The QNX CAR Platform for Infotainment 2.1 delivers mobile apps to the automobile with a powerful yet simple user experience.
The platform contains many apps that provide programming references to help you write new apps for your infotainment system. Some of these reference apps contain functional controls for vehicle settings, which automotive system integrators can use in their own software.
The platform includes two categories of applications:
This release of the product comes with two HMI versions:
Although these HMIs serve primarily as reference UIs, they do contain some active controls for configuring the car's climate, video playback, and other settings. The controls displayed the main HMI screens, the navigation between screens, and the mechanism for launching apps are all identical in the two HMI versions. The newer Qt5 HMI is a software port of the HTML5 HMI, so it matches the appearance and functionality of the HTML5 HMI.
By default, the Qt5 HMI is displayed, but you can reconfigure the system to launch the HTML5 HMI at startup (for details, see Running the HTML5 HMI).
You can change the active UI theme under SCSS to organize the CSS3 properties so it can reuse common styling rules.
to give your system a different look and feel. In the Qt5 HMI, apps render their UIs by using controls in the Qt framework; the Personalization application also uses this framework to apply the active UI theme. In the HTML5 HMI, apps such as Media Player and Communication render their UIs by using CSS3. To apply the selected theme, the Personalization application usesDevelopers of third-party HTML5 apps may use any combination of SCSS and CSS3 styling, regardless of which HMI version is active.
For more information on the UI frameworks used by the HMI, see "HMI Layer" in the Architecture Guide.
The following video gives an overview of the UI mechanisms and key reference apps:
The following table lists the HMI screens that access the core applications. These screens are displayed by tapping the individual tabs on the taskbar. The rest of this chapter contains brief descriptions of each of these screens.
HMI screen | Description |
---|---|
Home | This screen, which is shown when the HMI starts up, displays a dashboard summarizing the current navigation, weather, recent messages, and any media that's playing. |
Navigation | This screen accesses the active navigation engine. By default, the Elektrobit (EB) navigation engine runs when you select this tab. You can install different software and reconfigure your system to access another navigation engine in this screen. |
Media Player | Contains the Play Radio, Play Music, Play Video, and Search controls, which allow you to play and search for media from different sources. |
Car Control | Displays the Audio Control, Climate Control, Virtual Mechanic, and Personalization controls, which manage settings related to the vehicle's environment, user profile, and audio volume. |
Communication | Contains controls for communicating through a Bluetooth device (e.g., a smartphone) paired with the head unit. These controls are: Email Messages, Text Messages, Address Book, and Dial Pad. |
Apps Section | Displays add-on apps, including BestParking, The Weather Network, Pandora Radio, and more. Here you'll also find a Settings app with controls for Bluetooth Connectivity, Software Updates, Wi-Fi hotspots, and Wired Network settings. |
Push-to-Talk | Located in the lower-left corner of the HMI, this tab launches an automatic speech recognition (ASR) session for processing voice commands. |