Resonac Holdings and ZenmuTech conducted a joint validation that used a secure-computation platform to combine materials data while preserving confidentiality, reducing property prediction errors by approximately 78%.
The joint validation involved adopting “QueryAhead,” a secure-computation library developed by Resonac Holdings and ZenmuTech, and building a materials informatics (MI) platform that can use suppliers’ confidential data without disclosing it.
The background to the initiative was explained as follows: although materials development is becoming more sophisticated, confidentiality constraints on data sharing between companies make quantitative analysis involving multiple companies difficult. The circumstances that led the research center and ZenmuTech to begin collaborating were also described.
The joint demonstration showed that analysis using principal component analysis and linear regression in a secure-computation environment produced reproducible results compared with a conventional environment. It also showed that a prediction model combining data from both companies reduced prediction errors for properties related to liquidity by approximately 78%.
Going forward, the companies plan to establish rules governing the scope of data disclosure and operational procedures, and to expand application beyond the theme covered in this demonstration.