MontaVista Software and Robert Bosch Car Multimedia GmbH announced a multi-year partnership for developing Linux-based software for Bosch products, starting with in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. The initial IVI system will comply with the Genivi Alliance open source middleware standards for IVI, and future jointly developed Bosch/MontaVista projects are expected to include instrument clusters, say the companies.

MontaVista, which since December has been a subsidiary of semiconductor manufacturer Cavium, did not reveal when Bosch might ship a Linux-based IVI system. A unit of German manufacturing giant Bosch. the Car Multimedia unit already offers in-car navigation systems (below), automotive multimedia systems, instrumentation clusters, and professional vehicle systems.

Bosch in-car navigation and infotainment system

MontaVista joined the Genivi Alliance last year, along with Texas Instruments and Freescale Semiconductor, and became a member of its board of directors. That move came a day after MontaVista announced a Market Specific Distribution (MSD) of its MontaVista Linux 6 embedded commercial Linux development platform designed for the Moblin v2 Linux stack running on an Intel Atom. (A Moblin-on-Atom platform was used for the first In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) reference platform for Genivi, with software developed by MontaVista rival Wind River, now an Intel subsidiary._

The Genivi Alliance was announced in March 2009, by Intel, Delphi, General Motors (GM), Magneti Marelli, PSA Peugeot Citroen, Visteon, and Wind River, with the goal of developing open platform IVI reference designs and middleware based on Linux.

The Genivi platform consists of standardized open source middleware, application layer interfaces, and frameworks, says the alliance.The group released the initial Wind River developed reference platform to members in conjunction with the CES show this January.

As of March of this year, the Genivi Alliance boasted over 60 members, including BMW Group, which that same month announced it was joining MeeGo. The auto manufacturer also suggested it was working with the Genivi Alliance to develop a a MeeGo-based reference platform.

In May, another Genivi member, GM, announced that version 2.0 of the Android version of its OnStar Mobile app for the Chevrolet Volt (pictured at right) will feature Google Maps integration. The voice-enabled feature, which shows a Volt's location on Google Maps, may only be the first step in Android integration with OnStar, said various industry reports at the time.

Stated Ing. Michael Bolle, SVP of the Business Unit Automotive Navigation and Infotainment Systems at Bosch, "When we decided to base our next generation in-vehicle infotainment systems on Linux, we needed a vendor who understood not just Linux, but how to deliver complete Linux-based software solutions in the demanding automotive environment. By deploying Linux and open source software and leveraging the power of the open source community, development resources can be shifted from non-differentiating application porting activities to differentiating software development, i.e. HMI adaptations."

Stated Art Landro, president of MontaVista, "We look forward to helping Bosch deliver innovative solutions to their customers, while contributing to the growth and success of the Genivi Alliance in the process."

Availability

More information on Bosch's Car Multimedia unit may be found here. More information on MontaVista may be found at its website, here.

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