As technology continues to adapt and grow, becoming more software-defined and complex, specific challenges emerge across industries. In the automotive and transportation industry, the development of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is a complex engineering challenge with significant deployment, compliance, and maintenance considerations. Encompassing hundreds of sensors, constant data flows, and rigorous safety standards, AVs demand a software infrastructure that is agile and secure.
Global technology company ZF, is a leader in the development of advanced technology solutions across many verticals. A critical part of ZF’s strategy is embracing and developing key solutions for AVs. But keeping pace with innovation meant finding a scalable, secure, and flexible way to update and manage the software running on its AV fleets—across various operating systems, hardware configurations, and environments.
By partnering with Mender, ZF accelerated its AV development, maintained strict regulatory compliance, and enhanced software quality—without sacrificing control or increasing risk.
Developing and deploying autonomous vehicles requires the ability to manage distributed, software-defined systems that operate in real time and under mission-critical conditions. The requirements extend far beyond simply developing “smart” vehicles to be sold as hardware; they must be maintained and managed like software, with countless dependencies and components that affect each other. Managing AVs requires the ability to iterate and troubleshoot software components continuously while ensuring harmony to keep the vehicle operational and the consumer protected.
ZF needed to manage frequent updates to multiple embedded systems within the AV. Each update supports different components like lidar, radar, and onboard compute platforms. These updates had to be deployed across test and production environments without causing downtime or risking system failure, with proper orchestration to ensure each component remains operational and harmonious. At the same time, ZF had to meet strict industry requirements, such as UNECE R156 and ISO 24089, which govern software update procedures for road vehicles.
ZF's existing legacy automotive OTA solutions lacked the flexibility and openness needed to handle the complexity of its AV fleet. The legacy OTA solutions were proprietary, leading to vendor lock-in, opaque update pipelines, and long evaluation cycles. With teams working across multiple countries, ZF also faced the challenge of limited access to physical infrastructure, making remote management and troubleshooting essential.
Security and control are non-negotiable in AV development. A compromised system can lead to data breaches, safety risks, and reputational damage. For ZF, secure device management is foundational.
ZF needed to ensure that every update was encrypted, authenticated, and deployed only by authorized personnel. Granular access controls, robust audit logs, and fail-safe mechanisms, like rollback support in case of errors, are requirements. Maintaining high uptime, even while pushing updates at scale, is fundamental for managing the ZF fleet.
Mender offered the level of transparency and security ZF required—an open-source architecture, role-based access control, encrypted update channels, and remote terminal access for safe, off-site troubleshooting.
ZF approached OTA updates with a strategy centered on openness, agility, and long-term control. After evaluating several commercial solutions, ZF chose Mender for its ease of integration, robust security, and transparent architecture. Crucially, ZF could deploy Mender in its own secure, on-premise environment, meeting both its internal governance standards and external compliance requirements. With features like delta updates and remote terminal access, ZF reduced data transfer costs, debugged issues remotely, and maintained near-continuous uptime across its fleet.
With Mender, ZF transformed its software update process into a secure, robust, and seamless process, promoting instantaneous improvements over-the-air.
Autonomous systems operate in unpredictable environments. That means even a minor software error or delayed update can result in serious consequences. An AV, like a consumer vehicle, is safety-critical. A software failure could result in real-world damage and, at worst, loss of life. Because of these high stakes, compliance and maintenance requirements prove expensive and nonnegotiable. Without robust device management, AV programs are vulnerable to:
ZF avoided these risks by putting secure, scalable OTA infrastructure at the center of their AV strategy, letting engineers focus on innovation and differentiation rather than infrastructure.
As AV technologies continue to evolve, so too must the infrastructure that supports them. ZF’s partnership with Mender illustrates what’s possible when OTA updates are treated as strategic assets, not a nice-to-have or an afterthought. Robust OTA update capabilities allow OEMs to focus on innovation, speeding up time to market while ensuring the vehicle remains up-to-date and functional as new features roll out.
With Mender, ZF gained the ability to innovate faster, stay compliant, and remain in full control of its systems. And as the AV landscape grows more complex, these capabilities will only become more essential.