Denso and BlackBerry have announced the companies have jointly developed what they call the world's first integrated HMI (human machine interface) platform. Intel also collaborated in the development of this product.
The integrated HMI platform will enable a system which optimally cooperates and coordinates various HMI products such as display and sound inside the automobile cockpit at a low price, according to the companies. The joint solution will appear in successive car models scheduled for release after 2019.
With the improvement of automobile safety and convenience in recent years, the amount of data the vehicle transmits to the driver is increasing. Today, vehicles are equipped with multiple HMI systems, which require several device-specific operating systems to work in unison. Because the operating systems are independently controlled by multiple microcontrollers, it has not been possible to cooperate and coordinate them to display content and sound uniformly.
The integrated automotive HMI platform is believed to be the first of its kind and was developed by Denso and BlackBerry using BlackBerry's QNX hypervisor for virtualization and the Intel Atom processor A3900 series. The hypervisor technology enables the independence of several operating systems with different characteristics and controls the integration with one microcomputer.
This architecture allows various HMI products to cooperate allowing necessary information to be displayed to the correct devices with appropriate timing. For example, it will be possible to communicate a heads-up or a warning through easy-to-understand expressions on the display with the right timing. Additionally, through cooperation between instrument cluster and navigation center displays, it is now possible to show animation with a sense of unity between the navigation screen in the meter screen. Furthermore, by updating the performance of one microcomputer both devices are updated which contributes to improved increase in R&D productivity and cost reduction.
As part of the integrated HMI, Intel has provided a graphics sharing technology, which has been optimized for the Intel Atom processor A3900 series. The technology can prioritize and operate 3D workloads important for safety over less important workloads on the same processor.
Denso and BlackBerry will have booths at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas held from January 9-12, 2018. The companies' integrated HMI platform will be displayed in Denso's booth located at 1917, North Hall.