In-car innovations: How JOYNEXT is participating in shaping the OTA standard

With OTA (Over The Air), software updates can be installed directly in vehicles. In this way, for example, new functions can for be added immediately or newly discovered security vulnerabilities can be addressed without having to go to a repair shop.

Although German carmakers have been using OTA technologies for several years, these are mostly based on the manufacturers' individual specifications rather than industry-wide standards. As a result, technology integration across the board is difficult. Without binding standards, it is not feasible to ensure interoperability and consistency between different vehicles and components from one or more manufacturers.

This is where JOYNEXT and the eSync Alliance come in, aiming to create a unified standard for OTA updates in the automotive industry. With the Android Embedded Device, JOYNEXT offers a platform whose operating system is conceptually designed for software updates and thus for OTA, and was able to gain valuable insights into the practical challenges and requirements of OTA updates. These insights were crucial for the development of the standard by the eSync Alliance to ensure that the technical specifications were practical.

JOYNEXT has played a central role in the further development of the eSync specification into a standard. Under the leadership of Dr. Daniel Wedekind, Senior Manager at JOYNEXT GmbH, the Compliance Work Group (CWG) of the eSync Alliance has developed software tools, certification processes and benchmarks that ensure that OTA solutions can be developed in a way that is both specification- and ASPICE-compliant. This has enabled the development of a practical and user-friendly OTA standard that is critical to the technological advancement of the automotive industry.

The development and challenges of the OTA standard are examined in more detail in an article published in the renowned trade journal Automobil-Elektronik. You can find the complete article here: In-car innovations: How JOYNEXT is participating in shaping the OTA standard