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Industry Interview
Telematics and infotainment
EXCLUSIVE: Myriad Group talks to us about Android apps for the car
Myriad Group, specialists in mobile software technology, recently announced their ‘Alien Dalvik’ software solution that could help vehicle manufactures to implement Android apps for the car, irrespective of the underlying Operating System. This could be great news for the automotive industry, so we got in touch with Benoit Schillings, CTO of Myriad Group, to find out more. Telematics News (TN): Can you tell us briefly how Alien Dalvik allows Android apps to run on multiple Operating Systems? Is it a middleware solution? Benoit: Sure, what we have done is to turn the Android runtime to be portable in the same way that traditional java (j2me) is. We took the core of the Android programming framework and rebuilt it as a runtime which can work in the standard environment of a much wider range of platforms and devices. This enables the majority of Android applications to run unmodified and without having to use heavyweight solutions such as hypervisor based virtualization. In our approach, using Myriad Alien Dalvik, a single android application is mapped onto a single application in the target OS, which means that the Android application becomes undistinguishable from other type of apps. This allows mobile operators, OEMs, and other industry sectors, such as the automotive industry, to take advantage of Android’s rich ecosystem of applications. TN: Currently there is a lot of activity around GENIVI within the automotive industry. Is Alien Dalvik compatible with GENIVI? Benoit: GENIVI is of interest to us since we can add a large number of applications to any existing standard. However at this point we have focused our energy on Linux kernel based devices. This was the logical first step as many companies have decided over the years to use Linux as a foundation but have been faced with the challenge of sourcing quality applications for these nonandroid devices.
Benoit Schillings is Chief Technology Officer of Myriad Group AG. In this role he is responsible for the company’s technology strategy and focus on innovation. Prior to joining Myriad, Schillings held the position of Chief Technologist at Nokia. There he was responsible for Nokia’s cross-device technology as well as Technology Advisor to Nokia’s CEO, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo. Schillings joined Nokia following their acquisition of Trolltech, where, as Chief technologist, he was responsible for leveraging Trolltech’s existing technologies and services. TN: Vehicle manufacturers are very particular about what apps they allow inside the car (for driver distraction reasons). Does your solution allow OEMs to choose what apps to enable or will consumers be able to download any Android app? Benoit: Both are possible with Myriad Alien Dalvik, in addition we are also able to work with the OEMs to define and pre-install multiple applications to run on their hardware. This brings the ability to control what is an acceptable application, which is critical in automotive, but also to define a smaller hardware requirement for the device. TN: In addition to being the software supplier, can you also help OEMs test and certify apps? Benoit: As a founding member of the Open Handset Alliance (OHA), Myriad Group has been playing a key role in Android solutions since its early days. We have over 150 engineers with deep expertise in the fields of development and certification on Android based devices. TN: Without going into details, can you give us an idea as to what sort of partnerships you are forging and when we can expect to see Alien Dalvik in production vehicles? Benoit: We are currently assessing market demand and speaking to several key players in the automotive and other vertical industries.
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