BlackBerry might be remembered for its smartphones, but it owns the QNX car entertainment operating system, and it is now collaborating with Jaguar Land Rover to bring next-gen infotainment to its customers.
BlackBerry and Jaguar Land Rover have "entered into a multi-year agreement to collaborate and develop technology for the automotive manufacturer’s next-generation vehicles".
As part of the agreement, BlackBerry says it "will license its QNX and Certicom technology to Jaguar Land Rover, as well as assign a team of engineers to support in the development of new Electronic Control Unit (ECU) modules.
"The first ECU project will be a next-generation infotainment system."
{loadposition alex08}Dave Nesbitt, Vehicle Engineering Director at Jaguar Land Rover said: "Working with BlackBerry will enable us to develop the safe and secure next-generation connected car our customers want.
“Together with BlackBerry engineers, we will be able to access the most dynamic and up-to-date software to ensure the highest security required for our connected vehicles.”
John Wall, SVP and GM of BlackBerry QNX, BlackBerry said: "We are at a pivotal moment, where innovative automakers, such as Jaguar Land Rover, are realising they need to take an active role in defining the software architecture for their vehicles.
“Connected and autonomous vehicles will react and drive based on rich data. Our platforms help process data efficiently and keep it secure and trusted. We are incredibly honoured to work with Jaguar Land Rover and look forward to our teams working hand in hand to deliver an enhanced driving experience for their customers.”
Billing itself as "the leader in safety-certified, secure, and reliable software for the automotive industry," BlackBerry reminds us all that it "currently provides OEMs around the world with state-of-the-art technology to protect and mitigate hardware, software, applications and end-to-end systems from cyberattacks".
BlackBerry points to its "pedigree in security and continued innovation has led to recent automotive design wins with Baidu, Delphi, Denso, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Visteon, and others".
As you might expect, we're told that "terms of the agreement are confidential," however, if you happen to be reading and work at an auto maker, and you happen to want "more information on BlackBerry products and services for the automotive industry," you'll find plenty of information here.
To conclude, in 2017, Jaguar Land Rover proudly boasts of having "sold 621,109 vehicles in 130 countries, with more than 80 per cent of our vehicles being sold abroad".
The company notes its "innovation is continuous" and says it "will spend more than £4 billion in the coming year on new product creation and capital expenditure".
Furthermore, from 2020, we're told that "all new Jaguar Land Rover vehicles will be electrified, giving our customers even more choice".
The company promises to "introduce a portfolio of electrified products across our model range, embracing fully electric, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid vehicles as well as continuing to offer ultra-clean petrol and diesel engines."
