Vehicle software update apparatus

A vehicle software update apparatus to be applied to a vehicle, the vehicle software update apparatus comprising:

• first circuitry configured to perform a process of updating software of the vehicle as a software update process;
• second circuitry configured to control an output device provided in the vehicle;
• and
• third circuitry configured to communicate with a terminal device of an administrator of the vehicle, wherein
• the first circuitry is configured, before performing the process of updating the software of the vehicle, to:
• perform a boarding determination process of determining whether the administrator is on board the vehicle, wherein the first circuitry stores identification data for the administrator, and wherein the first circuitry is configured to:
• (i) extract features of an occupant of the vehicle from one or more in-vehicle sensors;
• (ii) compare the extracted features with the stored identification data;
• and (iii) when a coincidence level between the features and the identification data is greater than or equal to a threshold, determine that the occupant is the administrator;
• output, via the second circuitry, a guidance notification of the software update process for the vehicle from the output device provided in the vehicle, when the first circuitry determines that the administrator is on board in the boarding determination process;
• and
• output, via the third circuitry, the guidance notification of the software update process for the vehicle from the terminal device of the administrator of the vehicle, when the first circuitry determines that the administrator is not on board in the boarding determination process and
• perform the process of updating the software of the vehicle, after outputting the guidance notification of the software update process for the vehicle.

A vehicle software update apparatus to be applied to a vehicle, the vehicle software update apparatus comprising:

• an update control device configured to perform a process of updating software of the vehicle as a software update process;
• an input and output control device configured to control an output device provided in the vehicle;
• and
• a communication control device configured to communicate with a terminal device of an administrator of the vehicle, wherein
• the update control device is configured to switch destination to be output a guidance notification of the software update process based on a location of the administrator, and output the guidance notification before performing the process of updating the software of the vehicle, and
• the update control device is configured, before performing the process of updating the software of the vehicle, to:
• perform a boarding determination process of determining whether the administrator is on board the vehicle;
• output, via the input and output control device, the guidance notification of the software update process for the vehicle to the output device provided in the vehicle and display the guidance notification by using the output device, when the update control device determines that the administrator is on board in the boarding determination process;
• and
• output, via the communication control device, the guidance notification of the software update process for the vehicle to the terminal device of the administrator of the vehicle and display the guidance notification by using the terminal device, when the update control device determines that the administrator is not on board in the boarding determination process;
• and
• perform the process of updating the software of the vehicle, after outputting the guidance notification of the software update process for the vehicle.