QNX Provides Software Platform for New Toyota Entune Multimedia System

QNX Software Systems Co., the leading provider of operating systems and middleware for the automotive infotainment market, today announced that its QNX CAR Application Platform has been chosen as the software foundation for the new Toyota Entune™ multimedia system. Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) U.S.A., Inc. unveiled the system today at 2011 International CES.

Toyota Entune leverages the customer’s mobile phone and favorite applications to create a rich in-vehicle experience that delivers integrated navigation, entertainment, and information services. The system also provides conversational voice recognition and in-vehicle controls that allow the customer to take advantage of these services without having to touch their mobile phone.

“Our customers are building some of the world’s most exciting and technologically advanced automobiles, and we needed an operating system that could deliver the reliability, realtime performance, and extremely fast startup times these vehicles demand,” said Antonio Falchetti, general manager, MTA. “The QNX Neutrino RTOS not only satisfies these requirements, but helps us minimize development time and hardware costs.”

“Helping Toyota deliver a safer, connected, and highly personalized user experience is a great privilege, and it’s also a testament to the QNX CAR Application Platform, which was designed from day one to help automakers create highly differentiated systems that quickly adapt to new mobile and Internet services,” said Andrew Poliak, director of business development, QNX Software Systems.

The QNX CAR™ Application Platform is a production-ready, pre-integrated software stack that helps automakers and tier one automotive suppliers reduce the cost and effort of building connected multimedia systems. The platform’s mobile device connectivity, user-interface technology, software upgradeability, and automotive-grade architecture offer the future-readiness and reliability demanded by sophisticated multimedia systems such as Toyota Entune.

“By choosing the QNX CAR application platform, Toyota was able to leverage a true automotive software platform as well as QNX Software Systems' deep production experience in automotive multimedia systems,” said Jon Bucci, vice president of the Advanced Technology Department at Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc. “Moreover, the platform gives Toyota the flexibility to create a unique solution that brings compelling mobile content seamlessly into the vehicle.”

Toyota Entune offers pre-integrated support for a number of mobile apps, including Bing, iheartradio, MovieTickets.com, OpenTable, and Pandora, as well as location-based services such as real-time traffic, fuel prices, weather, stocks, and sports. Other features include XM radio, HD Radio, CD player, USB connectivity for portable media players, and Bluetooth streaming. The system is upgradeable, allowing it to evolve and adapt like a mobile phone.

QNX Software Systems has licensed its software technology for more than 20 million in-vehicle systems worldwide, including digital instrument clusters, handsfree systems, multimedia head units, connectivity modules, and 3D navigation systems.