Autonomous forklifts gear up with QNX and HTML5

Warehouse robots need reliable realtime control. They also need an intuitive user interface. Can one OS handle both?

When it comes to forklifts, I am as dumb as they come. I had always assumed that one forklift is much like any other, aside from obvious differences in size and color. Boy, did I get that wrong. A quick perusal of Wikipedia reveals some 30 forklift types, ranging from “walkie stackers” (which, true to their name, are walked, not ridden) to “EX-rated lift trucks” (which, contrary to their name, aren’t designed to carry erotica but to be explosion proof).

Forklifts also come in driverless variants called automated guided vehicles, or AGVs. Case in point: the QNX-powered AGVs built by Euroimpianti, a global leader in automated warehouse systems. These vehicles can, without human intervention, load and unload trucks, as well as move materials from one area of a warehouse or factory to another. Moreover, they can operate 24/7, using a list of prioritized missions downloaded from a central management system.

As you might expect, Euroimpianti uses the QNX Neutrino OS in the realtime control systems of its AGVs. After all, predictable response times and high reliability — qualities essential to safe operation of a driverless vehicle in a busy warehouse — are QNX Neutrino’s stock-in-trade.

But here’s the thing: Euroimpianti has also decided to standardize on QNX Neutrino for the human machine interfaces (HMIs) of its operator panels. Why do that, when the HMIs could run on an OS like Windows Embedded or Android? The answer lies in the many features introduced in the QNX Neutrino OS 6.6 and the new QNX SDK for Apps and Media.

These features include a framework for creating apps and HMIs with industry-standard technologies like HTML5, JavaScript, and CSS, and a graphical composition manager that can seamlessly blend apps and graphical components created in HTML5, OpenGL ES, Qt, and other environments, all on the same display. In addition, the SDK offers secure application management, comprehensive multimedia support, mobile device connectivity, an optimized HTML5 engine, and other features for building mobile-class user experiences into embedded systems — including, of course, AGVs.

To quote Maurizio Calgaro, electronic engineering manager, Euroimpianti, “With its new QNX SDK for Apps and Media, QNX Neutrino enables us to create dynamic HMIs that leverage the latest Web technologies, including HTML5. Our operator panels and control systems can now run on the same, standards-based OS, and that means greater productivity for our developers and, ultimately, faster time-to-market for our solutions.”

The QNX SDK for Apps and Media includes an HTML5 environment to create and deploy applications.

Euroimpianti's QNX-based robotic systems also include Cartesian robots, anthropomorphic robots, and selective compliance assembly robot arms (SCARA). The systems are deployed internationally in the automotive, beverage, cosmetic, food, dairy, electrical, glass, and pharmaceutical industries. Learn more on the Euroimpianti Website, which includes many videos of the robots in action.

Using the same OS for both realtime control and user interface control.

Bend it, shape it, any way you want it

Last year, at Embedded World 2014, QNX Software Systems demonstrated three systems built by its customers: a touch display that connects washing machines to the Web, an operator panel that controls forklifts and bulldozers, and an inspection system that detects cracks in gas pipelines. These systems perform very different functions, and operate in very different environments, yet they have one thing in common: the QNX Neutrino OS.

Fast-forward to Embedded World 2015, where, once again, QNX will showcase the remarkable flexibility of its OS technology, in everything from a medical device that saves lives to a robot that cleans carpets. Of course, the new demos aren’t just about flexibility. They also showcase how QNX technology can make embedded systems easier to build, easier to certify, and easier to use. Not to mention more reliable.

So if you’re at Embedded World this week, come on over and visit us at Booth 4-358. In the meantime, here's a quick peek at what we plan to showcase:

Demo #1: The autonomous vacuum
Chances are, the QNX booth will have the cleanest floor in all of Embedded World. And for that, you can blame the Neato Botvac robot vacuum.

This Botvac is one smart appliance: Before it starts to suck up dirt, it scans and maps the entire room so it can work as quickly and methodically as possible. It’s also smart enough, and quick enough, to maneuver around furniture and to avoid staircases.

To quote Mike Perkins, vice president of engineering at Neato Robotics, “our autonomous home robots need fast, predictable response times, and the QNX OS enabled our engineers to achieve very high performance on cost-effective hardware. The QNX OS also helped us create a software architecture that can quickly accommodate new features, giving us the flexibility to scale product lines and deliver compelling new capabilities.”

Check out this video of the Botvac in action:



Demo #2: The defibrillator
If you don’t already know, the QNX Neutrino OS is used in dialysis machines, infusion pumps, angiography systems, surgical robots, and a variety of other hospital-based medical devices. But it’s also used in mHealth devices that provide critical therapy or diagnostics when the nearest hospital is miles away. Case in point: the corpuls1, a defribrillator and patient monitor for fire fighters and other first responders, built by GS Elektromedizinische Geräte G. Stemple:




Demo #3: The medical reference demo
The QNX booth will also feature our latest medical reference demo, which integrates a suite of QNX, BlackBerry, and third-party technologies for building connected, safety-critical medical devices. Here is what the demo system looks like:



And here is a sample of what’s under the covers:

● IEC 62304-compliant QNX OS for Medical
● HL7, the international standard for transfer of clinical data
● User interface based on the Qt application framework
● Java runtime engine
● Remote device management and end-to-end security of the BlackBerry BES12 architecture

Demo #4: The QNX SDK for Apps and Media
We released the first version of this SDK almost exactly one year ago. In a nutshell, it extends the capabilities of the QNX Neutrino OS 6.6, enabling embedded developers to create rich user interfaces and applications with HTML5, JavaScript, CSS, and other Web technologies. It also offers secure application management, comprehensive multimedia support, mobile device connectivity, an optimized HTML5 engine, and other advanced features for building mobile-class user experiences into embedded devices.

You can learn more about the SDK on the QNX Website. In the meantime, here’s the home screen of the SDK, showing several of its built-in applications and demos:



Demo #5: The [CENSORED] robot
What kind of robot, you ask? Sorry, you’ll have to wait until the first day of Embedded World, when we will showcase a video of this (very cool) QNX system in action.

Demo #6: The all-new QNX [CENSORED]
Again, I can’t tell you what this is. I can’t even give you a hint. I can mention, however, that it’s a brand new product that will run on an automotive demo system in our booth. But don’t be fooled by the automotive connection! The new product can, in fact, be used in a wide variety of devices, not just cars. Stay tuned.



Visit www.qnx.com to learn more about QNX at Embedded World, including presentations on IoT and safety-critical design. And while you're at it, download this infographic to see how flexible QNX technology really is.

New release of QNX OS closes UX gap between smartphones and embedded systems

Okay, this one is going to be short. I'd love to have you stay, but I'd like it even more if you jumped to the QNX website. Because if you do, you'll get the full skinny on a significant new OS release that QNX Software Systems announced this morning.

But before you go, the back story. Mobile devices (think smartphones) have transformed what people expect of embedded systems (think gas pumps, vending machines, heart monitors, or just about any other device with a user interface). Every time someone uses a smartphone or tablet, they become more conditioned to the user experience it delivers. And the more conditioned they become, they more they expect a similar experience in other systems they use. It's human nature, plain and simple.

People who create embedded devices get this. They know that, to succeed, they must up their UX game. The problem is, a gap has existed between the user experiences that embedded operating systems can support and the user experiences that people want. The latest generation of the QNX Neutrino OS, version 6.6, addresses that gap. And it does so by introducing a new and potent mix of graphics, security, multimedia, security, and power management capabilities.

And just what are those capabilities? You'll have to jump to the press release to find out. :-)


The QNX SDK for Apps & Media — one of many significant new features
in the latest release of the QNX OS.

What are the 5 all-time most popular QNX videos?

Geez, I thought you'd never ask. Seriously, the question came to mind earlier this week, so I decided to find out. A quick trip to the QNX YouTube channel provided the answer.

What that trip didn't tell me is why these videos are the most popular. I can think of several reasons, but the most obvious is that the videos all hint at a future in which driving is more connected, more convenient, more enjoyable — and also a little safer. But don't take my word for it. Check out the videos, if you haven't already, and judge for yourself.

Without further ado, here are the top five, along with my favorite scene from each one.

#1
First up, at more than 525,000 views, is Imagined: Your car in the not-so-distant future. Best part: the augmented reality-enhanced stop sign (1:10).



#2
Next, at more than 230,000 views, is QNX seamless connectivity. Best part: John Wall speaking on the real challenge of making a connected car (:50).



#3
Close behind #2, at more than 213,000 views, is The QNX secret to making hands-free noise-free. Best part: The marching band (1:21).



#4
Next, at more than 85,000 views, is QNX HTML5 series - Interview with Pandora's Tom Conrad. Best part: It's all good, but I love the bloopers (3:00).



#5
And last, at more than 34,000 views, is QNX technology concept car - Bentley Continental. Best part: the couches.



One that didn't make it...
And, finally, here's my current favorite. It's not one of the top five... yet. But I think it should be:

QNX at SAE Convergence: Cool screens and a mobile theme

Let's start with the theme. And no, I don't mean the kind of theme you download onto your smartphone. I'm referring instead to the main theme of a press release that QNX issued yesterday at SAE Convergence.

First, some context. If you're an automaker, you have little choice: you have to offer infotainment systems that can keep pace with the crazy fast advances in mobile devices. You also need to keep your systems fresh with apps, features, and content that consumers will expect long after they've bought your car. And to do that, you'll need to tap into the skills and products of the mobile app community. Otherwise, that ultra-cool infotainment system you ship today will rapidly transform itself into the 8-track of tomorrow. Goodbye, brand image.

The QNX CAR 2 application platform, with its solid grounding in HTML5, is designed to help infotainment-system designers conquer these (admittedly difficult) challenges. HTML5, after all, has become the lingua franca of the mobile apps market and offers an ideal bridge between the mobile and automotive worlds.

One thing was missing, though — a toolkit that would make it easy for mobile app developers to target the QNX CAR 2 platform. Yesterday, at SAE Convergence, QNX announced a new HTML5 SDK designed to do just that.

An SDK for (auto)mobile developers
The HTML5 SDK for the QNX CAR 2 platform is an extension of the open source BlackBerry WebWorks framework, specially optimized for automotive environments. It allows developers to write, test, and package feature-rich automotive apps based on HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and other open standards. It also provides the missing glue between high-level apps and the car, through specialized APIs that provide access to automotive devices and hardware.

Runtime emulator for quicker testing and debugging
This is where the first of the screens comes in. To speed development, the HTML5 SDK provides an emulator that lets developers quickly see how their apps would look and function in a car. Developers can use the emulator to perform JavaScript debugging, HTML DOM inspection, automated testing, and screen-resolution emulation, all from the convenience of a web browser. They can even make changes to their apps and view the results without having to recompile. The simulator is based on the open source BlackBerry Ripple emulator, used by thousands of mobile developers.

For instance, in this screen capture, the emulator is being used to test the virtual mechanic provided by the QNX CAR 2 platform:


Click to magnify

Here's another example, where the emulator is being used to test an audio control application. If you were running this emulator session, you could manipulate the app's onscreen controls to adjust volume, bass, treble, fade, and balance; you could also observe the changes to the underlying data values in the right-hand panel. And you could work the other way: by changing the controls on the right, you could observe changes to the app.


Click to magnify.

QNX also plans to create a virtual marketplace that will allow developers to make their QNX CAR 2 applications available to automakers. The marketplace will provide common ground for app developers and automakers to work together, and will allow automakers to preview the applications that best fit their brands and satisfy their customers. The marketplace is expected to go live when the HTML5 SDK is released.

By the way, my colleague Kerry Johnson provides an interesting back story to the SDK, including the kinds of APIs it provides. You can read his post here. You can also find more images of the emulator on the QNX Flickr page.

3D navigation from Elektrobit
Now for the other screens. Besides announcing the SDK, QNX has brought its QNX reference vehicle, a modded Jeep Wrangler, to the SAE show floor. As always, the Jeep is running the QNX CAR 2 platform. But this time, the Jeep also includes a cool 3D navigation app from automotive software vendor Elektrobit. Here are two examples of the Elektrobit app:





That's it for now. But before you go, be sure to follow @QNX_Auto on Twitter, where we are covering the latest developments, both QNX and non-QNX, from SAE Convergence.

What has the QNX auto team been up to?

Well, let's see...

• Nancy discovers that, when it comes to demos, three minutes isn't enough
   
• Paul discovers that most drivers think too highly of themselves
   
• Linda thinks the connected car means business
   
• Andy would rather fill his tank with switchgrass than corn
   
• Paul discovers that Firebirds once drove themselves
   
• Andy talks to his car and discovers New York's water towers
   
• Nancy dares you to prove your mastery of automotive trivia
   
• Marc makes his apps lean and mean
   
• Paul thinks the self-driving car ain't what it used to be
   
• And Andy asks why cars don't just disable phones
   

QNX unveils new reference vehicle with Facebook integration and re-skinnable dash

Your ride is about to get personal.

Early this morning, QNX took the wraps off its new reference vehicle, a specially modified Jeep Wrangler — think of it as a software reference design on wheels.

The Jeep offers an example of how developers can use the QNX CAR 2 platform to build digital instrument clusters and infotainment systems, using standard technologies like OpenGL ES and HTML5. In particular, it shows how the platform can help in-car systems become both personalizeable and social-media savvy.

For instance, the Jeep includes:

a re-skinnable digital instrument cluster

a re-skinnable infotainment system

Facebook integration, controlled by voice commands

integration with a variety of popular smartphones

an HTML5 framework

one-touch pairing with Bluetooth smartphones using NFC

high-definition hands-free audio

tablet-based rear-seat entertainment

a virtual mechanic

text-to-speech and natural speech recognition

The list goes on. For a quick pictorial guide to the Jeep, check out my post on the QNX auto blog. And for more details, read the press releases QNX issued this morning on the Jeep's personalization and Facebook features.

Speaking of Facebook, you can find even more photos of the Jeep on the QNX Facebook page, where you can also see status updates posted by the Jeep itself. (BTW, my marketing colleagues tell me to tell you to "like" the page. So be a dear and hit the Like button... pretty please?)


A view of the Jeep's head unit. See more photos on the QNX auto blog.
 

What has the QNX auto team been up to?

Well, let's see:

• Kerry busts some HTML5 myths... and follows up with a QNX CAR 2 overview
   
• Romain connects with a VW Polo
   
• Andy fields more of your HTML5 questions
   
• Paul from Freescale says goodbye to all those wires
   
• Scott doubts that auto can wag the ITS dog
   
• Paul wants an A8
   
• Linda reminds us who the connected car is for
   
• And Brian from TCS reminds us that, unless everyone gets along, it won't happen 

 

BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 aces HTML5 test

PlayBook OS 2.0 supports a lot of cool features, including a unified inbox, social media integration, and thousands of new apps. Not to be outdone, the team responsible for the PlayBook's browser have also upped the ante. In fact, the browser for OS 2.0 has become the top scoring tablet browser on html5test.com.

The PlayBook browser achieves a score of 354. The closest competitor, Firefox Mobile 10, comes in at 315.

To learn more about the HTML5 test and how scores are calculated, click here.
 

What has the QNX auto team been up to?

Well, let's see:

• Paul can't decide which concept car he'd rather drive
   
• Andy fields some questions about HTML5
   
• Andy fields even more questions about HTML5
   
• Scott gets serious about driver distraction
   
• Linda gets in touch with her inner etymologist
   
• The team meets up with SlashGear at Mobile World Congress
   

Omigosh, I forgot the OnStar interview

If you follow this blog, you'll know that QNX has published a series of video interviews on how HTML5 promises to transform in-car infotainment systems.

Well, earlier this morning, the QNX automotive social media team put out a tweet, asking people to vote for which video they liked best. Someone voted for the interview with OnStar's Steve Schwinke — at which point I remembered that I've never linked to it from this blog. Quelle horreur!

So without further ado...



By the way, if you wish to tweet for *your* favorite HTML5 video from QNX, remember
to use the #HTML5auto hashtag.
 

New QNX concept car is "on the verge"

Yesterday, I treated you to an excellent video of the QNX concept car, taken by CNET reporter Antuan Goodwin. Well sit back down, because I've got another video that runs through even more of the car's features.

The new video features Jacob Schulman, a reporter for The Verge, and my inestimable colleague Justin Moon. Highlights include instant phone pairing; multi-node media control and playback; text-to-voice for email and text messages; high-def stereo hands-free calls; and voice control of the digital instrument cluster.


 

CrackBerry posts first peek at OnStar RemoteLink for BlackBerry PlayBook

This morning at CES, CrackBerry.com met up with QNX's Andrew Poliak for a walkthrough of the new OnStar RemoteLink app for the BlackBerry PlayBook.

If you aren't familiar with RemoteLink, it provides a very cool and powerful connection to OnStar-equipped vehicles. From the convenience of your tablet or phone, you can access gas mileage, tire pressure, and other information in real time; you can even remotely start your vehicle and unlock its doors.

Cooler yet, the new version running on the PlayBook boasts a user interface built entirely in HTML5. But enough blather from me. Roll the tape...



Did you know? QNX is the core OS for the PlayBook, but it's also the OS for OnStar and OnStar FMW.

This post originally appeared on the QNX auto blog.
 

Sneak preview of new QNX concept car!

A few minutes ago, QNX announced a new concept car, which it will showcase this week at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show. Mind you, this isn't the company's first concept car. It has already created a couple of them, including a specially modified Chevrolet Corvette. If you ask me, the QNX concept team did a pretty cool job with the Vette. But this time, they went cooler.

Way cooler.

The new car, based on a Porsche Carrera, comes equipped with an array of features, including one-touch smartphone pairing, tablet-based rear-seat entertainment, high-definition hands-free calls, and a reconfigurable digital instrument cluster. But hey, you can read all that in the press release! So instead, let's take a virtual tour of the car, using some of the first available photos...

The door
To get started, hop into the driver's seat — but before you do, note the QNX logo deftly emblazoned on the driver-side door:



The cluster
Once you get behind the wheel, the first thing you'll see is the digital instrument cluster:



It's too bad I don't (yet) have a video of the cluster. Because if I did, you'd see how it can dynamically reconfigure itself — in response to voice commands, no less. It even communicates with the navigation system to display turn-by-turn directions. Cool, that.

The head unit
Now look to your right, and you'll see the head unit. Here is the unit's main screen, from which you can access all of the system's key functions:



And here's another screen, showing the system's media player:



The tablet integration
Now, I know you're just getting comfortable, but let's step out and take a bird's-eye view of the car. As you can see, it comes equipped with two BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to demonstrate backseat entertainment. But what you can't see is the very cool integration between the tablets and the head unit. For instance, the head unit provides front-seat control of the backseat entertainment — great for when you want to control what your kids are watching or listening to. Better yet, any device can play videos and music stored on any other device. The head unit, for example, could play what's stored on the right tablet, or vice versa. And it all happens seamlessly.



The cool stuff you can't see
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but these photos don't capture everything. For instance, the car also features:

One-touch Bluetooth pairing — Lets you pair a phone to the car simply by touching the phone to the car's NFC reader; no complicated menus to wade through

Conversational voice recognition — Lets you enter navigation destinations naturally, without having to use artificially constrained grammars

Text-to-speech integration — Can read aloud incoming email, SMS, or BBM messages

Ultra HD voice technology — Uses 48KHz full stereo bandwidth for clearer, better-sounding hands-free calls

The car also runs a ton of applications, including TCS hybrid navigation, Vlingo voice-to-text, Poynt virtual assistant, Weather Network, and streaming Internet radio from Pandora, NoBex, Slacker, and TuneIn.

The point
The point of the concept car isn't just to be cool, but to show automakers (and everyone else, for that matter) what's possible in next-gen car infotainment systems. More to the point, the car is designed to showcase the new QNX CAR 2 application platform, which introduces a new HTML5 framework to help automakers "keep their vehicles fresh with new content and features, address consumer demands for the latest mobile apps and services, and leverage a huge developer community." I'm quoting from the QNX CAR 2 press release, which also hit the newswire today. You can read it here.

The rest of the week
I expect the car will garner a fair amount of media coverage, so stay tuned: I'll post links as the week progresses. And while you're at it, subscribe to the QNX auto blog, which will also discuss what QNX is doing this week at CES.
 

An (automotive) developer's perspective on HTML5

HTML5 may represent the future of automotive infotainment, but it won't exist in isolation. HTML5 apps will, for the foreseeable future, need to communicate with native apps, such as navigation programs written in OpenGL. Some will even need to communicate with lower-level services, such as vehicle bus drivers. The easier these communications can be implemented, the faster automakers can adopt HTML5.

Which brings me to a new installment in the QNX video series on HTML5. In this video, Sheridan Ethier, who manages the company's automotive development team, discusses integration between HTML5 and native apps. He also explains how HTML5 can simplify development efforts and deliver the performance needed for graphically rich infotainment systems.

Roll the tape...


 

HTML5 in the car: Just for the high end?

Not so, claims Matthew Staikos, who's been doing HTML and Webkit development for a decade. In this video interview with Andy Gryc — the second in a series produced by QNX — Matthew discusses how HTML5 can work in both higher- and lower-end infotainment systems. He also makes some interesting comments on how HTML5 apps can augment the app store experience.

And did I mention? Like the previous HTML5 video, this one's got bloopers!


 

HTML5 in the car: Hello cross-platform, goodbye vendor lock-in

Is HTML5 the next big thing in car infotainment? Hear what Andy Gryc of QNX has to say in this new video, which explains why the HTML5 standard may leave proprietary solutions in the dust. (Don't have time to watch the whole thing? Then at least watch the bloopers at the end. If nothing else, you'll find out why Andy is such a gas to work with.)



My QNX friends tell me this is the first installment in a new video series on HTML5 and the car. So stay tuned.
 

What has the QNX auto team been up to?

Well, let's see:

• Andrew looks forward to the day when augmented reality isn't just for coffee cups
   
• Romain thinks vinyl will outlive the CD, and that in-dash Internet radio will expand his horizons
   
• Andy delivered a webinar, attended by hundreds, on HTML5
   
• Andrew, not to be outdone, plans to discuss HMTL5 at the Content and Apps for Auto conference

 

Can HTML5 keep car infotainment on track?

True story: When a train on the Trans-Mongolian Railway crosses from Mongolia into China, it must stop and have all of its wheel assemblies replaced. Why? Because the track gauge (distance between the rails) is 1520 mm in Mongolia and 1435 mm in China. Oops!

The rail industry realized long ago that, unless it settled on a standard, costly scenarios like this would repeat themselves ad infinitum. As a result, some 60% of railways worldwide, including those in China, now use standard gauge, ensuring greater interoperability and efficiency.

The in-car infotainment market should take note. It has yet to embrace a standard that would allow in-car systems to interoperate seamlessly with smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices. Nor has it embraced a standard environment for creating in-car apps and user interfaces.

Of course, there are existing solutions for addressing these issues. But that's the problem: multiple solutions, and no accepted standard. And without one, how will cars and mobile devices ever leverage one another out of the box, without a lot of workarounds? And how will automakers ever tap into a (really) large developer community?

No standard means more market fragmentation — and more fragmentation means less efficiency, less interoperability, and less progress overall. Who wants that?

Is HTML5, which is already transforming app development in the desktop, server, and mobile worlds, the standard the car infotainment industry needs? That is one of the questions my colleague, Andy Gryc, will address in his seminar, HTML5 for automotive infotainment: What, why, and how?. The webinar happens tomorrow, November 15. I invite you to check it out.

This post originally appeared in the QNX auto blog.