Software Terms to Know As the landscape of vehicle tech-
nology gets ever-more complex, it’s important to stay current with those emerging elements. Here are some must-know terms you should know regarding in-car tech: Tier 1- In the automotive field, this is
an exclusive supplier of the most critical parts to original equipment manufactur- ers (OEMs). Product types include those made for the chassis, powertrain, interior, exterior and electronics systems. Abstracting- Also known as data
abstraction, this is the process of sep- arating ideas from specific instances of those ideas at work. ANC- Active Noise Control is a soft-
ware function that limits the amount of environmental noise that bleeds into microphones when a driver uses voice-recognition software like Siri. Telematics- Te integrated use of
telecommunications and informatics, for application in vehicles and with control of vehicles on the move. Infotainment- Information-based
media content or programming that also includes entertainment.
20 Mobile Electronics May 2014
» Te QNX technology concept car for acoustics, based on a modified Kia Soul, demonstrates how QNX Software Systems’ portfolio of acoustics technologies can deliver superior hands-free calling, Active Noise Control (ANC), and engine sound en- hancement (ESE), according to the company.
within vehicles with its incorporation in systems like GM’s OnStar for telematics, and its progression towards the removal of mechanical gauges in favor of digital clusters that require power to function. In March 2014, Apple announced that it was joining the connected car market by releasing its own infotainment unit, named Carplay. The software that powers Carplay is QNX CAR. This technology, also used by Google, is a framework for third- party companies to develop applications. Those applications include a wide variety of options that vary based on the vehicle.
In-car Functions Designed for Adaptability QNX software is embedded in most vehicles currently on the road. Since the software platform was built using HTML 5 coding, which most modern vehicles and apps use, it allows the system to be adaptable for future vehicles and app developers. The main functions of QNX CAR, aside from infotainment, include digital instrument clusters, hands-free systems,
multimedia head units, connectivity mod- ules and 3-D navigation systems. The system also allows for data buses (the components that make up the internal communications network) to communi- cate with each other when add-on devices are connected. “From an automotive perspective, if you look at many subsystems in the car, we’re the market leaders in infotainment. We’re in every GM OnStar shipped in the world for telematics; move to the left of the center console and you’ll see a shift from mechanical gauges to a digital clus- ter. The nature of QNX in the vehicle is that you’ll see us in infotainment, clus- ters, telematics, safety systems, acoustics, and in a hands-free environment.” Regarding the connected car and Inter-
net access capabilities, current and future iterations of QNX CAR will be dependent on the type of hardware implemented by each automaker, Courville explained. “Part is business model dependent and
part is hardware related. If you think of the antenna in the phone, the cellu- lar radio within the vehicle is a lot more
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