology, such as: ?
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Interoperability - Applets developed with Java Card technology will run on any Java Card technologybased smart card, independently of the card vendor and underlying hardware. Security - Java Card technology relies on the inherent security of the Java programming language to provide a secure execution environment. It was designed through an open process, and the platform's proven industry deployments and security evaluations ensure that card issuers benefit from the most capable and secure technology available today. Multi-Application Capability - Java Card technology enables multiple applications to co-exist securely on a single smart card. Dynami sm - New applications can be installed securely after a card has been issued, providing card issuers with the ability to dynamically respond to their customer's changing needs. Open approach - Java Card application developers benefit from object-oriented programming and design, and have access to off-the-shelf Java development tools. Compatibility with Existing Standards - The Java Card API is compatible with international standards for smart cards such as ISO7816, or EMV. It is referenced by major industry-specific standards such as Global Platform and ETSI.
3
Related work
Currently, no system can offer the functionalities provided by UUPPS. In this section we will briefly review some related proposals for enhanced user support and personalization, considering aspects like security, convenience and practical applicability. Car personalization and user profiling is currently available in some models. However, no mechanism exists to make these profiles “mobile” so they can be used in different cars. Moreover, the elements that can be personalized are those that can be considered hardware, such as seat position, etc. Another important issue is that of information personalization, which is not currently available in cars. The relevance of information personalization has been extensively studied, mainly in the business [2] and web [3] environments, but also in the car environment [4]. However, the conclusions from these works can be easily translated to the car environment. These conclusions state that each user has different perception of the information depending on how it is presented. Therefore, the definition of personal profiles for information display is a very interesting issue, especially in those environments, such as the car, where the user needs to interpret and evaluate that information very rapidly. Regarding post-sales support systems, there exist some systems that share some similarities with UUPPS. The most relevant of these systems, named OnStar [5], has been developed by GM to provide several services. Drivers can access these services by using the control panel of their cars. Using innovative technology, OnStar can provide the latest information and assistance. The OnStar interface enables the connection to the OnStar Center where live advisors are ready to help. OnStar also gives drivers the ability to send and receive calls like using a wireless phone. OnStar enables remote checking of car problems and scheduling of service appointments. UUPPSS goes beyond OnStar in some aspects. First of all UUPPS provides personalization and profiling capabilities not found in OnStar. Furthermore, in UUPPS it is not mandatory that access to the services is done from the car. Users can store the diagnostic information resulting from the car tests in their smart cards, therefore allowing them to access the services from any PC connected to the Internet. Cars with wireless online connection can also benefit from UUPPSS because, in this case, the connection is secured thanks to the smart cards (precisely in authentication and confidentiality aspects).
Some related work addresses other aspects. The growing needs to access information in remote, mobile environments have sparked interests in so-called InVehicle Telematics Systems (IVTS)[6]. These relatively new systems have the potential to deliver computing facilitates to road vehicles, which may include in-vehicle infotainment, route-guidance and navigation and the provision of vital information resources used by fleet haulage companies and emergency services (police, fire and ambulance). The Jini middleware technology [7,8] can be used to provide fault tolerant application services to remote in -vehicle computers and mobile devices such as Palm devices and WAP phones.
4 4.1
Technical aspects of UUPPS System Architecture
Figure 1 shows an overview of the architecture of UUPPSS. It is composed by several applications. These programs run in different systems, such as the car, the smart card and standard web browsers. The solution can be complemented by the introduction of wireless communication devices in the vehicles.
Fig. 1 Overview of UUPPSS architecture The four applications that compose the architecture are depicted in figure 2. These applications are: Embedded car application: This Java application is responsible for the communication with the card and the provision of interfaces to the functionalities that the UUPPS system enables in the car. This application has an user interface in the car console.
Uses Smart Card Smart Card
Vehicle
JavaCard applet
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Embedded Car Application
to improve security (authentication)
Wireless Online Access Personal Computer
Server application
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(post-sales support) Client application (browser)
Server application (content sale)
Fig. 2 Deployment diagram of UUPPSS End user client application: This Java application can be downloaded from the Web (for instance, in the current prototype it is implemented as a Java applet). It is designed to communicate the smart card and server application. Additionally, it is used for the management of the profiles. This application provides access to the services available for the end-users, such as downloading of contents and communication with the manufacturer’s support service. Server applications: This Java servlet application, communicates the end user client application and the car producer or content commerce companies. Content providers (to distribute contents for certain devices), or car manufacturers (to distribute updates of firmware for the car and to implement service appointments scheduling system) can deploy these applications. When a failure is found in the vehicle, the diagnostic data is sent to the manufacturer to obtain technical support and eventually schedule a service appointment. In the latter case, this previous identification of the problem facilitates the work of the mechanics, accelerates the preparation of the necessary parts and reduces the time that the car is immobilized and the inconveniences caused to the user. Smart card application: This Java Card application manages the data stored in the smart card and makes it available to the car, and the client application. In addition, this card application introduces the possibility of simplifying complex processes for the embedded system of the car, using some specific features provided by the smart card.
4.2
UUPPS requirements
To access all these services users only need a UUPPS smart card, while the vehicle must be equipped with a USB connection for this card. The car also needs a user interface to enable the user to access the system functions. This can be done with a mini-keyboard or preferably with a small touch screen. Finally, the car must implement the
necessary interfaces to the controllers of the elements that can be personalized, such as the dashboard, the cruise control or the engine control.
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[2]
Conclusions [3]
UUPPSS represents an innovative and complete approach to the problems of personalization and post-sales support, because it opens a full range of possibilities to the user. The implementation of UUPPS is very easy, given the technological advances that are present in our cars nowadays. This system will be easy to use because many other devices with personalization capabilities have already opened the user mind to this approach, making these devices friendly to her. On the other hand, UUPPSS represents for the car industry the possibility of taking the personalized service support to new levels. It also introduces the digital content business into a big market as is the automo bile one. The originality resides equally in both the ability to buy contents to personalize your car, along with your own profile information and the enhancements in the user support processes. The main innovation represented by UUPPS in the scientific and technological field, is the application of the pervasive computing and of the ubiquitous computing concepts in order to simplify t he use of the system, so that it becomes something natural for the user, allowing the possibility of creating an intelligent environment (following the E.U. vision of “ambient intelligence”). An important point to consider is that the cost effectiveness of UUPPSS is very positive. The implementation costs are much reduced, because the main part of it is represented by UUPPS software, which will be easily and cheaply implemented in the cars by means of the introduction of microcontrollers, which widely available in the market having a very low cost, and already in use in almost all of the targeted systems of a car.
Acknowledgments The authors want to thank Axalto for the support and collaboration.
References [1]
K. Markantonakis, Is the Performance of Smart Card Cryptographic Functions the Real Bottleneck?, Proceedings of: 16th IFIP SEC. International Conference
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