NTT DATA and Aurora Labs form global strategic partnership

NTT DATA and Aurora Labs have announced their global strategic cooperation in the Automotive Industry, with first joint projects in production and logistics. Companies will benefit from an intelligent combination of AI technology and 5G for scalable and agile over-the-air (OTA) software updates with superior efficiency and end-to-end security, including the 5G transport layer.

Five times more vehicles in one-fifth of the time

NTT DATA and Aurora Labs' intelligent 5G over-the-air update is based on a self-learning artificial intelligence (AI) technology by Aurora Labs and built-in self-optimization. With the combination of AI, which significantly reduces the amount of data that needs to be transmitted, and 5G connectivity, a 25-fold increase in efficiency is achievable and updates of 5,000 nodes (cars) per radio cell are possible compared to 1,000 end nodes in 4G networks. These revolutionary services help reduce time and cost while also lowering kW/Bit to deliver on our joint commitment to sustainability.

Public 5G networks are currently rolled out area-wide. To supplement this, companies can now build their own 5G network that can be restricted to a dedicated building, factory or lot, providing independent 5G that only authorised subscribers are able to connect to. Private 5G networks provide advanced reliability: uninterrupted connectivity, low latency and high bandwidth. The combination of a self-contained network with software update files created by Aurora Labs' proprietary, non-open-source algorithms results in unparalleled security. Built for evolution and scalability, NTT DATA's solutions are designed to grow with the client's demand - achieving continuously increasing speeds and coverage to meet the customer's over-the-air update needs without increasing the cost of hardware such as antennae, base stations or device memory.

Aurora Labs' AI-based Vehicle Software Intelligence (VSI) solutions are being used by global automotive and device manufacturers to continuously collect actionable data and obtain a deep understanding of the changes made to the vehicle's software. Integrating the VSI solution early into the software development lifecycle streamlines the development process and creates the industry's smallest update files. Aurora Labs' AI-based Vehicle Software Intelligence offers significant economic benefits to the auto industry with a clear cost-effective value proposition, saving up to 98% of device hardware and data transmission costs for software updates.

"The key to meeting society's future mobility needs is to provide the automotive industry with highly efficient, reliable and secure solutions. Through our partnership with Aurora Labs, we combine technological innovation with our industry expertise to meet users' needs for a better quality of service in a safe and sustainable way", said Stefan Hansen CEO and Chairman of the Management Board NTT DATA DACH.

"Distributing updates to thousands of vehicles quickly, securely, and reliably via wireless connections is far from trivial, especially as data volumes continue to grow. The AI capabilities of Aurora Labs, the industry experience and the 5G expertise of NTT DATA. have resulted in a solution that scales for future growth," said Kai Grunwitz, CEO NTT Ltd. Germany.

"Current OTA update solutions cannot support the data required to manage the software lifecycle of Infotainment (IVI) and ADAS systems. OTA is crucial after the first launch of new vehicles to stabilize the software during the first 12 months. The capability to iterate fast requires data size efficiency and robust networks. We believe that partnering with NTT DATA. is a game changer for addressing software agility in development, production and on the road," said Zohar Fox, CEO of Aurora Labs.

"Through this strategic cooperation we will continue to innovate, accelerating the means of doing business while supporting our clients in tackling the intricacies of delivering seamless and connected vehicle experience," said Noriyuki Kaya, Chief Digital Assets Officer (CDAO) of NTT DATA Inc.