Towards Trustworthy NFC-based Sensor Readout for Battery Packs in Battery Management Systems

TL;DR

This paper proposes a secure NFC-based communication method for wireless Battery Management Systems, addressing interference issues and enhancing security for battery sensor readouts in electric vehicles.

Contribution

It introduces a novel NFC-based communication approach with integrated authentication for BMS, tested through a practical demonstrator.

Findings

NFC communication reduces interference issues compared to 2.4 GHz technologies.

The authentication schema effectively prevents counterfeit battery packs.

The demonstrator shows practical feasibility of the proposed system.

Abstract

In the last several years, wireless Battery Management Systems (BMS) have slowly become a topic of interest from both academia and industry. It came from a necessity derived from the increased production and use in different systems, including the electrical vehicles. Wireless communication allows for a more flexible and cost-efficient sensor installation in battery packs. However, many wireless technologies, such as those that use the 2.4 GHz frequency band, suffer from the interference limitations that need to be addressed. In this paper we present an alternative approach to communication in BMS that relies on the use of Near Field Communication (NFC) technology for battery sensor readouts. Due to a vital concern over the counterfeited battery pack products, security measures are also considered. To this end, we propose the use of an effective, and easy to integrate, authentication schema that is supported by the dedicated NFC devices. To test the usability of our design, a demonstrator using the targeted devices was implemented and evaluated.