QNX in Automotive - Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
The proliferation of sensors in today’s vehicles is fueling the rapid evolution of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). This evolution, in turn, is paving the path to piloted drive and fully autonomous vehicles.
At one time, ADAS systems were the domain of high-end luxury cars. But now, they are finding their way into mid-range and economy vehicles. Examples include:
Consumer demand for ADAS is high, and governments worldwide are passing laws to make such systems standard equipment in all vehicles. Yet automakers face several challenges, including high development costs, compliance with rigorous safety certifications, and integration of ADAS components from multiple suppliers.
Automakers need to implement these compute-intensive systems without driving up bill of materials costs. To achieve this goal, they are integrating multiple ADAS functions, previously implemented on discrete modules, onto a single platform that handles data from multiple sensor types. This "sensor fusion" combines the strengths of different sensing technologies to create a solution that is collectively better and more cost-effective than any single technology on its own.
ADAS systems require a software platform that provides inherent protection and isolation of safety-critical software components.
Systems that integrate multiple ADAS functions are driving demand for higher-end processors and highly reliable realtime operating systems. To protect vehicle occupants, these systems must respond to changing road conditions quickly and predictably, without fail. Many systems must also boot quickly – a rear-view camera, for instance, cannot prevent back-over accidents if it takes too long to start up. The QNX® Neutrino® RTOS, which has been independently verified as a deterministic OS, is ideal for addressing the performance requirements of ADAS.
In addition to a reliable realtime OS, QNX offers a unique safety pedigree to customers developing ADAS systems. Our functional safety certification and long track record in safety-critical applications – including locomotive control systems, nuclear power plants, and laser-eye surgery equipment – demonstrate that our OS technology can meet stringent functional safety requirements.
As advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) evolve from discrete single function systems, such as blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning to integrated active safety systems and automated driving technologies, a new set of software challenges has emerged. The need for high performance computing is intersecting with the need for functional safety, changing the very nature of the hardware and software in these next generation systems. The QNX ® Platform for ADAS has been designed to addresses these challenges by providing a flexible, safe and stable software environment that leverages the performance advances in silicon while maintaining ISO 26262 functional safety certification.
The QNX Platform for ADAS will allow automakers to build the next generation of ADAS systems and pave the way for automated driving in the years to come.
For more information about the QNX platform for ADAS click here
ADAS systems are a highly collaborative effort and must integrate intellectual property from a number of technology partners. To help our customers reduce integration costs and speed development, we've built a comprehensive ecosystem that spans multiple segments of the value chain:
- Silicon vendors: Texas Instruments, NVIDIA, NXP, Intel, Renesas
- Vision technology vendors: Itseez, ADASWorks
- Tool vendors including Klocwork, LDRA, STMicroelectronics, and Verum