Parrot Faurecia Automotive Selects Qt to Power its Digital Cockpit of the Future

Espoo/Paris, December 14th, 2018. Parrot Faurecia Automotive, a leader in automotive infotainment and connectivity solutions, has selected the Qt framework and toolchain as its next generation digital instrument cluster HMI technology. Parrot’s Advanced Cockpit Server will be equipped with Qt based HMI for digital instrument cluster along with Android OS based IVI (in-vehicle infotainment).

Digital cockpits are rapidly becoming one of the most integral and attractive elements of the connected and autonomous vehicles of tomorrow. Consisting of digital instrument clusters, heads-up displays, in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems and rear-seat entertainment systems, the digital cockpit enables a highly immersive digital driver experience. However, the many screens and inputs that comprise the digital cockpit present a software development challenge for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as maintaining a cohesive user experience is difficult at best. In addition, OEMs must meet functional safety standards tied to the digital cockpit.

To meet and overcome these digital cockpit development challenges, Parrot selected Qt’s cross-platform software development framework. The Qt device creation framework and toolchain allows fast iterative development from designers’ vision to target implementation. Qt was selected for the project because of its state of the art cluster capabilities, developer friendliness, rich functionality for multi-OS integration, as well as its broad usage among developer communities.

The Advanced Cockpit Server is a full-fledged digital cockpit system running one of the latest version of Android and Qt with a complete feature set: analog & digital radio, navigation, hands-free telephony, voice recognition, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, connected services, multimedia content and a very wide range of apps. The Advanced Cockpit Server is open, scalable and can be easily upgraded wirelessly.

“The Qt framework enables us to achieve an important milestone in the development of our in-vehicle infotainment platform. We are glad to report that our first Advanced Cockpit Server will start production in the second half of 2019 for a premium European carmaker” says Frédéric BIÉRI, Sales & Marketing Director of Parrot Faurecia Automotive.
“We are delighted to see Qt usage broadening in automotive cockpits. In addition to IVI systems and Qt based digital cockpits, we now also see a system with Qt as a cluster technology”, comments the Head of Automotive Tero Marjamäki from The Qt Company.

About The Qt Company
Qt Group (Nasdaq Helsinki: QTCOM) is a global software company with a strong presence in more than 70 industries and is the leading independent technology behind millions of devices and applications. Qt is used by major global companies and developers worldwide, and the technology enables its customers to deliver exceptional user experiences and advance their digital transformation initiatives. The company's net sales in year 2017 totaled 36,3M € and it employs some 300 people. http://qt.io.

About Parrot Faurecia Automotive
Parrot Faurecia Automotive designs, develops and markets infotainment products for passenger vehicles and commercial trucks. Parrot pioneered Bluetooth in-vehicle hands-free communication and brought the first Android-based car radio to the market. Parrot Faurecia Automotive has proven its experience as a strong contributor to the industry by equipping more than 50M vehicles. Its extensive technology portfolio includes best-in-class analog and digital radio reception, voice recognition and seamless smartphone integration. Parrot’s Android-based infotainment systems cover the front and the rear of the vehicle.
Parrot Faurecia Automotive SAS is owned entirely by Faurecia, one of the world’s largest automotive equipment suppliers.
For more information, please visit: www.parrot-faurecia-automotive.com