Garmin taps QNX technology to create K2 infotainment platform

Complete digital cockpit delivers navigation, diagnostics, streaming media, smartphone integration, and voice recognition

Most people are familiar with Garmin's many portable GPS devices, from sports watches to action cameras to PNDs. But Garmin has also created the K2, a next-generation infotainment solution that's built for automakers and based on the QNX CAR platform.

The K2 is a complete “digital cockpit” that comprises multiple digital displays, on- and off-board voice recognition, smartphone integration, and optional embedded 4G connectivity. It's designed to give drivers simple, intuitive access to navigation, vehicle diagnostics, streaming media, and realtime Web information. It's also designed with scalability in mind, so automakers can use it to address diverse market requirements and cost targets.

According to Matt Munn, managing director of Garmin’s automotive OEM group, “the QNX CAR platform has played a major role in helping us to achieve our goal of providing both world-class software reliability and flexible access to emerging consumer applications. From the proven stability and performance of the QNX architecture to the company’s worldwide industry recognition, QNX was the logical choice.”

Other key features of the K2 include a 3D-enhanced city model, a predictive services calendar, and remote personalization and control via a web portal or smartphone.

Here's the K2 at a glance:

Source: Garmin

And here's a demo of the system, filmed by Engadget at 2013 CES:



For more information on this announcement, read the press release. And for more on the K2 itself, visit the Garmin blog.

A version of this article was originally posted on the QNX auto blog.

Foryou Electronics, leading infotainment supplier in China, makes the shift to QNX CAR platform

A Foryou infotainment system.
Source: Foryou

This just in: Foryou General Electronics, a global supplier of in-car infotainment systems, has chosen the QNX CAR platform to develop infotainment and navigation systems for automakers in China.

Said Steven Chen, CTO of Foryou General Electronics, ”we appreciate the modular, pre-integrated approach that the QNX CAR platform offers because it allows us to develop highly reliable, differentiated infotainment solutions for entry-level to high-end vehicles.”

Foryou chose the QNX CAR platform after comprehensive testing of competing infotainment platforms, including open source solutions.

Established in September 2002, Foryou General Electronics is a subsidiary of Foryou Group Ltd., one of the top 100 electronic information enterprises of China. Its products are sold in more than 80 countries and regions worldwide; company sales were more than US$300 million in 2012.

For more information on this announcement, read the press release.

20 million points of interest
In related news, QNX has also announced that it is partnering with AutoNavi, a leading provider of digital map content and navigation solutions in China, to integrate AutoNavi’s technology into the QNX CAR platform.

AutoNavi offers a digital map database that covers approximately 3.6 million kilometers of roadway and over 20 million points of interest across China. By supporting this database, the QNX CAR platform will enable automotive companies to create navigation systems optimized for the Chinese market and users.

Said Yongqi Yang, executive vice president of automotive business, AutoNavi, “as a leading global provider of vehicle infotainment software platforms, QNX is not only a technology leader, but also a design concept innovator in enhancing vehicle flexibility — infotainment designs based on the QNX CAR Platform can be quickly customized.”

For more information on this partnership, read the press release. And to learn more about AutoNavi, visit their website.

This article was originally posted on the QNX auto blog.

Panasonic goes global with QNX CAR platform

In the automotive market — or any market, for that matter — a product platform must be judged by its flexibility. After all, the whole point of a platform is to help you create multiple products or product lines, each with its own distinguishing features, while reusing as many components as possible. Done right, a platform lets you target multiple price points, multiple consumer segments, and multiple geographies, in the least time and at the least cost. If that doesn’t define flexibility, I don’t know what does.

Which brings me to Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of America. They’re an international supplier of infotainment systems — Chevy MyLink and Chrysler Uconnect are just two of their products — and they need this kind of flexibility to deliver localized solutions  to their OEM customers in North America, Europe, and Japan. To help achieve it, they use the QNX CAR platform.

Flexible by design: MyLink supports
a touchscreen, voice commands,
and steering-wheel buttons.

To quote Scott Kirchner, vice president and CTO of Panasonic Automotive Systems, “we wanted a platform that would let us quickly customize our infotainment systems for a variety of markets and customer requirements — the QNX CAR platform, with its modular architecture and support for mobile connectivity standards, provides the inherent flexibility we were looking for.”

That quote comes from a press release issued just a few minutes ago. To read the release in its entirety, visit the QNX website. But before you click, remember also to visit the Chevy website, where you can find out more about the MyLink system. And did I mention? MyLink has been building quite the trophy case, what with the Best of CES 2013 Award it won in January and the CTIA Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Award it won in May.

Chevy MyLink system.
Images: Chevrolet

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog

What are the 5 all-time most popular QNX videos?

Geez, I thought you'd never ask. Seriously, the question came to mind earlier this week, so I decided to find out. A quick trip to the QNX YouTube channel provided the answer.

What that trip didn't tell me is why these videos are the most popular. I can think of several reasons, but the most obvious is that the videos all hint at a future in which driving is more connected, more convenient, more enjoyable — and also a little safer. But don't take my word for it. Check out the videos, if you haven't already, and judge for yourself.

Without further ado, here are the top five, along with my favorite scene from each one.

#1
First up, at more than 525,000 views, is Imagined: Your car in the not-so-distant future. Best part: the augmented reality-enhanced stop sign (1:10).



#2
Next, at more than 230,000 views, is QNX seamless connectivity. Best part: John Wall speaking on the real challenge of making a connected car (:50).



#3
Close behind #2, at more than 213,000 views, is The QNX secret to making hands-free noise-free. Best part: The marching band (1:21).



#4
Next, at more than 85,000 views, is QNX HTML5 series - Interview with Pandora's Tom Conrad. Best part: It's all good, but I love the bloopers (3:00).



#5
And last, at more than 34,000 views, is QNX technology concept car - Bentley Continental. Best part: the couches.



One that didn't make it...
And, finally, here's my current favorite. It's not one of the top five... yet. But I think it should be:

Using Crank Storyboard to create an automotive user interface

Just how adept is the QNX CAR application platform at supporting a variety of user interface technologies and toolkits?

From the beginning, we've promoted flexibility as a key quality of the QNX CAR application platform. For instance, the platform lets you work with a variety of user interface technologies, including HTML5, Qt, OpenGL ES, and others. What's more, it lets you blend UI components built with different technologies on the same display, at the same time. You're not forced into using a single API or toolkit.

When it came time to build our new technology concept car, we decided to put this flexibility to the test. After all, the whole point of the concept car is to demonstrate the capabilities of the QNX CAR platform. So, for the first time, we tried building a user interface with the Storyboard Suite from Crank Software.

How well did the QNX CAR platform and Storyboard work together? I think the results speak for themselves. For instance:



Of course, this photo can't demonstrate the smooth animations and snappy performance of the car's user interface. For that, I recommend one of the videos shot at CES, including the excellent video from TI.

So why did we choose Storyboard? For one thing, it allowed our concept team to take UI components created in Photoshop and import them directly into their live design. Rather than spend days or weeks recreating the UI in code, the team's engineers were able to start with what the UI designer provided. Which made prototyping and fine-tuning the UI a lot easier.

Mind you, that wasn't the only reason the team used StoryBoard. But instead of listening to me blather about it, check out this video:



Key takeaway: If you're building a UI for your QNX-based system, you owe it to yourself to check out Crank's Storyboard Suite. You can learn more on the Crank website.

QNX at 2013 CES: The media's take

The show ain't over yet, but already, media coverage of the QNX concept car at 2013 CES is pouring in faster than my modest brain can handle. I'm still catching up, but here, in no particular order, are my favorite stories so far.

I'd love to hear what you think of what the media is saying. So before you go, let me know!

New York Times — A Tricked-Out Bentley at CES Shows Off Tech’s Capabilities

Washington Post — CES 2013: Car tech focuses on making the most of your time on the road — safely

Driving.ca — QNX's Bentley gives glimpse of future car tech

Engadget — QNX unveils concept Bentley Continental GT alongside Car Platform 2.0

CNET — QNX concept Bentley showcases future dashboard technologies

Uber Gizmo — QNX Shows Off Bentley Continental GT Concept Car

Car Design News — QNX Car 2 at CES 2013 (video)

CrackBerry —  Dan Dodge shows off the QNX Bentley concept car at CES (video)

BerryReview — Monitor RIM’s New Bentley QNX Concept Car @CES from Your Browser

Auto Guide — QNX Previews Tesla-Sized Touch Screen in a Bentley

Engadget — QNX builds in-car speech framework with AT&T's Watson, knows our true intentions

Itbusiness.ca — RIM subsidiary brings in-car speech recognition (and a Bentley) to CES

LAPTOP — QNX Bringing HTML 5, 4G LTE, Video Conferencing to Future Cars

TechnoBuffalo — Chevy, Ford, and QNX at CES 2013 (video)

Financial Post — CES 2013 kicks off with RIM’s QNX showing off car, a step closer to digitized homes

Ottawa Citizen — Ottawa companies use CES to pitch latest products to the world

Tech 2 — CES 2013: QNX shows off Car Platform 2.0 with concept Bentley Continental GT

Blast Magazine — At 2013’s Consumer Electronics Show, car safety has become a hot topic

N4BB — QNX CAR Application Platform 2.0 Chosen by Delphi for Next-Generation Infotainment

That's it for now. I aim to post some more stories and videos early next week. Stay tuned.

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog.

QNX-powered Chevy Mylink drives home with Best of CES award

Congratulations to the infotainment team at Chevrolet! Their next-generation Chevy MyLink system has just won a Best of CES award, in the car tech category. The competition judges were particularly impressed with MyLink's user interface and integration with the car's instrument cluster.

The MyLink system was one of two QNX-powered finalists in this year's competition; the other was Garmin's K2 infotainment platform.

Chevy plans to roll out the new version of MyLink later this year.

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog.

Two QNX customers, Chevrolet and Garmin, shortlisted for 2013 Best of CES awards

Who doesn't love to win an award? Last year, for example, we were absolutely thrilled that our QNX CAR application platform drove home with a Best of CES award. Heck, I'm still excited!

But here's the thing. All of the products and services that QNX offers are designed with one goal in mind: to make our customers successful. The more our customers succeed, the more QNX succeeds. Which is why I am doubly excited today. Because not one, but two customers have nabbed finalist spots at this year's Best of CES awards for their QNX-based products: Chevrolet for its second-generation MyLink system, and Garmin for its K2 infotainment platform.

Congratulations to our friends at Chevrolet and Garmin — I'll be rooting for all of you!

The winners of this year's Best of CES awards will be announced today, at 11 am PT.

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog.

Now on YouTube! First video of QNX technology concept car

Yesterday, some friends from Texas Instruments dropped by our CES booth for a demo of the new QNX concept car. The cameras were rolling, and here's what they caught.

Mark Rigley, head of the QNX concept team, did a fantastic job of guiding TI's Michael Guillory through the car's many features, including the gorgeous HD display powered by TI DLP technology and by a TI OMAP 5 processor. Check it out:



My favorite part? The exceedingly cool video conferencing. What's yours?

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog.

QNX unveils brand new concept car (hint: it's a Bentley)

If you haven't visited the QNX auto blog today, you've been missing all the action. This morning, QNX Software Systems took the wraps off a new technology concept car, based on a specially modified — and drop-dead gorgeous — Bentley Continental GT.

Here's an example of what you've been missing:



I've posted many other images on the QNX auto blog, along with guided tour of the car's many features. So what are you waiting for? Check it out.

QNX at SAE Convergence: Cool screens and a mobile theme

Let's start with the theme. And no, I don't mean the kind of theme you download onto your smartphone. I'm referring instead to the main theme of a press release that QNX issued yesterday at SAE Convergence.

First, some context. If you're an automaker, you have little choice: you have to offer infotainment systems that can keep pace with the crazy fast advances in mobile devices. You also need to keep your systems fresh with apps, features, and content that consumers will expect long after they've bought your car. And to do that, you'll need to tap into the skills and products of the mobile app community. Otherwise, that ultra-cool infotainment system you ship today will rapidly transform itself into the 8-track of tomorrow. Goodbye, brand image.

The QNX CAR 2 application platform, with its solid grounding in HTML5, is designed to help infotainment-system designers conquer these (admittedly difficult) challenges. HTML5, after all, has become the lingua franca of the mobile apps market and offers an ideal bridge between the mobile and automotive worlds.

One thing was missing, though — a toolkit that would make it easy for mobile app developers to target the QNX CAR 2 platform. Yesterday, at SAE Convergence, QNX announced a new HTML5 SDK designed to do just that.

An SDK for (auto)mobile developers
The HTML5 SDK for the QNX CAR 2 platform is an extension of the open source BlackBerry WebWorks framework, specially optimized for automotive environments. It allows developers to write, test, and package feature-rich automotive apps based on HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and other open standards. It also provides the missing glue between high-level apps and the car, through specialized APIs that provide access to automotive devices and hardware.

Runtime emulator for quicker testing and debugging
This is where the first of the screens comes in. To speed development, the HTML5 SDK provides an emulator that lets developers quickly see how their apps would look and function in a car. Developers can use the emulator to perform JavaScript debugging, HTML DOM inspection, automated testing, and screen-resolution emulation, all from the convenience of a web browser. They can even make changes to their apps and view the results without having to recompile. The simulator is based on the open source BlackBerry Ripple emulator, used by thousands of mobile developers.

For instance, in this screen capture, the emulator is being used to test the virtual mechanic provided by the QNX CAR 2 platform:


Click to magnify

Here's another example, where the emulator is being used to test an audio control application. If you were running this emulator session, you could manipulate the app's onscreen controls to adjust volume, bass, treble, fade, and balance; you could also observe the changes to the underlying data values in the right-hand panel. And you could work the other way: by changing the controls on the right, you could observe changes to the app.


Click to magnify.

QNX also plans to create a virtual marketplace that will allow developers to make their QNX CAR 2 applications available to automakers. The marketplace will provide common ground for app developers and automakers to work together, and will allow automakers to preview the applications that best fit their brands and satisfy their customers. The marketplace is expected to go live when the HTML5 SDK is released.

By the way, my colleague Kerry Johnson provides an interesting back story to the SDK, including the kinds of APIs it provides. You can read his post here. You can also find more images of the emulator on the QNX Flickr page.

3D navigation from Elektrobit
Now for the other screens. Besides announcing the SDK, QNX has brought its QNX reference vehicle, a modded Jeep Wrangler, to the SAE show floor. As always, the Jeep is running the QNX CAR 2 platform. But this time, the Jeep also includes a cool 3D navigation app from automotive software vendor Elektrobit. Here are two examples of the Elektrobit app:





That's it for now. But before you go, be sure to follow @QNX_Auto on Twitter, where we are covering the latest developments, both QNX and non-QNX, from SAE Convergence.

So where is QNX going in automotive?

Head unit from the QNX
reference vehicle

Want a short and sweet intro on what QNX is doing in the automotive industry? Then be sure to check out "A Look At The Near Future Of In-Car Technology," published this week in The Washington Post and in Motor Authority. (Same article in both cases, though Motor Authority has more pictures :-)

The article is based on an interview with my friend and colleague Andy Gryc, who is also my go-to person whenever I'm trying to understand anything about in-car infotainment. It covers the bases, from how QNX technology helps automakers project their brand identities to how it will enable a new generation of apps in the car.

Enough of my blather. Check out the article and let me know what you think.

A version of this post also appeared in the QNX auto blog.

What has the QNX auto team been up to?

Well, let's see...

• Nancy discovers that, when it comes to demos, three minutes isn't enough
   
• Paul discovers that most drivers think too highly of themselves
   
• Linda thinks the connected car means business
   
• Andy would rather fill his tank with switchgrass than corn
   
• Paul discovers that Firebirds once drove themselves
   
• Andy talks to his car and discovers New York's water towers
   
• Nancy dares you to prove your mastery of automotive trivia
   
• Marc makes his apps lean and mean
   
• Paul thinks the self-driving car ain't what it used to be
   
• And Andy asks why cars don't just disable phones
   

Green shift: QNX sponsors EcoCar 2 competition

This just in: QNX has officially announced that it is a bronze sponsor of the "EcoCar 2: Plugging in to the Future" competition. Established by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy, the competition challenges universities across North America to reduce the environmental impact of a Chevrolet Malibu without compromising performance, safety, or consumer acceptability.

QNX Software Systems will provide teams with access to the QNX CAR 2 application platform, which serves as the foundation for the infotainment systems and digital instrument clusters being developed for the vehicle. This is the same QNX CAR platform featured in the QNX reference vehicle.

For more information on the competition and on QNX's involvement, check out this post on the QNX auto blog.