Platform can scale across a wide range of automated driving systems, enabling customers to reuse software assets, minimize system certification efforts, and speed time-to-market
QNX, a subsidiary of BlackBerry, today announced a new addition to its portfolio of automotive software products, the QNX Platform for ADAS.
Designed for scalability, the platform will enable automotive companies to build a full range of automated driving systems, from informational ADAS modules that provide a 360° surround view of the vehicle, to sensor fusion systems that combine data from multiple sources such as cameras and radar, to high-performance processors that make control decisions in fully autonomous vehicles.
Built on operating system (OS) technology proven in safety-critical control systems, the QNX® Platform for ADAS can help customers minimize system-level safety certification efforts, while reusing software assets across projects for greater return-on-investment. The platform also provides access to an ecosystem of ADAS technology suppliers that offer complementary hardware and software solutions, enabling faster time-to-market.
The core of the new platform is the QNX OS for Safety, an ISO 26262-certified OS that supports all of the automotive safety integrity levels, from ASIL A to ASIL D, required by automated driving systems. The OS is built on a modular microkernel architecture that simplifies the integration of new sensor technologies and purpose-built ADAS processors, while providing the fault resilience needed for systems that require the highest level of reliability.
To give development teams a jumpstart on new projects, the QNX Platform for ADAS includes pre-integrated reference implementations for building multi-camera vision systems and V2X applications (vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communications). The vision system implementation is based on the platform’s multi-camera framework, which simplifies system design by managing the complexities of camera control on behalf of applications. The V2X implementation uses the platform’s remote V2X interface, which handles V2X notifications from surrounding vehicles and infrastructure elements such as traffic signals.
The QNX Platform for ADAS includes a high availability manager to perform rapid recovery from software faults, POSIX APIs to simplify migration of existing ADAS applications, fast boot times to enable “instant on” systems, time partitioning to guarantee CPU cycles for critical software processes, programming interfaces to simplify integration of third-party AUTOSAR environments, as well as secure networking protocols and file systems.
“The QNX Platform for ADAS combines our experience in building software for more than 60 million cars with our 30-year history in safety-critical systems and our deep expertise in safety standards like ISO 26262 and IEC 61508,” said John Wall, Senior Vice President and Head of QNX Software Systems.
“Through this unique pedigree, QNX is ideally positioned to help automakers and tier one suppliers move from research to production in the still-uncharted market of automated driving.”
Ian Riches, Director, Global Automotive Practice, Strategy Analytics said:
“The automotive industry is at an inflection point, with vehicles moving quickly towards greater autonomy. However, the software required for automated driving applications is highly sophisticated, creating a need for software providers with deep experience in integrating complex systems, safely and securely,”
“QNX Software Systems has a strong reputation and proven competency in safety-critical systems and functional safety standards. As such, it is in a good position to both benefit from and influence the evolution of automated driving systems.”
Complementary Partner Technologies Already, key hardware and software suppliers are supporting the QNX Platform for ADAS with systems-on-chip (SoCs), V2X modules, vision algorithms, communications middleware, and other complementary technologies. Pre-integrated partner technologies scheduled for the first release of the platform include:
- SoCs
- Intel® Atom™ Processor C2000 product family, Texas Instruments (TI) TDA2x processor family.
- ADAS platforms – NVIDIA® DRIVEâ„¢ Automotive Platform for computer vision, deep learning, sensor fusion.
- ADAS vision – Itseez ADAS algorithms for pedestrian detection, forward collision warnings, traffic sign recognition, and lane detection; and TI’s vision libraries for front cameras, surround-view systems, sensor fusion, and smart backup cameras.
- V2X – Cohda Wireless’s widely deployed V2X MK5 On Board Units, software stacks, and applications, with remote interface for data analysis and simulated GPS for performing multi-vehicle simulation.
“ADAS and automotive driving systems are a highly collaborative effort, requiring IP from an array of technology partners. By building an ecosystem of complementary technologies, we are helping customers minimize integration efforts and speed development – this is the same collaborative approach that has helped QNX become the premier software supplier for the infotainment system market,” said Andrew Poliak, Global Director of Business Development, QNX Software Systems.
QNX Software Systems offers a comprehensive portfolio of infotainment, telematics, safety, and acoustics solutions deployed in more than 60 million vehicles worldwide. More than 40 automotive OEMs use QNX software, including the QNX Neutrino® OS, the QNX OS for Safety (compliant to ISO 26262, up to Automotive Safety Integrity Level D), the QNX CAR™ Platform for Infotainment, and QNX acoustics middleware, for their head units, digital instrument clusters, advanced driver information systems, hands-free systems, and connectivity modules.
Availability The QNX Platform for ADAS is scheduled for general release in Q2 2016.
