A matter of convergence: building digital instrument clusters with Qt on QNX

Tuukka Turunen

Guest post by Tuukka Turunen, Head of R&D at The Qt Company

The Qt application framework is widely used in automotive infotainment systems with a variety of operating system and hardware configurations. With digital instrument clusters becoming increasingly common in new models, there are significant synergies to be gained from using the same technologies for both the infotainment system and the cluster. To be able to do this, you need to choose technologies, such as Qt and QNX, that can easily address the requirements of both environments.

Qt is the leading cross-platform technology for the creation of applications and user interfaces for desktop, mobile, and embedded systems. Based on C++, the Qt framework provides fast native performance via a versatile and efficient API. It’s easy to create modern, hardware-accelerated user interfaces using Qt Quick user interface technology and its QML language. Qt comes with an integrated development environment (IDE) tailored for developing applications and embedded devices. Leveraging the QNX Neutrino Realtime OS to run Qt provides significant advantages for addressing the requirements of functional safety.

There is a strong trend in the automotive industry to create instrument clusters using digital graphics rather than traditional electromechanical and analog gauges. Unlike the first digital clusters in the 70s, which used 7-segment displays to indicate speed, today’s clusters typically show a digital representation of the analog speedometer along with an array of other information, such as RPM, navigation, vehicle information, and infotainment content. The benefits compared to analog gauges are obvious; for example, it is possible to adapt the displayed items according to the driver’s needs in different situations, or easily create regional variants, or adapt the style of the instrument cluster to the car model and user’s preferences.

A unified experience — for both developers and users
Traditionally, the speedometer and radio have been two very different systems, but today their development paths are converging. Convergence will drive the need for consistency as otherwise the user experience will be fragmented. To meet the needs of tomorrow’s vehicles, it is essential that the two screens are aware of each other and interoperate. It is also likely that, while these are converging, certain items will remain specific to each domain. Furthermore, the convergence will help accelerate time-to-market for car manufacturers by offering simplified system design and faster development cycles.

Qt, which is already widely used in state-of-the-art in-vehicle infotainment systems and many other complex systems, is an excellent technology to unify the creation of these converging systems. By leveraging the same versatile Qt framework and tools for both the cluster and the infotainment system, it is possible to achieve synergies in the engineering work as well as in the resulting application. With the rich graphics capabilities of Qt, creating attractive user interfaces for a unified experience across all screens of the vehicle cockpit becomes a reality.


Cluster demonstrator built with Qt 5.6.

Maximal efficiency
Qt has been used very successfully in QNX-based automotive and general embedded systems for a long time. To show how well Qt 5.6 and our latest Qt based cluster demonstrator run on top of the QNX OS, which is pre-certified to ISO 26262 ASIL D, we brought them together on NXP’s widely used i.MX 6 processor. As the cluster HMI is made with Qt, it runs on any platform supported by Qt, including the QNX OS, without having to be rewritten.

The cluster demonstrator leverages Qt Quick for most of the cluster and Qt 3D for the car model. The application logic is written in C++ for maximal efficiency. By using the Qt Quick Compiler, the QML parts run as efficiently as if they too were written in C++, speeding up the startup time by removing the run-time compilation step.

The following video presents the cluster demonstrator running on the QNX OS and the QNX Screen windowing system:



The QNX OS for Safety has been certified to both IEC 61508 SIL 3 and ISO 26262 ASIL D, so it provides a smooth and straightforward path for addressing the functional safety certification of an automotive instrument cluster.

Qt 5.6 has been built for the QNX OS using the GCC toolchain provided by QNX Software Systems. The display of the cluster is a 12.3" HSXGA (1280×480) screen and the CPU is NXP’s i.MX 6 processor, which is well-suited to automotive instrument clusters.

Our research and development efforts continue with a goal to make it straightforward to build sophisticated digital instrument clusters with Qt. We believe that Qt is the best choice for building infotainment systems and clusters, but that it is particularly beneficial when used in both of these. Please contact us to discuss how Qt can be used in automotive, as well as in other industries, or to evaluate the latest Qt version on the QNX platform.

Visit qt.io for more information on Qt.

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About Tuukka
Tuukka Turunen leads R&D at The Qt Company. He holds a Master’s of Science in Engineering and a Licentiate of Technology from the University of Oulu, Finland. He has over 20 years of experience working in a variety of positions in the software industry, especially around connected embedded systems.

QNX OS for Safety named best software product at Embedded World

“Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character” — legendary basketball coach John Wooden

Patryk Fournier

Earlier today, at Embedded World 2016, QNX won an embedded AWARD for its QNX OS for Safety, an operating system designed for safety-critical applications in the automotive, rail transportation, healthcare, and industrial automation markets. The OS was named best product in the software category.

This award win is a testament to the commitment and integrity that drives QNX to continuously release world-class products. In fact, this marks the fourth time that QNX Software Systems has won an embedded AWARD. In 2014, it took top honors for QNX Acoustics for Active Noise Control (ANC), a software library that cancels out distracting engine noise in cars while eliminating the dedicated hardware required by conventional ANC solutions. The company also won in 2006 for its multicore-enabled operating system and development tools, and in 2004 for power management technology.

The QNX OS for Safety is built on a highly reliable software architecture proven in nuclear power plants, train control systems, laser eye-surgery devices, and a variety of other safety-critical environments. It was created to meet the rigorous IEC 61508 functional safety standard as well as industry-specific standards based on IEC 61508. These include ISO 26262 for passenger vehicles, EN 50128 for railway applications, IEC 62304 for medical devices, and IEC 61511 for factory automation, process control, and robotics.

Hats off to the many talented QNX staffers responsible for developing, certifying, promoting, and selling the QNX OS for Safety!

The media scrum at today's award ceremony.

Five reasons why they should test autonomous cars in Ontario

Did I say five? I meant six…

Paul Leroux

It was late and I needed to get home. So I shut down my laptop, bundled myself in a warm jacket, and headed out to the QNX parking lot. A heavy snow had started to fall, making the roads slippery — but was I worried? Not really. In Ottawa, snow is a fact of life. You learn to live with it, and you learn to drive in it. So I cleared off the car windows, hopped in, and drove off.

Alas, my lack of concern was short-lived. The further I drove, the faster and thicker the snow fell. And then, it really started to come down. Pretty soon, all I could see out my windshield was a scene that looked like this, but with even less detail:



That’s right: a pure, unadulterated whiteout. Was I worried? Nope. But only because I was in a state of absolute terror. Fortunately, I could see the faintest wisp of tire tracks immediately in front of my car, so I followed them, praying that they didn’t lead into a ditch, or worse. (Spoiler alert: I made it home safe and sound.)

Of course, it doesn’t snow every day in Ottawa — or anywhere else in Ontario, for that matter. That said, we can get blanketed with the white stuff any time from October until April. And when we do, the snow can play havoc with highways, railways, airports, and even roofs.

Roofs, you say? One morning, a few years ago, I heard a (very) loud noise coming from the roof of QNX headquarters. When I looked out, this is what I saw — someone cleaning off the roof with a snow blower! So much snow had fallen that the integrity of the roof was being threatened:



When snow like this falls on the road, it can tax the abilities of even the best driver. But what happens when the driver isn’t a person, but the car itself? Good question. Snow and blowing snow can mask lane markers, cover street signs, and block light-detection sensors, making it difficult for an autonomous vehicle to determine where it should go and what it should do. Snow can even trick the vehicle into “seeing” phantom objects.

And it’s not just snow. Off the top of my head, I can think of 4 other phenomena common to Ontario roads that pose a challenge to human and robot drivers alike: black ice, freezing rain, extreme temperatures, and moose. I am only half joking about the last item: autonomous vehicles must respond appropriately to local fauna, not least when the animal in question weighs half a ton.

To put it simply, Ontario would be a perfect test bed for advancing the state of autonomous technologies. So imagine my delight when I learned that the Ontario government has decided to do something about it.

Starting January 1, Ontario will become the first Canadian province to allow road testing of automated vehicles and related technology. The provincial government is also pledging half a million dollars to the Ontario Centres of Excellence Connected Vehicle/Automated Vehicle Program, in addition to $2.45 million already provided.

The government has also installed some virtual guard rails. For instance, it insists that a trained driver stay behind the wheel at all times. The driver must monitor the operation of the autonomous vehicle and take over control whenever necessary.

Testing autonomous vehicles in Ontario simply makes sense, but not only because of the weather. The province also has a lot of automotive know-how. Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Toyota all have plants here, as do 350 parts suppliers. Moreover, the province has almost 100 companies and institutions involved in connected vehicle and automated vehicle technologies — including, of course, QNX Software Systems and its parent company, BlackBerry.

So next time you’re in Ontario, take a peek at the driver in the car next to you. But don’t be surprised if he or she isn’t holding the steering wheel.


A version of this post originally appeared in Connected Car Expo blog.

Keeping it fresh for 35 years

By Megan Alink, Director of Marketing Communications for Automotive

Recently, my colleagues Paul Leroux and Matt Young showed off a shiny new infographic that enlightens readers to the many ways they encounter QNX-based systems in daily life (here and here). After three-and-a-half decades in business we’ve certainly been around the block a time or two, and you might think things are getting a bit stale. As the infographic shows, that couldn’t be further from the truth here at QNX. From up in the stars to down on the roads; in planes, trains, and automobiles (and boats too); whether you’re mailing a letter or crafting a BBM on your BlackBerry smartphone, the number and breadth of applications in which our customers deploy QNX technology is simply astounding.

For those who like some sound with their pictures, we also made a video to drive home the point that, wherever you are and whatever you do, chances are you’ll encounter a little QNX. Check it out: