Here’s a true story:
In late June, I penned an article about BlackBerry. Specifically, coverage of BlackBerry’s (News - Alert) QNX Neutrino Real-Time Operating System (RTOS) that ensures performance, security, and reliability for IoT mission-critical systems in automotive, robotics, medical devices, industrial embedded systems and more. BlackBerry has the QNX Neutrino RTOS, the QNX Hypervisor Virtualization Software for OS consolidation onto a single embedded system-on-chip (SoC) and other QNX software solutions that have been implemented in 235 million vehicles worldwide.
Then, at a Fourth of July cookout my family was having, the article happened to come up in conversation – and the first immediate reaction to it?
Paraphrased, “Man, I didn’t BlackBerry did anything but phones.”
But oh, BlackBerry does.
Gone may be the days where the BlackBerry Curve was one of the best phones on the market, but BlackBerry experts work in plenty of modern fields: Foundation software development and safety-certified software, heavy machinery, robotics and automation and in for automotive solutions; automated driver assistance systems (ADAS), the varying QNX software we mentioned above, control systems, infotainment, digital cockpit functionality, secure gateways, telematics, acoustics, etc. The list goes on.
So, the long-story-short of it? BlackBerry recognizes automakers’ demands in terms of software-defined vehicles (SDVs).
And another technologies provider BlackBerry is now collaborating with?
That’d be mimik Technology, Inc.
Earlier this month, mimik and BlackBerry announced their collaboration: As part of this work-together, BlackBerry is supporting mimik in the bolstering of its secure, scalable platform that (not unlike objectives of BlackBerry QNX) works to make additional vehicle features into functions-as-a-service in order to meet industries’ SDV demands.
“BlackBerry is very excited to have mimik Technology, Inc. integrate their Hybrid Edge Cloud (HEC) Platform with QNX OS and Hypervisor to help our customers accelerate their SDV strategies,” said Grant Courville, Vice President of Products and Strategy at BlackBerry QNX.
In this case, customers like Marelli.
Marelli, a global independent supplier to the automotive sector (with a focus on cloud-based transportation solutions) will integrate the tech from BlackBerry and mimik as a key part of one of its latest developments. Clarifying this, Marelli’s Nate Sladek, VP ELS Strategy and Product Management, stated:
“At Marelli, we’re focused on developing robust SDV solutions to support OEMS in their transition towards cloud-native architecture. We’ve worked with BlackBerry on several production programs in the past seven years, and mimik is another key partner. So, the unique combination of mimik’s HEC platform and BlackBerry’s QNX OS makes our SDV solutions ready to support OEMs’ software roadmaps. It leverages shared expertise and a track record in OS design, HEC advancements, and automotive embedded software to create a truly differentiated SDV experience.”
A glowing vote of confidence, we’d say.
Overall, BlackBerry’s QNX offerings and the mimik HEC platform have the potential to innovate for connected SDV use cases like hyper-personalization, real-time decision-making, usage-based insurance, and predictive maintenance. This, as acknowledged by mimik leadership, will enable SDVs to become smarter, safer, more efficient, and more user friendly.
“Our latest collaboration with BlackBerry and Marelli,” mimik SVP Sam Armani added, “will enable OEMs and automotive ecosystem stakeholders to unlock a wealth of new business opportunities. Through offering enhanced services and creating innovative new business models, together we’re enabling OEMs to provide considerable value-adds to their customer bases, securing a real competitive edge in the rapidly evolving automotive industry."