There’s experience, and then there’s experience

Or how a single word can have a trunkful of meanings.

"Liked your blog post. It was so random.” That, believe it or not, is one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me. You may think it funny that I see this as a compliment. But truth be told, randomness is part of my mental DNA — as anyone who has attempted to hold a conversation with me can attest. Even Google seems to agree. A few years ago, they temporarily closed my Blogger account because, according to their algorithms, my posts consisted of random, machine-generated words. I kid you not.

So why am I going on about this? Well, someone asked me about QNX Software Systems’ experience in the automotive market and, sure enough, my mind went off in several directions all at once. Not that that’s unusual. In this case, however, there was justification for my response. Because when it comes to cars and QNX, experience has a rich array of meanings.

First, there is the deep experience that QNX amassed in the automotive industry. We’ve been at it for 15 years, working hand-in-hand with car makers and tier one suppliers to create infotainment systems, digital instrument clusters, connectivity modules, and handsfree units for tens of millions of vehicles.

Next, there’s the experience of working with QNX the company. In the auto industry, almost every automaker and tier one supplier has unique demands — not to mention immovable deadlines. As a result, they need a supplier, like QNX, that’s deeply committed to the success of their projects, and that can provide the expert engineering services they need to meet start-of-production commitments. No shrink-wrapped solutions for this crowd.

Then, there’s the experience of using QNX technology to build automotive systems — or any type of system, for that matter. Take the QNX OS, for example. Its microkernel architecture makes it easier to isolate and repair bugs, its industry-standard APIs make it easy to port or reuse existing code, and its persistent publish/subscribe technology offers a highly flexible approach to integrating high-level applications with low-level business logic and services.

And last, there’s the experience of using systems based on QNX technology. One reason we build technology concept cars is because words cannot express the rich, integrated user experiences that our technology can enable — experiences that blend graphics, acoustics, touch interfaces, natural language processing, and other technologies to make driving simpler and more convenient.

Nor can words express the sheer variety of user experiences that our platform makes possible. If you look at the QNX-powered infotainment systems that automakers ship today, it soon becomes obvious that they aren’t cookie-cutter systems. Rather, each system projects the unique values, features, and brand identity of the automaker. For evidence, look no further than GM OnStar and the Audi Virtual Cockpit. They are totally distinct from each other, yet both are built on the very same OS platform.

On a personal note, I must mention one last form of experience: that of working with my QNX colleagues. Because that, to me, is the most wonderful experience of all.

Oil Economics and the Auto Industry

by Ruggles - from my Auto Finance News column

Drill Baby Drill has finally worked, but only because OPEC cooperated, at least temporarily. Until just recently, increased U.S. production hasn’t resulted in low fuel prices at the pump. There is no good reason for global oil market prices to have stayed so high for so long in the face of dramatically increased U.S. production UNLESS OPEC had curtailed its own production to provide price/supply equilibrium. That has been their modus operandi for decades. OPEC started off with 5 members and now has 12, yet they don’t produce any more oil now than they did in 1973. In that period of time, global population has doubled and oil consumption has almost tripled. It’s not because OPEC couldn’t or can’t produce more. They operate like a cartel, because they are.

The recent decision to continue production at current levels prompted a steep drop off in oil prices, fuel prices at the pump have taken a dive to the delight of consumers, EVs and hybrid sales have slowed dramatically, and the alternative fuels and high cost oil producers are shaking in their boots. So are some bankers. One imagines the lenders for Trans Canada being relieved they aren’t going to have to extend credit to build Keystone, thanks to the measure being blocked in the U.S. Senate. After all, how would the debt for the pipeline be serviced if there is no traffic on the pipeline due to a lack of financial viability of Canadian oil sand and shale production in a relatively low global market price environment?

So how will the recent OPEC decision to continue production at current levels impact the auto industry. It is clear that with cheap fuel at the pump, the sales of small fuel efficient vehicles will have to be steeply incentivize or many auto OEMs will be paying HUGE CAFÉ fines. That won’t help residual values on the pre-owned versions as Rene Abdallah, Vice President of RVI Group, has been saying for a few years. RVI Group is the leading insurer of automotive residual values in the United States.

Fortunately for lenders and captives engaged in leasing, there aren’t too many smaller vehicles in lease service. On the other hand, sales of “heavies” will boom providing temporarily strong residuals, short term auto industry profits, and setting us up for the next spike in fuel prices…... you know, the type of spike that kills residual values of “heavies,” stops sales of new “heavies, and triggers recessions.

Who knows how long our economy will enjoy these fuel prices? What else could happen? The low fuel prices will help keep a lid on inflation, even though auto fuel isn’t technically a part of the Consumer Price Index. Will the Fed take advantage and raise interest rates, feeling there is less risk in doing so? This is a mixed bag and it is hard to know which element will carry the most weight. A rise in mortgage loan interest rates and auto loans would most certainly result in some consequences. Will those consequences be enough to slow the economic growth spurred on by lower fuel costs, or will the momentum created by the low fuel prices overwhelm the other issues? Who knows? That’s for the economists to calculate through their mathematical models.

The Obama Administration and the “Green Movement” are disappointed that interest and investment in alternative energy and sales of fuel efficient vehicles will wane. On the other hand, the Administration can’t help but be pleased that the sanctions on Russia over their incursion into Ukraine carry extra weight now. There is also rampant speculation that Iran and Venezuela aren’t pleased with this decision crammed down their throats by U.S. ally Saudi Arabia. The House of Saud, Sunni Muslim Arabs that they are, aren’t particularly pleased to see any extra petro dollars go to Shiite Muslim Persians to develop nuclear weapons and spread terrorism through Hezbollah and other terrorist groups, around the Middle East. Many think the Saudis took advantage of the situation to do what they wanted to do along, which is to manipulate the global market price of oil to a level to force many competitors out of business so they can raise the price with impunity down the road. After all, they’re in it for the long term dollars, not the volume. Iran and Venezuela are thinking short term. They can’t sell any more oil under the OPEC pact, but they receive substantially fewer dollars. Who do the Saudi’s see as competitors? Answer: Oil sand and shale producers, frackers, alternative fuels producers, and the EV industry. There are rumors of over 3K unsold Tesla Model S cars parked in some secret location. Sales of PRIUS and other hybrids and EVs have stalled.

For a while U.S. consumers will be thrilled. The moderate oil prices may help the world’s largest economy, the EU, avoid a second recession, which is also good for the U.S. But there is another shoe to drop. We just don’t know when. We should enjoy it while we can.

Takata and The Quality Dilemma

revised version posted by Smitka at The Truth About Cars

The Takata airbag inflator problems illustrate a fine dilemma: quality standards across the auto industry are good, those for safety-critical devices very good. The result is that only things that occur very rarely get through the production process, and many of those either cause no problem or don't get reported. That makes confirming that there is in fact a pattern challenging, and figuring out the root cause (or causes) extraordinarily so. The number of known deaths (the media suggests 5) is a very small fraction of the number of lives saved by Takata airbags. So the other dilemma is that the fundamental robustness of the manufacturing process means the benefits of a recall are also very low, and the quality of work in your local dealer's repair bay is not equal to that in an airbag plant or vehicle final assembly plant. The cure can be worse than the disease.

Anyway, I spent a day this week with an airbag manufacturer, listening to engineering presentations on a new airbag design from the supplier's senior engineers, with a senior car company airbag engineer also in attendance. I won't name the companies, and what I write is based on information that should be available from public sources. (I spot-checked a couple of the points.)

1. First, globally there are tens of millions of Takata airbags on the road. I've not been able to find a number, but I would guess that over roughly 1 million such vehicles have been involved in a collision that led to an airbag deployment. Of those, to date there are 5 known fatalities and several more injuries. Actual problems are exceedingly rare.

2. The cause is as of yet unknown, as there are multiple failure modes. Which one(s) are leading to the observed problems? Small numbers mean (i) this analysis is intrinsically very challenging. It is complicated by (ii) the evidence going up in smoke when an airbag inflator explodes and (iii) other evidence going up in smoke because documents in Japan were sent to the incinerator. The concentration of incidents in very high humidity locales suggests deterioration of the ammonium nitrate "propellant" due to hydration, wich could cause the sheets of material to turn into clumps (sheets go "whoosh," clumps go "boom"). However there are several incidents in areas not known for high humidity. So there could be two different problems, or one systematic problem and the random one-in-a-million manufacturing defect, or all random problems some of which just happened to be clustered geographically. So last week automakers who use Takata airbags got together to decide how to jointly collect and analyze disparate data in the hopes that the combined data would allow meaningful analysis. This was a meeting cleared by the Dept of Justice as not violating antitrust because it was limited to engineers discussing a narrow set of issues. Almost every car company uses Takata for at least a few airbag applications, so it was basically a meeting of the global customer-side engineering community.

3a. If the actual problem is not systematic, then a recall may do nothing at all except cost lots of money, because the same one-in-a-million bad inflator ratio won't change. If anything, a rush to increase production will make monitoring production process compliance more challenging and could lead to a higher number of (idiosyncratic) random defective airbag inflators in cars.

3b. Again, other manufacturers cannot substitute their inflators for a Takata inflator -- they would have to design a product that matched the gas generation profile needed to match the Takata airbag, verify their method of manufacturing produced parts that actually worked to design, test prototypes with the Takata airbag to make sure there was no unforseen interaction (vent angles or orientation slightly different, lots of subtle interactions). Then they would have to set up a production facility, run off a lot of parts coming through the actual production process on the machines and tooling and inspection processes that would be used (rather than the prototype build process), and have these tested and retested. This is necessary because the bag portion is very, very specific (the exact grade of material and how it is folded are all very carefully specified, tested and then monitored during production for exact replication). It would be very hard to do this in under 6 months, and production does not ramp up from nil to full overnight. It would be impossible to do this in 6 months across all of Takata's airbag-inflator-vehicle combinations, because each would need to be tested separately. Engineers can work 16 hour days for a while, but not for month after month. There isn't excess engineering and testing capacity just waiting for a recall to come along, and car companies want their engineers to continue working on new vehicles, they don't want to stop everything under development to re-engineer an old (perhaps decade-old) product.

If you need to find a needle in a haystack, maybe it's not worth finding the needle.

4. Nevertheless, of the inflator manufacturers, as far as I can tell Takata is the only one whose inflator operations did not start out as a division or factory of a rocket engine or explosives company. Instead Takata was a cut-and-sew operation that had expertise in fabrics that then added in-house pyrotechnic capabilities. That adds to the suspicion of a systematic albeit very rare propellant problem, but again, the number of incidents remains very small and there is essentially no ability to cull the necessary information from incident reports or (when they were kept) piles of shrapnel.

5. For reference, manufacturers of inflators include Autoliv (the other really big player), TRW, Key Safety Systems, Daicel and (making only inflators) ARC.

6. Finally, I want to reiterate that the numbers indicate you are much safer in a car with a potentially defective Takata airbag than a car without any airbag. The Takata airbag defect matters only in a frontal collision. Even if the inflator did spin off shrapnel, which is (order of magnitude) perhaps a 10 in a million chance, the chance you will be seriously hurt is lower. If you don't have an airbag, you'll be using your head -- to slow down the rest of your body. That story never has a good ending, and can readily have a fatal one, the latter at a rate much higher than 10 in a million.

mike smitka, from Toronto

One day I’ll be Luke Skywalker

Cyril Clocher

What happens when you blend ADAS with infotainment? Guest post by Cyril Clocher, business manager for automotive processors at Texas Instruments

As we all begin preparing for our trek to Vegas for CES 2015, I would like my young friends (born in the 70s, of course) to reflect on their impressions of the first episode of Lucas’s trilogy back in 1977. On my side, I perfectly remember thinking one day I would be Luke Skywalker.

The eyes of young boys and girls were literally amazed by this epic space opera and particularly by technologies used by our heroes to fight the Galactic Empire. You have to remember it was an era where we still used rotary phones and GPS was in its infancy. So you can imagine how impactful it was for us to see our favorite characters using wireless electronic gadgets with revolutionary HMIs such as natural voice recognition, gesture controls or touch screens; droids speaking and enhancing human intelligence; and autonomous vehicles traveling the galaxy safely while playing chess with a Wookiee. Now you’re with me…

But instead of becoming Luke Skywalker a lot of us realized that we would have a bigger impact by inventing or engineering these technologies and by transforming early concepts into real products we all use today. As a result, smartphones and wireless connectivity are now in our everyday lives; the Internet of Things (IoT) is getting more popular in applications such as activity trackers that monitor personal metrics; and our kids are more used to touch screens than mice or keyboards, and cannot think of on-line gaming without gesture control. In fact, I just used voice recognition to upgrade the Wi-Fi plan from my Telco provider.

But the journey is not over yet. Our generation has still to deliver an autonomous vehicle that is green, safe, and fun to control – I think the word “drive” will be obsolete for such a vehicle.

The automotive industry has taken several steps to achieve this exciting goal, including integration of advanced and connected in-car infotainment systems in more models as well as a number of technologies categorized under Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) that can create a safer and unique driving experience. From more than a decade, Texas Instruments has invested in infotainment and ADAS: “Jacinto” and TDAx automotive processors as well as the many analog companion chips supporting these trends.

"Jacinto 6 EP" and "Jacinto 6 Ex"
infotainment processors

A unique approach of TI is our capability to leverage best of both worlds for non-safety critical features, and to provide a seamless integration of informational ADAS functions into existing infotainment systems so the vehicle better informs and warns the driver. We announced that capability at SAE Convergence in Detroit in October 2014 with the “Jacinto 6 Ex” processor (DRA756), which contains powerful CPU, graphics multimedia, and radio cores with differentiated vision co-processors, called embedded vision engines (EVE), and additional DSPs that perform the complex ADAS processing.

For the TI’s automotive team, the CES 2015 show is even more exciting than in previous years, as we’ve taken our concept of informational ADAS to the next step. With joint efforts and hard work from both TI and QNX teams, we’ve together implemented a real informational ADAS system running the QNX CAR™ Platform for Infotainment on a “Jacinto 6 Ex” processor.

I could try describing this system in detail, but just like the Star Wars movies, it’s best to experience our “Jacinto 6 Ex” and QNX CAR Platform-based system in person. Contact your TI or QNX representative today and schedule a meeting to visit our private suite at CES at the TI Village (N115-N119) or to immerse yourself in a combined IVI, cluster, megapixel surround view, and DLP® based HUD display with augmented reality running on a single “Jacinto 6 Ex” SoC demonstration. And don't forget to visit the QNX booth (2231), where you can see the QNX reference vehicle running a variety of ADAS and infotainment applications on “Jacinto 6” processors.

Integrated cockpit featuring DLP powered HUD and QNX CAR Platform running on a single “Jacinto 6 Ex” SoC.

One day I’ll experience Skywalker’s life as I will no doubt have the opportunity to control an intelligent and autonomous vehicle with my biometrics, voice, and gestures while riding with my family to the movie theater playing chess with my grandkids, not yet a Wookiee.

QNX celebrates crystal anniversary in automotive

Long-term success in the auto market relies on a potent mix of passion, persistence, innovation, and quality. And let's not forget trust.

Imagine, for a minute, that you are a bird. Not just any bird, but a bird that can fly 11,000 kilometers, non-stop, without food or rest.

That’s hard to imagine, I know. But the bird in question — the bar-tailed godwit — is very real, and its ability to fly across vast distances is well documented. Every year, as winter approaches, the godwit lifts off from its breeding grounds in Alaska, bears southwest, and doesn't stop beating its wings until it touches down in New Zealand. Total uninterrupted flight time: 216 hours.

The godwit epitomizes indomitable drive, infused with a dose of pure stick-with-it-ness. Qualities that, to me, characterize QNX Software Systems’ success in the auto market — a story that took flight 15 years ago.

Bar-tailed godwit: long-distance champion
© Andreas Trepte

It all started in 1999, when Motorola and QNX unveiled mobileGT, an automotive reference platform based on the QNX Neutrino OS. For the first time, QNX publicly threw its hat into the automotive ring. Mind you, QNX was already busy behind the scenes: 1999 also marked the first year that QNX technology shipped in passenger vehicles. It’s been a steady climb ever since, and you can now find QNX technology in tens of millions of vehicles.

There are many technical reasons why QNX has become a premier software provider for the automotive market. But for automakers and their tier one suppliers, technology alone isn’t enough. They also need to know that, as a supplier, you are deeply committed to the success of their projects — like the flight of the godwit, bailing out halfway isn’t an option. They also need to trust that, when you say you’ll do something, you will. And that you’ll do it on time. Even if you have to cross an ocean to do it.

In short, you might enter this market because of your skills and passion, but you thrive in it because you behave as a real partner, working in concert with your customers and fellow technology suppliers. That’s why I refer to our fifteenth anniversary in the car business with the same language used to describe a fifteenth wedding anniversary. Because we’re committed, we’re passionate, and we’re in for the long haul.

Amazing auto tech under development by Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is researching technologies that will offer drivers a 360 degrees view out of their vehicle, uninterrupted by the pillars that support the roof.

They plan to do this by embedding screens in the surface of each pillar inside the car which would carry live video feeds from cameras covering the angles outside the car usually obscured in the blind spots created by the A, B and C-pillars.

The 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen would increase the overall safety features of the car by making pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles all around the car visible. The system would automatically make the left or right-hand side pillars transparent when the driver indicates to change direction, when they move their head to look over their shoulder during an overtake manoeuvre, or as the vehicle approaches a junction.

According to Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover:
“Our ultimate aim is to reduce the potential for accidents and enhance the urban driving experience. The Jaguar Land Rover research team is developing this technology to improve visibility and to give the driver with the right information at the right time. If we can keep the driver’s eyes on the road ahead and present information in a non-distracting way, we can help drivers make better decisions in the most demanding and congested driving environments.”

The virtual windscreen would be connected to the Cloud and could present information ranging from petrol station prices to the number of parking spaces available, so drivers won’t have to look for this information themselves. The connected car could also enhance navigation by advising the driver to turn left or right at more visible landmarks, such as pubs or shops, rather than just road signs or street names.

Another interesting technology under development is their ‘Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation’ which projects an image of a vehicle in front of the driver’s car for them to follow, turn by turn, to their destination.

Mitsubishi ASX Designer Edition

The Mitsubishi ASX is one of the cheapest compact SUVs in Malaysia at RM114,743.50 (TR without insurance) for the 2WD version with 2.0-LITER 16-valve inline-4 DOHC MIVEC engine. This is because they assemble it in Malaysia.

They recently worked together with Malaysian designer Rizalman Ibrahim, to come up with the Mitsubishi ASX Designer Edition. The model only comes in "Titanium" grey with racing stripe running down the front and back of the car. It is only available in the 4WD version. The grey theme is carried in the interior as well with grey leather seats with yellow trims. Leather (grey and yellow) covered gear knobs and matte finished black alloy rims. The car also has a large rear spoiler and fin-type antenna as opposed to the bee-sting type antennas. Another unique feature is the panoramic tinted glass roof



Behind the scenes video:



The Designer Edition model is priced at RM131,801.50 (OTR without insurance).

Exclusive Preview of the New BMW i8 Ad

This is BMW's new ad for the BMW i8. The film was shot in the desert near Almeria, in southern Spain by acclaimed film director Tarsem.

The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car. The car combines BMW eDrive technology and a BMW TwinPower Turbo 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine.

Luke Aker’s 1996 Nissan Maxima

Film-maker Luke Aker decided to put up his beloved 1996 Nissan Maxima on Craiglist with a humorous video accompanying it - "Luxury Defined" as he put it.



It was so good, Nissan actually decided to buy it and later restored it to it's former glory and will be displayed at their North America’s headquarters.

Nissan came out with an equally funny video to mark the occasion:



Auto companies do have a sense of humour.

Rejuvenating an old car - repairs on a Proton Wira 1.3 M

Different people buy cars for various reasons - for many a car is an extension of their self image - representing their lifestyle. Almost everyone I talk to has a dream car - one they aspire to even if they cannot afford it. However, there are also a lot of people for whom a car is just a machine useful to get from point A to point B. My dad happens to be one of them. He has been driving the same Proton Wira 1.3 manual transmission hatchback for more than 8 years now and asked him whether he wanted to update to a new car. He was not really keen.

He calls luxury cars, houses on wheels because with the price of some of the cars, you can actually buy a house.

He is really fond of the car and I am not surprised. The car has only done 127,800 Kms and recently had timing belt in the engine changes. He proudly mentioned that the car has not broken down even once and starts up immediately.

However, I was sure that the aging car was bound to have some problems and this was confirmed when I recently had it serviced at the local Proton Edar service centre near my house (SENAXIS Sdn Bhd). One of the tyres needed to be changed immediately as it was nearly bald. They also pointed out that several parts need to be replaced and even suggested that it be better to actually buy a new car. However, my dad was not having any of it - his reasoning was that the estimated total cost of the repairs was about RM1000 but to buy a new car would cost at least RM45000 for the Proton Persona 1.6 M version. This was because he does not want a small car and does not like the look of the Saga. I guess he does have certain preferences.

Anyway we decided to go ahead with the repairs and overall a total of 27 parts were replaced (big and small) and the overall damage came to RM1642.80 including tyre allignment (RM40), labour (RM250) and 6% tax (RM15).

The major parts included:

1. Insulator assys x2 = RM188.24
2. Rubber bump x 2 = RM151.56
3. Link control assy LH and RH = RM127.53 x 2
4. Shock absorbers assy RR, RH and LH = RM102.12 x2
5. Strut FR suspension LH and RH = RM185.07 x 2 (the costliest parts).

Other minor parts included rubber bumps, pads, tyre nuts, bushing coils, rubber stabilizers.

I know that official car service centres are more expensive but I choose to go there because I wanted genuine parts.

Do you think we could have got them cheaper elsewhere?

Anyway, I think we have extended the life of the old car for a few more years.

DeLorean fan's amazing creations

Rich Weissensel's amazing creations using damaged DeLoreans include a monster truck, six gull-wing limo and of course, a 'Back to the future' homage.

The power of together

Bringing more technologies into the car is all well and good. The real goal, however, is to integrate them in a way that genuinely improves the driving experience.

Can we all agree that ‘synergy’ has become one of the most misused and overused words in the English language? In the pantheon of verbal chestnuts, synergy holds a place of honor, surpassed only by ‘best practices’ and ‘paradigm shift’.

Mind you, you can’t blame people for invoking the word so often. Because, as we all know, the real value in things often comes from their interaction — the moment they stop acting alone and start working in concert. The classic example is water, yeast, and flour, a combination that yields something far more flavorful than its constituent parts. I am speaking, of course, of bread.

Automakers get this principle. Case in point: adaptive cruise control, which takes a decades-old concept — conventional cruise control — and marries it with advances in radar sensors and digital signal processing. The result is something that doesn’t simply maintain a constant speed, but can help reduce accidents and, according to some research, traffic jams.

At QNX Software Systems, we also take this principle to heart. For example, read my recent post on the architecture of the QNX CAR Platform and you’ll see that we consciously designed the platform to help things work together. In fact, the platform's ability to integrate numerous technologies, in a seamless and concurrent fashion, is arguably its most salient quality.

This ability to blend disparate technologies into a collaborative whole isn't just a gee-whiz feature. Rather, it is critical to enabling the continued evolution and success of the connected car. Because it’s not enough to have smartphone connectivity. Or cloud connectivity. Or digital instrument clusters. Or any number of ADAS features, from collision warnings to autonomous braking. The real magic, and real value to the consumer, occurs when some or all of these come together to create something greater than the sum of the parts.

Simply put, it's all about the — dare I say it? — synergy that thoughtful integration can offer.

At CES this year, we will explore the potential of integration and demonstrate the unexpected value it can bring. The story begins on the QNX website.

First impressions are the most lasting

Lynn Gayowski

Preparations for 2015 CES in January are in full swing at QNX Software Systems, both in and out of the garage. Thus, with fond memories in mind, the time has come to graduate our 2014 technology concept car, based on a Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG, to a CES Car of Fame. The Mercedes will always hold a special place in my heart, as it was the first technology concept car I got to experience hands-on since joining the QNX team.

If I were to describe this concept car with one word, I would choose "user-centric". (I love how hyphens can really help in these succinct situations.) We designed the infotainment system and digital instrument cluster with a vision to help drivers interact in new and seamless ways with their vehicles. This concept car is a great example of how QNX technology can enable a more natural user experience.

As we hum a few bars of Sarah McLachlan's classic I Will Remember You, let's look back at some highlights.

The first thing that catches your eye is the matte exterior and stylish lines, exuding just a soupçon of James Bond:



But let's get to the technology. At 21" by 7" the touch screen is a showstopper. It brings a rich, graphical interface to both driver and passenger. This is where you can really see the user-centric design, with options to control the infotainment system with the touch screen, physical buttons, a jog wheel, or voice commands:



We really wanted to use the car to highlight the flexibility of the QNX CAR Platform and how customers can easily modify features using the platform's pre-integrated technologies. A great example of this is the car's navigation system. The car actually has 4 different navigation solutions installed, demonstrating how automakers can choose a solution best suited for a particular geography or language. EB Street Director is featured in this photo:



The infotainment system may wow you, but don't forget about the cluster. The Mercedes has a dynamically reconfigurable digital instrument cluster that can display turn-by-turn directions, notifications of incoming phone calls, video from the car's front and rear cameras, as well as a tachometer, speedometer, and other virtual instruments, at a full 60 frames per second. The cluster can even notify you of incoming text messages on your phone. Simply push a steering-wheel button, and the system will read the message aloud, so you can keep your eyes on the road.



Another cool feature is the cluster's "virtual mechanic" which lets you access vehicle info like tire pressure, brake wear, and fuel, oil, and windshield fluid levels:



What car of the future would be complete without connectivity? A custom "key fob" app allows you to remotely access system maintenance information, control the media player, locate the car on a map, and perform a number of actions like starting the car and opening window. This cross-platform HTML5 app can run on any smartphone or tablet:



As an overall view of the Mercedes, one of my favourite pieces is this video by Sami Haj-Assaad of AutoGuide, where he takes a look at the design and features of the car. His closing quote really sums up the innovation showcased: "The infotainment industry is going through a huge upgrade, with QNX leading the charge."



I hope you enjoyed the 2014 QNX technology concept car. Watch for the reveal of our 2015 technology concept car January 6 at CES in Las Vegas!

Cast your vote: which CES show car, past or present, should get a makeover at this year’s show?

Lynn Gayowski

2015 CES is only a few weeks away! This year in addition to showcasing a new technology concept car, we'll have some exciting updates to one of our existing vehicles. Before we unveil which vehicle will receive its CES facelift, we want to hear from you.

Starting today, through Monday, January 5, cast your vote on which CES show car, past or present, from QNX Software Systems you would most like to see revamped at this year's show. We will announce the results on Tuesday, January 6 – the first day of the show. Here is our full list of cars:

• The latest — technology concept car based on a Mercedes-Benz CLA54 AMG
• The sound machine — technology concept car for acoustics based on a Kia Soul
• The ultimate show-me car — technology concept car based on a Bentley Continental GT
• The most jazzed-up Jeep ever to hit CES — reference vehicle based on a Jeep Wrangler
• A Porsche you could talk to — technology concept car based on a Porsche 911 Carrera
• A true production car — BMW Z4 Roadster with QNX-powered ConnectedDrive
• The first-ever QNX technology concept car to hit CES — LTE Connected Car based on a Toyota Prius

What will it be — the BMW Z4 Roadster or the Bentley Continental GT? Perhaps it's the LTE Connected Car based on a Toyota Prius or the Kia Soul that we had on display last year?

Let the voting begin!

Proton Surprima S Standard launched

Proton Holdings Bhd today unveiled the Suprima S Standard model and made it more affordable with prices starting at RM69,438 for solid colour and RM69,888 for metallic painted cars. That's nearly RM7000 cheaper than the executive version which cost RM76,760.05 (Metalic) and RM76,410.05 (Solid) respectively.

However, in making this car more affordable, a number of safety features present in the Executive variant have been removed. The new car model has only 2 air bags - the side and curtain airbags have been removed. It also loses the TC (Traction Control), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) and hill hold features.

I wonder whether their ad may be misleading as removal of all these safety features may result in different NCAP ratings. Fortunately ABS With EBD is still present. The touch screen and GPS are gone as well and the steering wheel does not have paddle shifters or radio controls.

The headlights are no longers LEDs but the normal bulbs and you would have to adjust the side mirrors manually. Sometimes I am amazed when I remember that these features were standard on my old Volvo S40 which was more than 10 years old.

What message is Proton trying to tell its customers?

This will definitely not improve the perception that most consumers have about the national car brand.

Don't get me wrong. I have been a long time supporter of Proton and I even did my MBA dissertation on the national car. They have come a long way but is still in no position to compete with other brands if the Government policies were removed.

The new car is still not which I call "affordable" cheap and we recently bought the Proton Preve Premium version with all the features - all the bells and whistles - at almost the same price. With the cars getting cheaper and the variety of choices in the market, I forsee Proton coming up with a number of promotions to try and get rid of unsold stock in the near future.

The engine is still the same CamPro 1.6 Turbo engine with 7-speed ProTronic CVT. The car runs on 16" alloy wheels fitted with 205/55 tyres.

This new variant is available in five colours: Tranquility Black, Solid White, Genetic Silver, Atlantic Blue and Fire Red.

Beyond the dashboard: discover how QNX touches your everyday life

QNX technology is in cars — lots of them. But it’s also in everything from planes and trains to smart phones, smart buildings, and smart vacuum cleaners. If you're interested, I happen to have an infographic handy...

I was a lost and lonely soul. Friends would cut phone calls short, strangers would move away from me on the bus, and acquaintances at cocktail parties would excuse themselves, promising to come right back — they never came back. I was in denial for a long time, but slowly and painfully, I came to the realization that I had to take ownership of this problem. Because it was my fault.

To by specific, it was my motor mouth. Whenever someone asked what I did for a living, I’d say I worked for QNX. That, of course, wasn’t a problem. But when they asked what QNX did, I would hold forth on microkernel OS architectures, user-space device drivers, resource manager frameworks, and graphical composition managers, not to mention asynchronous messaging, priority inheritance, and time partitioning. After all, who doesn't want to learn more about time partitioning?

Well, as I subsequently learned, there’s a time and place for everything. And while my passion about QNX technology was well-placed, my timing was lousy. People weren’t asking for a deep dive; they just wanted to understand QNX’s role in the scheme of things.

As it turns out, QNX plays a huge role, and in very many things. I’ve been working at QNX Software Systems for 25 years, and I am still gobsmacked by the sheer variety of uses that QNX technology is put to. I'm especially impressed by the crossover effect. For instance, what we learn in nuclear plants helps us offer a better OS for safety systems in cars. And what we learn in smartphones makes us a better platform supplier for companies building infotainment systems.

All of which to say, the next time someone asks me what QNX does, I will avoid the deep dive and show them this infographic instead. Of course, if they subsequently ask *how* QNX does all this, I will have a well-practiced answer. :-)

Did I mention? You can download a high-res JPEG of this infographic from our Flickr account and a PDF version from the QNX website.



Stay tuned for 2015 CES, where we will introduce even more ways QNX can make a difference, especially in how people design and drive cars.

And lest I forget, special thanks to my colleague Varghese at BlackBerry India for conceiving this infographic, and for the QNX employees who provided their invaluable input.

Words to the wise: discover, integrate, trust, and experience

Lynn Gayowski

It's hard to believe that 2015 CES is right around the corner. And like elves in Santa's workshop, we've been hard at work on our awesome show demos — which includes a new technology concept car and updates to one of our reference vehicles (more on that later).

At the heart of our CES presence, from our booth theme to show demos, will be four words that encapsulate the key values that QNX Software Systems delivers — discover, integrate, trust, and experience. Each week leading up to CES, we'll highlight one of these words and outline how it relates to the core of QNX Software Systems and its technologies.

We're kicking off the series tomorrow so be sure to check back to read our latest blog post.

Restoring 30+ year-old BBS RS 001s rims

Car audio company Clarion is in the process of restoring an iconic 1974 BMW 2002. As part of the project, they got their hands on original 30-year-old Germany built BBS RS 001 wheels. They hired VR Wheels in Los Angeles to restore them to mint condition - actually the end product looks better.

Check the amazing video of how they refurbished the old wheels and gave it a new life:



Related link: Clarion Builds

How the Pre-Owned Market is Driving Economic Growth

An interesting theory inviting comments: http://www.cnbc.com/id/102186242

A question of getting there

The third of a series of posts on the QNX CAR Platform. In this installment, we turn to a key point of interest: the platform’s navigation service.

From the beginning, we designed the QNX CAR Platform for Infotainment with flexibility in mind. Our philosophy is to give customers the freedom to choose the hardware platforms, application environments, user-interface tools, and smartphone connectivity protocols that best address their requirements. This same spirit of flexibility extends to navigation solutions.

For evidence, look no further than our current technology concept car. It can support navigation from Elektrobit:



from Nokia HERE:



and from Kotei Informatics:



These are but a few examples. The QNX CAR Platform can also support navigation solutions from companies like AISIN AW, NavNGo, TCS, TeleNav, and ZENRIN DataCom, enabling automakers and automotive Tier 1 suppliers to choose the navigation solution, or solutions, best suited to the regions or demographics they wish to target. (In addition to these embedded solutions, the platform can also provide access to smartphone-based navigation services through its support for MirrorLink and other connectivity protocols — more on this in a subsequent post.)

Under the hood
In our previous installment, we looked at the QNX CAR Platform’s middleware layer, which provides infotainment applications with a variety of services, including Bluetooth, radio, multimedia discovery and playback, and automatic speech recognition. The middleware layer also includes a navigation service that, true to the platform’s overall flexibility, allows developers to use navigation engines from multiple vendors and to change engines without affecting the high-level navigation applications that the user interacts with.

An illustration is in order. If you look the image below, you’ll see OpenGL-based map data rendered on one graphics layer and, on the layer above it, Qt-based application data (current street, distance to destination, and other route information) pulled from the navigation engine. By taking advantage of the platform’s navigation service, you could swap in a different navigation engine without having to rewrite the Qt application:



To achieve this flexibility, the navigation service makes use of the QNX CAR Platform’s persistent/publish subscribe (PPS) messaging, which cleanly abstracts lower-level services from the higher-level applications they communicate with. Let's look at another diagram to see how this works:



In the PPS model, services publish information to data objects; other programs can subscribe to those objects and receive notifications when the objects have changed. So, for the example above, the navigation engine could generate updates to the route information, and the navigation service could publish those updates to a PPS “navigation status object,” thereby making the updates available to any program that subscribes to the object — including the Qt application.

With this approach, the Qt application doesn't need to know anything about the navigation engine, nor does the navigation engine need to know anything about the Qt app. As a result, either could be swapped out without affecting the other.

Here's another example of how this model allows components to communicate with one another:

1. Using the system's human machine interface (HMI), the drivers asks the navigation system to search for a point of interest (POI) — this could take the form of a voice command or a tap on the system display.
2. The HMI responds by writing the request to a PPS “navigation control” object.
3. The navigation service reads the request from the PPS object and forwards it to the navigation engine.
4. The navigation engine returns the result.
5. The navigation service updates the PPS object to notify the HMI that its request has been completed. It also writes the results to a database so that all subscribers to this object can read the results.

By using PPS, the navigation service can make details of the route available to a variety of applications. For instance, it could publish trip information that a weather app could subscribe to. The app could then display the weather forecast for the destination, at the estimated time of arrival.

To give developers a jump start, the QNX CAR Platform comes pre-integrated with Elektrobit’s EB street director navigation software. This reference integration shows developers how to implement "command and control" between the HMI and the participating components, including the navigation engine, navigation service, window manager, and PPS interface. As the above diagram indicates, the reference implementation works with both of the HMIs — one based on HTML5, the other based on Qt — that the QNX CAR Platform supports out of the box.

---

Previous posts in the QNX CAR Platform series:

• A question of architecture
  
• A question of concurrency

Waiting for the stars to align: Japan's Consumption Tax increase

Japan, as does much of the world, has long-run fiscal challenges. Its population aged faster than anticipated. No mechanism was put in place to automatically adjust pension and healthcare revenues.^{Note 1} In addition, the slowdown of economic growth and the late 1980s bubble and its collapse both meant that revenues plummeted, leaving the economy with a one-time buildup of debt as the aging process commenced. The result was a large initial buildup of debt, and an inexorable subsequent rise.

...right now the stars are aligned around the consumption tax...

Addressing the issue required however the proper alignment of stars. First, the political system had to be configured so as to allow decisionmaking. A long era of prime minister of the season meant that doing much of anything has been a challenge. Then there's the economic system: even deficit scaremongers recognize that raising taxes in a recession is a bad idea.^{Note 2} So Japan also needed to have the economic stars align. For the initial decade or so, the aftereffect of their bubble muted discussion of tax hikes. External shocks – the Asian financial crisis in 1997, worries about spillover from the end of the US dot.com bubble, then 9/11 and 3/11 [the Tohoku megaquake], and more recently the sharp recession touched off by what is known in Japan as the "Lehman Shock" provided excuses to postpone, from the perspective of politicians if not economists.

Then came Abe. He is only the second prime minister in many, many years to not face a constant risk of losing his majority support in the Diet; the political stars aligned. Likewise the economy has been recovering bit by bit from the Lehman Shock and 3/11. While the reality may be something less, weak labor markets that kept youth from launching careers, headlines trumpted the rise of GDP and diminishing deflation. The denoument was that on April 1, 2014 Japan increased the consumption tax (消費税) – its national sales tax – from 5% to 8%. That had a predictable negative impact on growth, and so it remains an open question which way Abe and his cabinet will lean for authorizing the next increase in the consumption tax, a 2 percentage point bump scheduled for October 2015. The legislation is in place, but there is still an opt out.

One metric is inflation. Unfortunately a disadvantage of a large bump – in this case 3 percentage points – is that while it will produce a correspondingly large jump in the price level, the base effect will wear off if the underlying wage and other cost dynamics (and firm pricing power) remain unchanged. So we are now at the point where inflation is trending down. The depreciation of the yen helped hide that, particularly as higher import prices have been sufficient to offset lower global energy prices. But that effect too will wear off. Global headwinds now threaten; China, not the US, is Japan's largest trading partner. (Japan's exports to China of computer chips and the like are incorporated into iPhones and similar goods that are promptly re-exported to the US and ... whoops ... Europe. No out there!) So my sense is that if the economic stars are aligned, that is temporary.

All this begs one question on the nature of the tax increase: why large jumps? Instead of raising taxes by 3 percentage points in one fell swoop, why not raise rates by 0.75 percentage points every 6 months over two years? or (given the 10% end point) raise rates in increments of 0.5 percentage points every 6 months for 5 years?

That would have multiple advantages:

1. Incremental bumps would lessen the surge of big-ticket purchases just before the rate increase went into effect, and the subsequent negative rebound. Such volatility serves no good macroeconomic purpose.
2. Maxi bumps make sales data hard to interpret for the private sector – how much of the March 2014 sales surge was because the economy was doing well and how much was due to consumers pulling purchases forward? Such uncertainty serves no good business purpose.
3. Volatility makes macro data hard to interpret for us economists. Yes, readers are shedding crocodile tears in sympathy, but some economists do have politician's ears (such as Koichi Hamada, a friend of Abe and former University of Tokyo and Yale professor whom I've known for 30 years). If such economists are honest – Hamada is not a mere political hack – then they are surely tempering their advice.
4. Frequent mini bumps would add to inflation for some time to come. Surely that would be better if the goal of policymakers is to shift expectations away from deflation.
5. Mini bumps ought to be more robust politically. You can with good reason argue that, in the midst of a slowing global economy, now is not the time to bump the consumption tax to 10%. It would be harder to argue that going from 8.5% to 9.0% should be postponed.
6. Mini bumps ought to be easier to extend. From a fiscal perspective, even at 10% Japan's deficit will remain large, and at 10% the consumption tax is much lower than in many OECD countries. So why stop at 10%? That's surely much easier to sell if it's a continuation of mini bumps rather than a maxi jump.

Tightening loopholes through strict implementation of a national tax ID system may be the most desirable step. Right now though the stars are aligned around the consumption tax.

 

1. Money is fungible and there is no particular economic reason to run retirement programs on a stand-alone budgetary basis. Having separate retirement and healthcare accounts and taxes to match is however to my knowledge universal.
2. Cutting retirement benefits would have the same net budget impact and the same short-term contractionary impact as a tax increase, though with 25+% of the population already benefitting from Japan's programs, that's politically infeasible. It's also morally objectionable, as the twenty-five-percenters paid taxes during their working lives and so fulfilled their end the social contract. Extending the retirement age is a compromise: those near retirement may be treated unfairly, paying in more and taking out less than they anticipated, but at least the ex post adjustment is muted.

A need for speed... and safety

Matt Shumsky

For me, cars and safety go hand in hand. Don’t get me wrong, I have a need for speed. I do, after all, drive a 2006 compact with 140 HP (pause for laughter). But no one, and I mean no one, wants to be barreling down a highway in icy conditions at 120 km/hr without working brakes, am I right?

So this begs the question, what’s the best way to design a software system that ensures the adaptive cruise control system keeps a safe distance from the car ahead? Or that tells the digital instrument cluster the correct information to display? And how can you make sure the display information isn’t corrupted?

Enter QNX and the ISO 26262 functional safety standard.

QNX Software Systems is partnering with LDRA to present a webinar on “Ensuring Automotive Functional Safety”. During this webinar, you’ll learn about:

• Development and verification tools proven to help provide safer automotive software systems
• How suppliers can develop software systems faster with an OS tuned for automotive safety

Ensuring Automotive Functional Safety with QNX and LDRA
Thursday, November 20, 2014
9:00 am PST / 12:00 pm EST / 5:00 pm UTC

I hope you can join us!

Nissan Datsun Go crash test results

The Nissan Datsun Go car which is aimed at the Indian market was recently tested for safety. The car failed spectacularly getting 0 out of possible 5 stars. The car comes without air bags and looking at the video of the test, it would not have done much good even if the car had been fitted with them. If the car can get this badly damaged at just 40mph speeds, I am just wondering what would happen at UK highway speeds of 70mph.

MNCs need to stop pushing lousy products into the emerging markets. And India definitely needs to have some minimum safety standards put in place.

The new Citroën C4 Cactus with nice bumps

One thing is sure about the new Citroën C4 Cactus - you will definitely get a lot of attention. It features unique Airbump® side panels which is supposed to protect from knocks and occasional bumps. The Airbump® panels are made from supply TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) and include tiny air capsules.

I suspect that reactions to the Airbump® feature is going to be split into 2 groups - "either you like it or you don't".

Other unique designs include sleek roof bars, a floating quarter window and clean lines. The front end features nice lights with daytime running LEDs emphasising the slim headlights as well as 3D-effect back lights.

Inside, the car features slim dashboard and 7 inch Touch Drive interface and a huge glovebox.



Check out the Citroën C4 Cactus for more information.

Building (sound) character into cars

Tina Jeffrey

Modern engines are overachievers when it comes to fuel efficiency — but they often score a C minus in the sound department. Introducing a solution that can make a subtle but effective difference.

Car engines don’t sound like they used to. Correction: They don’t sound as good as they used to. And for that, you can blame modern fuel-saving techniques, such as the practice of deactivating cylinders when engine load is light. Still, if you’re an automaker, delivering an optimal engine sound is critical to ensuring a satisfying user experience. To address this need, we’ve released QNX Acoustics for Engine Sound Enhancement (ESE), a complementary technology to our solution for active noise control.

The why

We first demonstrated our ESE technology at 2014 CES
in the QNX technology concept car for acoustics.

Many people assume, erroneously, that ESE is about giving cars an outsized sonic personality — such as making a Smart ForTwo snarl like an SRT Hellcat. While that is certainly possible, most automakers will use ESE to augment engine sounds in subtle but effective ways that bolster the emotional connection between car and driver — just like engine sounds did in the past. It boils down to creating a compelling acoustic experience for drivers and passengers alike.

ESE isn’t new. Traditionally, automakers have used mechanical solutions that modify the design of the exhaust system or intake pipes to differentiate the sound of their vehicles. Today, automakers are shifting to software-based ESE, which costs less and does a better job at augmenting engine sounds that have been degraded by new, efficient engine designs. With QNX Acoustics for Engine Sound Enhancement, automakers can accurately preserve an existing engine sound for use in a new model, craft a unique sound to market a new brand, or offer distinct sounds associated with different transmission modes, such as sport or economy.

The how
QNX Acoustics for Engine Sound Enhancement is entirely software based. It comprises a runtime library that augments naturally transmitted engine sounds as well as a design tool that provides several advanced features for defining and tuning engine-sound profiles. The library runs on the infotainment system or on the audio system DSP and plays synthesized sound synchronized to the engine’s real-time data: RPM, speed, throttle position, transmission mode, etc.




The ESE designer tool enables sound designers to create, refashion, and audition sounds directly on their desktops by graphically defining the mapping between a synthesized engine-sound profile and real-time engine parameters. The tool supports both granular and additive synthesis, along with a variety of digital signal processing techniques to configure the audio path, including gain, filter, and static equalization control.



The value
QNX Acoustics for Engine Sound Enhancement offers automakers numerous benefits in the design of sound experiences that best reflect their brand:

• Ability to design consistent powertrain sounds across the full engine operating range
   
• Small footprint runtime library that can be ported to virtually any DSP or CPU running Linux or the QNX OS, making it easy to customize all vehicle models and to leverage work done in existing models
   
• Tight integration with other QNX acoustics middleware libraries, including QNX Acoustics for Active Noise Control, enabling automakers to holistically shape their interior vehicle soundscape
   
• Dedicated acoustic engineers that can support development and pre-production activities, including porting to customer-specific hardware, system audio path verification, and platform and vehicle acoustic tuning
   

If you’re with an automaker or Tier One and would like to discuss how QNX Acoustics for ESE can address your project requirements, I invite you to contact us at anc@qnx.com.

In the meantime, learn more about this solution on the QNX website.

Tesla Model S 2014 scores 5/5 in Euro NCAP crash test

The Tesla Model S electric car has scored 5 stars (the maximum) safety rating after testing by the Euro NCAP.

The 4 door saloon falls under the executive class.

Read the full report here.

Japan update: ADAS, wearables, integrated cockpits, and autonomous cars

Yoshiki Chubachi

Will the joy of driving be a design criterion for tomorrow’s vehicles? It had better be.

A couple of weeks ago, QNX Software Systems sponsored Telematics Japan in Tokyo. This event offers a great opportunity to catch up with colleagues from automotive companies, discuss technology and business trends, and showcase the latest technology demos. Speaking of which, here’s a photo of me with a Japan-localized demo of the QNX CAR Platform. You can also see a QNX-based digital instrument cluster in the lower-left corner — this was developed by Three D, one of our local technology partners:



While at the event, I spoke on the panel, “Evolving ecosystems for future HMI, OS, and telematics platform development.” During the discussion, we conducted a real-time poll and asked the audience three questions:

1) Do you think having Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will augment a vehicle brand?
2) Do you expect wearable technologies to be integrated into cars?
3) If your rental car were hacked, who would you complain to?

For question 1, 32% of the audience said CarPlay and Android Auto will improve a brand; 68% didn't think so. In my opinion, this result indicates that smartphone connectivity in cars is now an expected feature. For question 2, 76% answered that they expect to see wearables integrated into cars. This response gives us a new perspective — people are looking at wearables as a possible addition to go with ADAS systems. For example, a wearable device could help prevent accidents by monitoring the driver for drowsiness and other dangerous signs. For question 3, 68% said they would complain to the rental company. Mind you, this raises the question: if your own car were hacked, who would you complain to?

Integrated cockpits
There is growing concern around safety and security as companies attempt to grow more business by leveraging connectivity in cars. The trend is apparent if you look at the number of safety- and security-related demos at various automotive shows.

Case in point: I recently attended a private automotive event hosted by Renesas, where many ADAS and integrated cockpit demos were on display. And last month, CEATEC Japan (aka the CES of Japan) featured integrated cockpit demos from companies like Fujitsu, Pioneer, Mitsubishi, Kyocera, and NTT Docomo.

For the joy of it
Things are so different from when I first started developing in-car navigation systems 20 years ago. Infotainment systems are now turning into integrated cockpits. In Japan, the automotive industry is looking at early 2020s as the time when commercially available autonomous cars will be on the road. In the coming years, the in-car environment, including infotainment, cameras and other systems, will change immensely — I’m not exactly sure what cars in the year 2020 will look like, but I know it will be something I could never have imagined 20 years ago.

A panel participant at Telematics Japan said to me, “If autonomous cars become reality and my car is not going to let me drive anymore, I am not sure what the point of having a car is.” This is true. As we continue to develop for future cars, we may want to remind ourselves of the “joy of driving” factor.

Sponsored video: Toyota Dominoes - spirit of Toyota innovation

"A car company with a positive environmental effect" sounds like an oxymoron. Well Toyota is trying to show that this is not impossible with the launch of Toyota hybrid technology!

Their new Fuel cell vehicle (FCV) shows that cars can be eco-friendly.

In case you are wondering how a Fuel Cell Vehicle works, read on....
IN a FCV, the Fuel Cells generates electricity through the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to power the motor driving the vehicle. Hydrogen, which replaces conventional fuels (Petrol and Diesel) is an environment friendly energy source that can be produced from various raw materials. However, the most amazing thing in FCVs is that they have zero emissions or in other words, zero CO2 emissions during operation.

The dominoes picking themselves up in this clip captures the essence of the spirit of Toyota innovation.



Explore Toyota's Global website to learn more and watch more videos on their YouTube page.

This post is sponsored by Toyota, but all of the thoughts are our own.