Vol. 28, No. 3 u hansenreport.com u April 2015 JLR Committing to Google’s Patrick Brady on Fast, Open-Source Android Auto Innovation “I would love it if every single car is able “We are an incredibly ambitious com- to run Android in some way,” said Patrick pany,” said Mr. Brady. “Some people are threatened by that and assume all sorts of JLR Opts for Tizen, Not Android Auto Brady, engineering director for Android Auto at Google. Directed at consumers, things about our motivations, things that Jaguar Land Rover is implementing a Google uses the Android Auto brand to are not true. Our goal with Android Auto multipronged strategy to vigorously speed define both types of automotive extensions is to make it easier and safer for consumers up innovation of its infotainment system of Android: the projection solution, where to get connected services in the car, and for offerings. It has fully embraced Automotive applications running on an Android smart- developers to be able to build connected Grade Linux and an HTML5-based applica- phone are projected on the vehicle display, services for cars. Google has a lot of experi- tion environment. Future infotainment and the embedded solution, where the ence with this. We have worked with systems will be connected and capable of Android Auto operating system platform is Tesla; we’ve worked with Audi and numer- receiving frequent software updates. Next resident on the vehicle’s head unit. ous other partners [since 2005] to integrate month it will open its doors wide to the I sat down with Mr. Brady during a visit Google services into the car.” apps development community with an to the Google campus last month to try By making Android Auto open, free innovation incubator project at its new, and learn more about Google’s plans for and ubiquitous, Google hopes to repeat $3 million, 15,000-square-foot technology Android Auto. Google is usually reluctant the success Android has found in the research center in Portland, Oregon. to talk with the business-to-business press, mobile industry and avoid the experience “We considered Silicon Valley but but Mr. Brady admits that the company’s it had when it first brought mobile apps to picked Portland because of the availability opacity with the press can lead to conjec- the smartphone market. “The more we got of people and space,” said Matt Jones, head ture and misinformation about what involved in building apps and services for of future infotainment for Jaguar Land Google is up to. Turn to Android, page 3 Rover. “In Portland there is less traffic so it is much easier to get around and do road testing. We still have a couple of people Updatable Hardware in Cars situated in Silicon Valley who report to Consumers pay thousands of dollars for Nakul Duggal, vice president of business me,” he said. infotainment systems that in many respects development for Qualcomm, sees all the Opened in December 2014, and now are inferior to smartphones. They rightly major auto industry players moving toward staffed with 30 infotainment specialists, expect that the connected car of the future updatable connectivity hardware as well as JLR will soon hire 50 additional engineers ought to be able to do everything their smart- software, but there are challenges that need to support the incubator project. The car- phone can do, and more. “It will be unaccept- to be addressed before the infotainment sys- maker is presently recruiting Linux soft- able if many of the apps that can run on a tem can be decoupled from the conventional smartphone can’t run on the car because the automotive lifecycle. “I think the day is not far ware architects, C++, Java Script and car’s processor is too old,” warned Google’s off when you will have upgradable hardware,” HTML5 developers and graphics user-expe- Patrick Brady. “We have to figure out how to Mr. Duggal said. “The question really comes rience developers to work at the facility. bridge the gap between what consumer elec- down to the economics. Once your customer “We don’t want automotive people tronics can provide and what the auto indus- buys a $3,000 option, is he going to want an working there,” said Mr. Jones, who pre- try can provide. We need to figure out upgrade every year? What are the business sented last month to developers at the modular hardware. You have to be able to models around that?” He believes the indus- Nvidia GPU Technology Conference in upgrade the infotainment system after the try needs to jointly figure out how to keep Silicon Valley. Mr. Jones heads the Port- fact. To do that, the CPU or GPU, the RAM, infotainment systems compatible with current land facility and has roughly 40 software the flash, the cellular modem and the technology. “What you are essentially doing people reporting to him in the U.K. He is antenna, all the things that age pretty quickly is future-proofing the hardware design for looking for an entirely fresh approach to need to be easily upgradable.” things that are yet to come. You are design- infotainment development, one that will It will be possible to update the electronics ing for how the fast-moving infotainment dramatically shorten the development hardware in Audi’s next-generation, Android domain interacts with the slower moving cycle. Today it typically takes 39 months to Auto-based head unit to keep the infotain- automotive domain. The software piece of it bring a new infotainment system from con- ment system current with new technology. becomes simpler if you are able to upgrade Turn to JLR, page 2 Whether dealers or consumers will make the the hardware on a regular basis.” updates has not been determined. The Hansen Report on Automotive Electronics, www.hansenreport.com Page 1, April 2015 JLR… Continued from page 1 cept to deployment. Mr. Jones wants to cut elsewhere, even beyond consumer electron- ly interface with CAN. In the future it will that time by more than half, perhaps to 15 ics. So you get more engineers focusing on be able to run a cluster or head-up display. months. it who can cross-pollinate. It makes no And if needed, Tizen will be an easy port JLR is keen to work with start-ups who sense for automotive to create a Bluetooth for Android apps,” Mr. Jones explained. will want a quicker return on their invest- or Wi-Fi stack. Every connected device JLR is not a member of the Google Open ment. Over the course of the next ten years needs that.” Toyota has been the primary Automotive Alliance. the incubator project plans to select about driver of Automotive Grade Linux, though 120 U.S. technology start-ups to work with according to an industry source, Toyota has Software Updates the carmaker. With their help and with not yet decided whether it will use Tizen or Future JLR vehicles will receive frequent JLR’s community of developers, Mr. Jones a pure Genivi platform. software updates, most of which will be would like to add functionalities such as While both platforms are based on Li- transparent to the customer. “We are part- fingerprint, voiceprint and face recogni- nux, the Android developer community is nering with Here for navigation services. If tion, camera integration and near field orders of magnitude larger than the Tizen you have a car with a telematics control communications to JLR infotainment sys- community and yet JLR chose Tizen to run unit with access to the Internet you will be tems. natively on the head unit, not Android getting live data updates all the time,” said Auto. “Android Auto gives us problems,” Mr. Jones. “We will also do updates, for Tizen said Mr. Jones. “One, I can’t see the legal example, to modify a Bluetooth stack or to JLR is committed to an open-source agreements, and two, it is not open source add a whole new feature when the car is six software platform in order to maximize its in quite the same way [as Tizen]. Google months old.” involvement with a large community of places requirements on Android handset JLR doesn’t plan to make updates to developers whose applications based on manufacturers that wouldn’t work for us.” infotainment hardware. Instead, the car- that platform will require minimal engi- JLR is not opposed to using Android Auto maker will deploy an Intel multicore pro- neering to adapt them to automotive uses. to project smartphone applications onto cessor with sufficient headroom to JLR’s platform for the future is Tizen IVI the vehicle’s display. “Android Auto is go- accommodate any envisioned software up- 3.0. Tizen IVI has been officially adopted ing to do a fantastic job for our customers dates. “Rather than commit to putting as the reference implementation for the who want to use their Android apps in the hardware updates in, which is something Automotive Grade Linux project. “Tizen is vehicle. But it won’t do the future ad- the customer shouldn’t have to be worried effectively Genivi compliant but it goes be- vanced driver assistance functions. [In con- about, we are focused on getting the right yond automotive,” said Mr. Jones. “It is trast] we’ve designed the Tizen platform so amount of processing power into the car also used in Samsung mobile phones and that it is automotive compliant. It will safe- from the start,” Mr. Jones said. u 2014 Roundup: Continental Continental Automotive Group today to €1.5 billion in 2018. EBIT margin 2014 Sales: €20.9 billion for Chassis and Safety was 9.1%, up nearly © 2015 Paul Hansen Associates, 150 Change from 2013: up 4.5% a percent from the prior year.