HARMAN Enhances its Position as the Undisputed Leader for the Over-the-Air (OTA) Software Updating Solution Provider in the Growing Connected Vehicle Market

STAMFORD, Conn., Sept. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HARMAN International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer and enterprise markets, today launched version 11 of its Remote Vehicle Updating OTA solution, based on technology HARMAN obtained through the acquisition of Redbend in 2015. Seventeen OEMs have chosen HARMAN's OTA solution, enabling 25 million vehicles, making it the only commercially deployed OTA option on the market.

The ability to update automotive software over-the-air has become a competitive advantage for OEMs for several reasons. First, HARMAN's OTA solution reduces the need for recalls by remotely addressing system malfunctions and security threats. Second, OEMs can use the OTA solution to decrease time-to-market by updating software while vehicles are still on the production line, as well as offering consumers new features and functions post-sale, maintaining a direct connection between the OEM and the driver, increasing OEM brand awareness and customer loyalty.

HARMAN's Remote Vehicle Updating is the only OTA solution that enables efficient full-vehicle management. The low-footprint solution enables OTA updates and management of the whole car, from head units to the smallest ECUs, even those with low processing and memory resources. This solution is specifically built to eliminate failures, by coping with any potential risks, such as network problems, cyber security attacks and file tampering, providing OEMs with a secure and efficient way to mitigate risk and increase security and safety.

HARMAN's solution leverages its unique Smart Delta technology which reduces the file update package up to 99%, accomplished by generating a small delta update file containing only the changes from previous version. This contributes greatly to network efficiency and cost, as well as minimizing the time to complete the update,  resulting in a positive customer experience.

HARMAN's OTA solution also improves manufacturing and logistics efficiencies for OEMs in several ways. For example, deploying the solution:

• at the production line - eliminates software flashing bottle necks;
• during the shipping process - streamlines the software supply chain and eliminates dependencies;
• at the dealer - makes the software update process much faster and reduces customer frustration.

OTA version 11 also serves as the underlying infrastructure for HARMAN's award-winning automotive cloud solution, Ignite. Version 11 includes updates from earlier versions and features a new UI providing a more seamless user experience for OEMs. Additional updates include the ability to:

• update ECUs of any size or ECUs with limited resources - small to large updates can be made to the whole vehicle;  
• support any platform of ECU (Linux, RTOS, AUTOSAR) and any BUS inside the vehicle (CAN Bus, Ethernet, MOST, LIN);
• better protect the update process and allow for mitigation of risks during an update, network failure, or power failure;
• deploy on any OS with backend deployment available on any cloud or customer premise;
• update any type of software - firmware, operating systems, maps, configuration files and content.

"We are excited that over 25 million vehicles on the road are being reliably updated using our OTA solution and more than 100 million connected cars are contracted to implement HARMAN's OTA technology," said Oren Betzaleli, vice president and general manager of HARMAN International. "We look forward to the future as we continue to develop new solutions and services that transform the automotive market and personalize the driving experience."