BCI and QNX(R) Take In-car Computing Beyond the Family Car
10 February 1999
BCI and QNX(R) Take In-car Computing Beyond the Family Car PARIS, Feb. 10 --
-- BCI demonstrates world's first mission-critical in-car navigation
system.
-- Dynamic navigation system first of its kind to integrate traffic and
weather data, cell phone support, email, and more.
-- Ideal for industrial vehicle applications such as ambulances, taxis,
courier vehicles, and company fleets.
BCI today demonstrated a new generation of industrial-strength auto
computing with CRISTINE, the world's first mission-critical in-dash navigation
system. This technology brings in-car computing to a new level of
reliability, making it suitable for a wide range of industrial applications.
In-car integration
Unlike conventional in-car computing systems that provide only navigation
services, CRISTINE is highly integrated. "The application is the first of its
kind to access traffic information servers thereby gaining immediate access to
traffic and weather data, emergency services, and more," says Bruno Coiffet,
president and CEO of BCI. CRISTINE uses incoming data to automatically
recompute a route to bypass accident sites or traffic jams. It also
integrates email, cellular phone support, and allows users to download
information -- essentially creating a mobile office -- all while maintaining
an extremely high level of reliability.
Industrial-strength solution
CRISTINE is ideal for industrial vehicles -- emergency and police
vehicles, courier and delivery services, taxis, and company vehicle fleets --
that require mission-critical response times. For example, ambulance drivers
can use CRISTINE to avoid traffic snarls and accidents -- saving precious
seconds and, possibly, lives. Fleet courier services can use the same
information to help drivers avoid costly delays. Another feature allows
CRISTINE to be connected to a server to receive destination data from a
company's central dispatch unit. This means taxi and other multi-vehicle
companies can keep track of their fleets and make automatic route adjustments
from one central location.
A higher level of reliability
CRISTINE derives its industrial strength and reliability from QNX, a
mission-critical realtime OS. BCI chose QNX for their application because,
says Mr. Coiffet, "CRISTINE needed a realtime OS that's reliable and can
handle multitasking. On top of that we also needed an established OS with a
track record in embedded applications -- which ruled out Windows CE."
CRISTINE is a complex computing system: it takes inputs from multiple
sources, performs involved computations, and sends the results to the driver,
passengers, and a central server. QNX allows prioritization of key tasks so
processor time isn't robbed from critical operations. This, in turn, allows
CRISTINE to safely drive multiple applications -- guidance, speech synthesis,
screens showing routes, and location information -- all from one processor.
Adds Daniel Ackerman, managing director of QNX Software Systems s.a.r.l.,
"QNX's reliability is founded on the fact that all the processes and drivers
benefit from memory management unit (MMU) protection. QNX can also restart
each separate module (process or driver) while the system is still running.
What this means to CRISTINE is that multiple components can fail without
bringing the whole system down."
Pricing and Availability
CRISTINE is available now at a cost of less than 1000 FF (about $150 U.S.)
per month based on a two-year lease.
About BCI
BCI S.A. is located in Evry, France (near Paris). The company, whose
strength lies in a small, highly knowledgeable team of engineers, has been
developing complex systems that contribute to better driving since 1992. BCI
is currently working with some of the biggest names in the automotive
engineering industry including PSA, Siemens, Michelin, Citroen, and Peugeot.
About QNX Software Systems
Founded in 1980, QSSL is the industry leader in high-performance realtime
operating system software for the x86 platform. No other RTOS vendor has over
18 years' experience on x86, offers more options for x86, or has as large a
marketshare on x86. Recently, QSSL added MIPS and PowerPC to its supported
processor platforms.
Reader Information
BCI S.A., 3 rue du Velay, CE 1740, Petite Montagne Sud-91017 Evry cedex,
Telephone: +33-01-69-11-30-00, Fax: +33-01-60-86-30-64, Web: http://www.bcisa.com.
QNX Software Systems s.a.r.l., 7 rue Albert Einstein, Champs sur Marne, 77420
Marne La Vallee, France, Telephone: +33-1-64-61-81-61, Fax: +1-613-591-3579,
Email: info@qnx.com, Web: http://www.qnx.com.
QNX Software Systems Ltd., 175 Terence Matthews Crescent, Kanata, Ontario,
Canada, Telephone: 800-676-0566 or +1-613-591-0931, Fax: +1-613-591-3579,
Email: info@qnx.com, Web: http://www.qnx.com.
Editorial Contacts
Carine Homsy, (France): Tel: +33-0-1-53-60-88-88, Email:
carineH@parabole.com.
Mal Raddalgoda, (Americas, International): Tel: +1-613-591-0931, Email:
mal@qnx.com.
QNX is a registered trademark of QNX Software Systems Ltd. All other
trademarks and registered trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Part number: MR2390.
