using echo modes to help lessen road noise. There’s more software in a vehicle today than in a Boeing 777, for instance.” In addition to dealing with technological
difficulties, QNX must also make its prod- uct compliant with regulations as they are decided. This is where having a dedicated department for such matters is critical. QNX has a division that focuses solely on driver distractions and how the com- pany can stay ahead of the curve in terms of legislation, both local and federal, that will affect the types of features a vehicle can have. “There are a lot of lawmakers and automakers putting forth guidelines for how your user interface behaves. These guidelines include things like function- ality of the system while the vehicle is moving versus when it’s idle,” Courvi- lle said. “You don’t want people putting Angry Birds on your head unit while you’re driving down the highway. We’ve assigned somebody here full time to work on just that. We’ve worked with various standards groups to develop guidelines for the tier ones and govern- ment to influence the standards and guidelines that can be adopted by auto- makers. We’re very, very conscious of it.”
Aftermarket Upgrades Possible Trough Tech Innovation Considering the high adoption rate by automakers of telematics systems and the connected car model, opportunities appear to exist for aftermarket manufac- turers to build hardware enhancement
solutions that can integrate with QNX CAR, according to Courville. “There are some aftermarket devices
out that that I’ve seen that will let you have access to this information through the OBD-II port,” said Courville. “They’re connected to internal buses and will have to interact with QNX systems. It’s whether the automakers allow access and what access they choose to allow. We’ve abstracted a lot of that. It comes down to the automaker on what they want to enable. At the end of the day, the auto- maker assumes liability. What happens when you can’t start your car? If you get into those systems and don’t program them properly you might not be able to start your vehicle. So there’s a good reason why they limit those systems.” The aftermarket already has a wide
variety of products on the market geared towards smartphone integration, but with automakers looking to incorporate that into future vehicles with devices like Car- play, that seemingly puts the aftermarket in a difficult situation. To remain compet- itive, the aftermarket will have to find a way to make products that can interact with QNX, such as infotainment-interac- tive amplifiers, processors, mobile video, cameras, or other similar devices. “If I’m running Apple Carplay, it’s going to need to run on a screen of a certain size and resolution, and if my older head unit has a basic two line display, it’s just not possible,” said Courville. “Depending on the capabilities of the head unit, if it does become possible to support something like
Carplay, you can do it from a hardware perspective. In a lot of cases, it’s model dependent. If I was to look at a 12-year-old car, I’m not gonna have a USB connector or screen capability, but for cars that are a bit newer, it’s a definite possibility.” In an age of frequent software updates
and fast-paced technological advances, automakers are forced to keep up not only with the newest technology, but with making sure that technology can remain relevant for up to 12 years, considering the life span of the average vehicle. “When a car goes off the line today with QNX in it, we know that we’re going to be working with that carmaker or tier one on that software configuration for at least 10 years, which is very different for a consumer where software upgrades are commonplace and happen often,” Courville said. “There are a number of challenges that have to be dealt with to go the retrofit path.” For the system to truly integrate with older model vehicles, the software must also be compatible, which is more dif- ficult due to various CPU, memory and performance aspects, Courville added. “For this to work you’d need to go through a checklist. First you’d need the physical capabilities, then once you’re past that you need memory and software capabilities, and once you’re past that it’s finally in the realm of possibility,” Courville said. “Potentially, that becomes an upgrade that you, I or others would pay for.”
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