Trust · architecture
Security and data handling
The strongest guarantee about data is the one that does not depend on a promise. Most of ours is architectural: the data never moves in the first place.
In short
VehicleLab's security model is architectural rather than contractual. The desktop instruments — MDX, Hexx and XHandbook — run entirely on the engineer's own machine, read local files, and need no licence server, so measurement recordings, A2L descriptions and calibration images are never uploaded anywhere. The agent-based tools — DiagAI, HELIX and Orbis — deploy inside the customer's own network, with local model routing through Ollama or LM Studio and per-OEM knowledge isolation, which is how air-gapped programmes run them. Nothing leaves your network unless you explicitly configure an external endpoint.
01
Where your data actually goes
The desktop instruments open files from disk and write files to disk. There is no licence server to check in with, no account to sign into before a file will open, and no telemetry sent by default. An engineer can be offline for a week and every tool still works exactly the same.
That matters because the files in question are the sensitive ones: prototype measurement recordings, the A2L that describes a control unit, and the calibration image itself. The safest way to protect them is not to move them.
- No licence serverMDX, Hexx and XHandbook do not phone home to authorise a session. Offline and air-gapped machines are ordinary installations, not a special case.
- Local files onlyRecordings, A2Ls, datasets and ECU images are read from and written to paths you choose, on hardware you control.
- No default telemetryThe tools do not send usage or file data to us. Where a deployment needs an external endpoint, it is something you configure deliberately.
- Open standardsMDF4, A2L, DCM, CDFX, PACO, Intel HEX and S-record. Your data is never locked in a format only we can read.
02
On-premise for the tools that use models
AI-assisted tools are where data-egress questions usually get sharp, so the answer is deliberately boring: DiagAI supports fully on-premise deployment against local models served by Ollama or an LM Studio-compatible runtime, and each organisation's documentation and history lives in its own isolated index rather than a shared one.
Orbis works the same way. It reads local files, and its domain tools hand the model structured summaries rather than raw file contents. Pointed at a model on your own hardware, the workspace makes no external network calls at all. HELIX is available on-premise for programmes that require it.
03
What we do not claim
We are a small company in pilot with Tier-1 powertrain teams, and we would rather answer your security questionnaire directly than decorate this page with badges. If your procurement process needs specific certifications, controls or contractual commitments, ask us and we will tell you plainly what we do and do not have today.
The one thing we will not do is describe an architecture we have not built. Everything above is how the software works now, and we are happy to demonstrate any of it on a call — including running an instrument with the network disconnected.
Questions
Frequently asked.
Does VehicleLab software send my data anywhere?
The desktop tools — MDX, Hexx and XHandbook — do not. They run locally, read local files and send no telemetry by default. DiagAI, HELIX and Orbis can be deployed entirely inside your network; data leaves only if you deliberately configure an external inference endpoint or integration.
Can the tools run air-gapped or offline?
Yes. There is no licence server, so the desktop instruments work with no network at all. DiagAI and Orbis run against local models via Ollama or an LM Studio-compatible runtime, which is how air-gapped OEM environments use them.
How is one customer's data kept separate in DiagAI?
Per-OEM knowledge isolation: each organisation's documentation and diagnostic history lives in its own local index rather than a shared one, on your own infrastructure.
Do you hold security certifications?
Ask us and we will answer plainly rather than pointing at a badge. Tell us what your procurement process requires and we will tell you exactly what we have today and what we do not.
Next step
Send us the questionnaire.
If your programme has security requirements to clear before a tool can be installed, put them in front of us early. We will answer what we can, say what we cannot, and show you an instrument running with the network unplugged.