Remanufacturing of Electronic Control Units: An RFID Based (Service) Interface

Remanufacturing of electronic control units (ECUs) is a challenging task. Current technology does not allow retrieving the status of installed electronics. In addition, it is not possible to access ECUs wirelessly without power supply. The wireless (service) interface radio-frequency communication (RFCo) has been developed to overcome these challenges. Here we show that by integrating RFCo into ECUs, operating data, general information, and the error log can be obtained without a mechanical connection. Furthermore, it is possible to update the firmware wirelessly. Consequently, the new interface RFCo permits faster and easier remanufacturing of ECUs, with results of superior quality.