BlackBerry Boosts Connected Car Future with QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits

BlackBerry launched the world's first digital cockpit solution that empowers automakers to provide the in-car experience drivers want, with the security, safety, and reliability they need. The announcement was made at the CES 2019 event at Las Vegas.

Single ECU (Electronic Control Unit) now offers the latest Android-based applications such as Google Maps and Google Play Music is built on QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits. The platform solution allows automakers to deliver a reliable and secure QNX-based digital instrument cluster and infotainment system.

BlackBerry's QNX Platform for Digital Cockpits uses the QNX Hypervisor that allows isolation of different applications and also ensures critical driving functions are not affected should one of the running applications crashes. The QNX hypervisor is Type 1 ISO 26262 safety-certified hypervisor. The other parts of Digital Cockpit solution include QNX Platform for Instrument Clusters, QNX CAR Platform for Infotainment, and secure Android implementation.

Back in November 2017, BlackBerry and Indian design and technology services company, Tata Elxsi, signed a multi-year partnership to help companies design and develop secure, mission-critical solutions using BlackBerry QNX technologies.

Executive Opinion

Senior Vice President and Co-Head of BlackBerry Technology Solutions, BlackBerry, John Wall, said, "As the ECUs in a car consolidate, automakers are seeking safe, secure, and reliable solutions that are flexible enough to deliver a unique driving experience. After two years of constant improvement and testing, we have built the world's first safety-certified digital cockpit that enables secure Android apps in the car. We believe being able to provide this level of security will be a key differentiator for automakers as consumers begin to weigh security and data privacy when purchasing a vehicle."

Senior Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, Tata Elxsi, Nitin Pai, said, "We have been enabling the Android ecosystem for mobile, Smart TV and automotive for over 10 years with our Android Center of Excellence. The Tata Elxsi – BlackBerry partnership brings together two global and world-class companies to deliver a future-ready and yet secure digital cockpit platform with the quality and long-term support assurance that automakers seek from platform and solution providers."

In 2010, BlackBerry (then named Research in Motion) acquired QNX Software Systems from Harman International.  According to the announcement, QNX technology is embedded in more than 120 million vehicles on the road today, as well as automotive design wins with Baidu, Delphi, Denso, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Visteon, Jaguar Land Rover, BYTON, and more.