OK Labs Drives into Automotive Systems with Embedded Virtualization for In-Vehicle Infotainment

OKL4 lowers costs by eliminating separate physical processors for each domain and provides an integration platform to align the lifecycles of consumer-facingwireless technology with safety-critical in-car capabilities.
Hardware and software deployed in current and next-generation in-car systems is growing dramatically in complexity. Automotive suppliers and equipment manufacturers face the dual challenge of meeting user expectations for engrossing multimedia, high-speed connectivity and other advanced features while also satisfying industry requirements for safety and reliability. Building on the strong isolation of the microkernel-based OKL4 Microvisor, OKL4 for Infotainment facilitates consolidating IVI functions and “instant on” systems (e.g., for CAN and MOST networking, etc.) onto a single host processing unit, reducing bill of materials (BoM) costs while meeting strict requirements for rapid startup.
“Automotive suppliers need to support the long vehicle life-cycles spec’d by their OEM customers. They also need to accommodate consumer-facing trends, increasingly to support smartphone-style applications,” said Steve Subar, Founder and CEO, OK Labs. “As in mobile/wireless, OKL4 for Infotainment helps the automotive market create and deliver reliable and safe systems with differentiated user experiences, for long-term deployment and immediate competitiveness.”
About OKL4 for IVI Infotainment
OK Labs OKL4 for Infotainment offers Tier 1 automotive suppliers and their OEMcustomers a rich set of capabilities for building reliable and robust IVI systems:
• Dedicated virtual machines to isolate core automotive functions from application environments
• Support for staged boot and independent reboot to give core automotive software fast start-up times for “instant on” systems
• Hosting of multiple OSes and/or OSes instances for simultaneous of support of GENIVI (Linux), Android and AUTOSAR environments
• Optimization for ARM Cortex™ Processors
OKL4 for Infotainment benefits Tier 1 automotive suppliers by supporting the addition of new consumer application environments without compromising reliability, safety, or security. The architectural options enabled by OKL4 for Infotainment let automakers and their sales channels safely add value to factory in-vehicle software and let consumers enjoy an ever more customized user experience.
Key Facts
• The OKL4 Microvisor supports strong separation and management of consumer applications (multimedia, infotainment) and core automotive functions (navigation, driver assistance,status monitoring) on one processor, including advanced multicore chipsets
• Applications include in-vehicleinfotainment, including audio, video, gaming, navigation and user assistance systems in automotive “head units” in passenger vehicles
• Also targets communication, maintenance and safety systems in public transportation, freight delivery and other heavy vehicle systems