One of the biggest names in car technology, QNX, is here at CES 2013 to show off its new QNX CAR application platform 2.0. The system represents a huge upgrade to the company’s current offerings and includes such features as in-car 4G LTE, HTML 5 compatibility and more.
To ensure apps are compatible with the system, QNX plans to release an HTML 5 SDK in 2013, which will allow app-makers to create APIs that can access vehicle hardware and other devices. The system, QNX says, will also allow for new infotainment and safety technologies to be developed for vehicles in 14 months rather than the current snail’s pace of three years.
In order to show off its new system, QNX has also unveiled its new Car application platform, 2.0 Concept Car. The vehicle, which is based on a Bentley Continental GT convertible, represents the pinnacle of what QNX’s new system can accomplish.
Up front, the concept car has a Texas Instruments DLP-enabled display sporting a curved surface, high-definition graphics and TI’s optical touch input, which allows OEMs to place physical controls directly on top of the touch screen.
Beyond its display, the concept car also includes voice recognition technology based on AT&T’s Watson speech recognition system, smartphone connectivity that allows for streaming audio and can pull down a user’s email and news feeds from the Web to the car’s display. Other media features include Pandora and what QNX says is the first implementation of the Shazam music discovery service in a car.
The concept car’s aforementioned 4G LTE connection capabilities should prove especially useful, thanks to the vehicle’s included video conferencing feature. When the vehicle is parked, users will be able to switch on two cameras, one for the driver and another for the passenger, that will allow them to hold telepresence meetings from behind the wheel.
For the driver with discriminating taste, the QNX Concept Car packs a reconfigurable instrument cluster that lets users switch up the cluster’s interface to show the speedometer, tachometer, 3D navigation, weather information, a backup camera feed and more.
In addition to QNX’s Bentley concept, the company will also be displaying its Jeep Wrangler concept, complete with Bluetooth pairing via NFC, over-the-air software updates, Internet radio, natural voice recognition, social media access and more.
We’ll have a full hands-on with both the QNX’s Bentley and Jeep concepts live from the show floor here at CES 2013, so be sure to check back with us.
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