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Lockheed Martin and NEC Corporation have agreed to extend their partnership utilizing NEC’s System Invariant Analysis Technology (SIAT), which provides Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) capabilities across product lifecycles. The companies are also finalizing a licensing agreement with a multi-year option.

This agreement comes after the companies have been working together to evaluate the effectiveness of SIAT for early production testing and operational scenarios. Lockheed Martin has integrated SIAT into the Technology for Telemetry Analytics for Universal Artificial Intelligence (T-TAURI) AI service. The company said this enables proactive anomaly detection during the design, development, production and test phase of spacecraft development. 

In an October 2020 feature for Via Satellite, Linda Foster, director of Innovation at Lockheed Martin Space Mission Solutions said the AI capabilities of T-TAURI increase the speed at which satellites can be developed and tested. Lockheed uses T-TAURI during key testing milestones like Thermal Vacuum (TVAC). T-TAURI combs through testing data to analyze anomalous results in a fraction of time, significantly decreasing schedule.

“We’re thrilled that the innovative SIAT developed by NEC provides value to Lockheed Martin as it addresses not only the development of complex systems, but also the uniqueness of deep space exploration,” said Motoo Nishihara, executive vice president, CTO and member of the board, NEC Corporation. “Together, we are committed to strengthening our solution and finding new ways to apply this technology.”