摘要 |
A system and method for emulating vehicle components, wherein a device having limited capabilities in a stand-alone configuration is coupled to a network and utilizes services provided by other network devices to enable it to emulate a component which has less-limited capabilities. In one embodiment, a network having a server is installed in a vehicle. The limited-capability device is coupled to the network, and a memory in the limited-capability device provides data regarding the device to the server. The data may itself describe services needed by the device, or it may identify a location at which this information can be found. When the needed information is provided to the limited-capability device, the limited-capability device appears to other devices on the network (and to devices external to the network) as if it were not limited in its capabilities. In the one embodiment, a display which is not IP-addressable contacts a server to register interest in data packets of a particular type. When the server identifies such packets, the packets are redirected to the display as if they were originally addressed to the display. The display thereby appears to be an IP-addressable device and functions in this manner even though it is incapable of doing so in a stand-alone configuration.
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