Auto and electronics makers release Linux distro for in-car
A consortium of auto and electronics manufacturers released the first public version of Automotive Grade Linux, a variant of the in-car Linux distribution Tizen, on Monday. With the platform, the companies want to introduce an ‘open environment’ for the car.
The consortium operates under the banner of The Linux Foundation and includes car manufacturers Jaguar, Nissan, Toyota and Hyundai, while electronics manufacturers Samsung, LG, Nvidia and Texas Instruments also joined the project. The companies started the project two years ago to develop software for the automotive industry based on Linux. Central to this were the control of infotainment systems and applications for the on-board computers of modern cars.
The most recent version of Automotive Grade Linux is a further development of Tizen, a Linux-based open source operating system that Samsung uses in televisions and smartphones, among others. With the existing apps written in HTML5 and JavaScript, AGL offers a dashboard, Google Maps, a news reader, audio controls and synchronization with other devices. There is also support for operating the heating, ventilation and cooling.
According to the initiators, AGL is particularly useful because it would provide a universal basis. “AGL provides the industry with fundamental benefits in terms of stability and power of a mainstream Linux distribution, while allowing companies to bring unique applications and functionality to market faster,” explains Rudolf Strief of The Linux Foundation. “By participating in AGL, the industry will not experience fragmentation, causing manufacturers to lose time and waste R&D resources.”
Automotive Grade Linux competes with Android Auto, a special version of Android for cars recently announced by Google. The difference, however, is that Android Auto runs on the user’s smartphone and needs to connect to the car, while AGL doesn’t. Apple also offers such a system as Android Auto with Apple CarPlay. Car manufacturer Audi announced last week that it would support both systems in the long term.