EOUPTRQNXCS Datasheet, PDF (1/2 Pages) Freescale Semiconductor, Inc – QNX and Freescale: Driving Automotive Infotainment

Case Study
QNX and Freescale: Driving
Automotive Infotainment
When a major automotive Tier 1 needed a
prototype of an in-dash infotainment system
to wow a potential customer, they turned
to Freescale’s i.MX 6 series applications
processors and QNX software to make
it happen.
Infotainment systems for automobiles require
highly responsive human-machine interfaces
(HMI) with rich graphics, together with
reliability that meets stringent automotive
quality standards. Technologies such as
speech recognition, high-resolution color
displays and 3D navigation systems that
gained popularity in mobile devices are
becoming pervasive in modern vehicles as
consumers ask for the newest technology in
their cars. GPS systems, for example, need
fast processors and excellent graphics to
quickly render real-time directions and traffic
conditions. This requires a combination
of powerful processors and sophisticated
software: in this case, Freescale’s scalable,
multicore i.MX 6 series processors and the
QNX CAR reference infotainment platform.
When a major supplier to automotive
manufacturers decided to use Freescale’s
i.MX 6 series applications processor along
with the QNX platform for their next in-dash
infotainment system, the silicon was still
in development. “Both QNX and Freescale
were there from the start to understand the
customer’s project milestones and ensure
deliverables from both companies would line
up with their schedule,” said Kerry Johnson,
product manager at QNX Software Systems.
“It was all about making sure we knew what
we were signing up for and having a clear
path to get us there.”
Well before first silicon for i.MX 6 processors
was available, QNX and Freescale were
already engaged. Together, the companies
jointly developed a support plan outlining
responsibilities and delivery dates for the key
elements needed to enable the market. QNX
also worked closely with Freescale’s graphics
partner, Vivante, to provide highly optimized
hardware acceleration for graphics. Andy
Gryc, product marketing manager at QNX
Software Systems, noted that “Freescale,
QNX and Vivante banded together, rolled up
our sleeves and held face-to-face workshops
to solve issues and deliver a best-in-class
solution to the customer. We were all there
working with first silicon bring-up with
the OS.”
As an added challenge, QNX and Freescale
had to implement multicore support on
the ARM^® architecture, something the two
companies had never faced together. “QNX
has been a symmetric multiprocessing
operating system for over a decade. We
started down this path with Freescale back
when it was just multiprocessing and not
multicore,” said Romain Saha, strategic
alliances manager at QNX Software
Systems. “Along the way, QNX developed