QNX Unveils New Concept Bentley Continental GT & Car Platform 2.0

Related: Automotive

QNX Software Systems Limited, a global leader in software platforms for in-car electronics, today announced that a release of the QNX CAR application platform 2.0 and of its associated tooling environment, the QNX CAR development platform 2.0, is now available to the automotive community.

The QNX CAR application platform 2.0 supports an exceptionally rich set of pre-integrated technologies, both from QNX Software Systems and from dozens of ecosystem partners. This pre-integrated platform, built on an OS proven in tens of millions of vehicles, enables automotive customers to hit the ground running and significantly reduce the time required to build connected, cutting-edge infotainment systems.

"The era of multi-year design cycles in car infotainment is over; our customers now want to develop at the speed of mobility. Case in point: we helped one customer slash their development effort down to 14 months - a massive improvement over the industry standard of 3 years," said Andy Gryc, automotive product marketing manager, QNX Software Systems. "At the same time, our platform helps infotainment systems stay relevant long after they've been deployed, through an HTML5 framework that simplifies smartphone integration and that enables manufacturers to keep vehicles fresh with new apps and content."

To help mobile developers and automakers work in tandem, QNX Software Systems also plans to release an HTML5 SDK for the QNX CAR application platform by mid 2013. HTML5 is the only application environment that works with all of the major mobile platforms. The SDK will provide mobile developers with specialized APIs for accessing automotive devices and hardware. It will also include an emulator that lets mobile developers quickly see how their apps would look and function in an actual car.

QNX Software Systems has also released the QNX CAR development platform 2.0, which provides the tools that customers need to create, modify, debug, and test their custom versions of the QNX CAR application platform.

"For almost a year, automotive companies in the U.S., Germany, Japan, and China have been putting the QNX CAR application platform 2.0 through its paces. We're thrilled to see the many next-generation designs that customers already started developing on the platform during the early access program," said Andy Gryc.

Platform demonstration at 2013 CES

To demonstrate the extraordinary flexibility of the QNX CAR application platform 2.0, QNX Software Systems has created a new technology concept car based on a Bentley Continental GT. The car, which will be unveiled today at 2013 CES, showcases unique technologies never before seen in a car, as well as advanced smartphone integration, natural voice recognition, and video conferencing. See accompanying press release, "QNX Re-imagines the Driving Experience with New Technology Concept Car."

QNX Software Systems has licensed its software technology for millions of in-vehicle systems worldwide, including digital instrument clusters, hands-free systems, multimedia head units, connectivity modules, and 3D navigation systems.