All roads lead to QNX at embedded world 2013

Montreal, my home town, was once known as a city of churches. So much so that Mark Twain famously quipped, "this is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window."

If Mr. Twain were alive today and able to visit embedded world 2013, he might make a similar comment about QNX. Because it seems that, wherever you turn at embedded world, someone is demonstrating a QNX-based system.

Multimedia and wireless demos
First stop is the QNX booth, where you'll find a natty new demo designed to showcase our support for wireless, video, and HMI technologies. Among other things, the demo shows how QNX lets you work with a mix of application and graphics environments, including Qt 5.0, OpenGL ES 2.0, and Crank Software’s Storyboard Suite.

Power up the demo, and you'll see several applications, including a medical monitor:



and a speedometer:



You'll also find games, a digital thermostat, a photo viewer, an audio meter, and several other demo apps. And did I mention? You can find two of these demo systems in the QNX booth, one based on a Freescale i.MX 6 SABRE Lite board and the other on a TI AM335 Starter Kit board.

PLC demos
If you're a hard-core industrial developer, be sure to catch the two programmable logic controller (PLC) platforms in the QNX booth. These platforms were a group effort: QNX provided the OS; companies like IsaGRAF, KW-Software, and koenig-pa provided the ladder logic and EtherCAT software; and Freescale and TI provided the hardware — one platform is based on a Freescale QorIQ TWR-P1025 Tower System Module, the other on a TI Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processor.

The purpose of these platforms is simple: to reduce the time and cost of developing PLCs and other industrial systems. If you're interested, the eval software for the platform based on the Freescale module is now available for download from the QNX website.

QNX CAR platform demo
No, we didn't drive the new QNX concept car to embedded world. But we did bring a demo of the QNX CAR application platform, and from what I hear, it's driving lots of booth traffic (pun fully intended). Here's a snap of the demo, taken on the show floor:



Lotsa partner demos
Take a walk down the aisle, and you'll soon come across several other vendors showing QNX-based systems. Here are the ones we've identified so far:

Acontis is demonstrating its EC-Motion EtherCAT motion library running on the QNX Neutrino RTOS and a TI Sitara AM335x ARM Cortex-A8 processor. Hall 1/1-538.

Crank Software is demonstrating an automotive demo based on the QNX CAR application platform. Hall 4/4-330.

Digia is demonstrating “Qt 5 on the QNX platform – a Cinematic Experience,” which will show many new features in Qt 5 Qt Quick 2. Hall 4/4 – 520.

Freescale and koenig-pa are demonstrating a PLC reference platform that integrates koenig-pa EtherCAT protocol software, ISaGRAF PLC firmware, and the QNX Neutrino RTOS on a Freescale dual-core QorIQ P1025 processor. Hall 4A/4A-206 and Hall 5/5-425.

KDAB is showcasing an IP camera demo written in Qt5 and QML, and running on the QNX Neutrino RTOS and a Freescale i.MX 6 SABRE Lite ARM Cortex-A9 platform. Hall 4/4-622.

KW-Software is demonstrating a PLC development platform developed in collaboration with QNX Software Systems, TI, and koenig-pa. Hall 1/1-446.

MPC Data, a Bsquare Company, is showcasing a high-performance graphics demo based on OpenGL and the QNX Neutrino RTOS. Hall 4A/4A-108.

Xilinx is showcasing a high-precision, low-noise, multi-motor electrical drive demo running on the QNX Neutrino RTOS. Hall 1/1-205.

For more details on these demos, check out the press release that QNX issued this morning.

The joy of talking
Several QNX experts are presenting technical talks at embedded world:

• Clear SOUP and COTS Software for Safety-Critical Systems — Tues, Feb 26, 14:00 - 14:45, Session 03
• The Joy of Scheduling — Thurs, Feb 28, 10:00 - 10:30, Session 19
• Ten Truths about Building Safe Software — Thurs, Feb 28, 14:15 - 15:00, Session 21
• Issues in M2M Communication for Software and Firmware Updates — Thurs, Feb 28, 16:30 - 17:00, Session 24

So, if for some strange and inexplicable reason, you want to avoid all things QNX, don't go to embedded world this week. Because once you arrive, there will be no escape. :-)