Software-defined vehicles (SDVs) are the ultimate edge devices. This requires a huge amount of sensors, complexity, and computation, and it also needs to be as secure as possible. However, scalable performance and security are often mutually exclusive in computing, where robust reliability limits speed and performance. Solving this problem in cars can serve as a model for edge technologies and open the door to achieving higher performance across a wide range of critical applications beyond the automotive realm.
New QNX release powered by BlackBerry innovation
BlackBerry has been around for almost 40 years, but “the company has never been more at the cutting edge of technology,” Erickson told me in a conversation. “We've been building products for customers who really need the best performance, safety and security for edge computing. That's the core of our portfolio.”
At the heart of that portfolio is BlackBerry's QNX® Software Development Platform (SDP) 8.0. Represents a “gradual change in performance and functionality.” Although just released for general availability in January 2024, “he created QNX SDP 8.0 to provide the highest safety and security at the edge,” Ericsson explains. “Historically, safety and security have always come at the expense of performance. If you wanted to be secure, you had to make a trade-off somewhere else. We started research and development to remove this, and we did it with SDP 8.0.”
In fact, QNX is now scaling to keep pace with the growing number of compute cores being deployed at the edge, giving automakers “a software solution that leverages that computing power without sacrificing safety and security.” Ericsson adds:
QNX beyond cars
Automotive applications are a great fit for QNX, but Ericsson's vision extends further. “A few years ago, we decided very carefully to focus on automotive because we determined that no other edge platform had more compute, memory, connectivity, sensors, or complexity. The basic idea was that if we could address the most complex use cases, it would spread to other industries,” he says.
Additionally, “We have a wide range of customers in the general embedded market (GEM), including autonomy and robotics.” This includes robotics, all types of vehicles, and perhaps the largest market, industrial automation. . “When you have the highest requirements for safety, security, reliability, and performance, QNX is the right choice. Ideal. “
Connect edge devices to the cloud
The company is also expanding the capabilities and extensibility of edge devices through BlackBerry IVY.® A platform focused on connecting edge computing systems to the cloud. “In-vehicle computing His performance allows us to do more at the edge and reduce the need for connectivity,” Ericsson says. “But cloud connectivity is critical. It's the foundation of most computing today.”
Helping automakers strike the right balance between edge and cloud computing is a key feature of IVY® Offers. Modern cars are loaded with sensors and have the potential to generate terabytes of data per hour, far exceeding the practical limits of sending them to the cloud. “We have too much data. Edge computing (capacity) is going to increase significantly over the next 10 years, but the cloud is also going to continue to grow very significantly, which is why this project with Amazon Web Services (AWS) It's the center.
“The whole idea of IVY is to take the best at the edge in terms of compute and capabilities (which is QNX) and the best in the cloud (probably AWS) and combine those two fundamental technology capabilities. It was about providing a platform,” continues Erickson. At this year's CES, BlackBerry's IoT division showcased IVY's use cases, design successes, growing list of partners, and how the platform has matured since it first became commercially available last spring. I have proven that Taka.
QNX and the year ahead
As Ericsson looks forward to CES 2025, he sees an even brighter future for QNX. “This year has been our biggest product launch year in 10 years for our company,” he says, but this is just the beginning. BlackBerry customers are already demanding more features and additional middleware layers. “We started talking to a number of customers about expanding the definition of “base software” and adding more features to the core OS.It ties in well with QNX® Program anywhere. ”This program, which BlackBerry also announced during his CES 2024, aims to make QNX a reality.® We provide easily accessible software and training for academic and non-commercial purposes as a way to address the global shortage of embedded software developers.
For Ericsson, it's about “solving customers' real problems.” Delivering these solutions to complex problems provides ample opportunity for BlackBerry to continue innovating over the coming year. As a result, “a lot is going to happen over the next 12 months.”
