"High reliability" and "ease of obtaining certification" are essential for the system

The importance of secure and safe embedded systems is increasing as countries around the world tighten regulations and cyber attacks increase, for example, the European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA), IEC 62443, JC-STAR, and other strict standards require companies to meet these standards.
QNX provides a platform that combines industry-leading security features with compliance with functional safety standards, making it easy to obtain these certifications.

What is the real-time OS "QNX"?

QNX is a highly secure, real-time OS with a proven track record in mission-critical embedded systems*, which makes it easy to obtain functional safety certification.

*Mission-critical embedded systems: Systems that perform missions that could pose a risk to life or serious costs if a problem occurs. Examples include construction machinery, agricultural machinery, robots, and medical equipment.

Why choose QNX for mission critical applications?

QNX employs a microkernel architecture that separates OS functions such as device drivers, file systems, and network stacks into user space. Each process runs in an independent address space, eliminating interference between processes. This minimizes the risk of a single component failure spreading to the entire system. Furthermore, a design based on the principle of least privilege reduces the attack surface, achieving both robust security and high reliability. QNX's design philosophy offers fundamental advantages in mission-critical systems that require real-time performance and reliability.

1. QNX's security capabilities stand out among real-time OSes

Microkernel architecture minimizes attack surface
- Separating OS components prevents errors from affecting other parts
- Software infrastructure that prevents system malfunctions, malware, and security breaches
・Robust key management and encryption in conjunction with H/W is possible

Supports multi-layered security features
Secure Boot
・Encrypted file system
Access control
・Security Policy Manager

Optimize maintenance costs, such as vulnerability response
-Very low vulnerability incidence.
- Vulnerability management across the product lifecycle
・Flexible software updates via OTA

2. Optimizing functional safety certification

QNX also provides products certified to functional safety standards required by various industries (QNX OS for Safety).

<List of acquired certifications>
IEC 61508 SIL 3
ISO 26262 ASIL D
IEC 62304 Class C
EN 50128 SIL 3
EN 50657 SIL 3

・Optimization of development time and costs
Because the safety of the OS portion has already been proven, the certification process for the entire device can proceed smoothly, significantly reducing development processes and man-hours, and contributing to optimizing TCO (total cost of ownership).

- Improved speed to market
This shortens the lead time from development to certification and mass production while meeting functional safety requirements, enabling faster time-to-market and a competitive advantage, particularly in safety-critical markets such as automotive, medical, and industrial equipment.

・Regulatory compliance/risk avoidance
Functional safety compliance is expected to become even stricter in the future, so adopting a certified OS will help you prepare for future strengthened regulations. It also reduces the risk of recalls and lawsuits due to defects or certification deficiencies.

・Gaining customer trust
Using a safety-certified OS proves quality and reliability to suppliers and customers, and provides a compelling justification for customer technical audits and evaluations.

3. Meets the requirements of embedded system development

- Supports the latest SOC (optimized for many-core)
- Supports a wide range of hardware platforms, making porting easy

- POSIX compliant*, so it is highly compatible with OSS and easy to port.
・Flexible system development is possible.
*POSIX = Standard interface specifications for maintaining compatibility with UNIX-based operating systems.

- Low jitter and high real-time performance
・Ideal for applications where time predictability is important

- Microkernel structure enables fast startup

- High availability achieved through microkernel architecture
- Ideal for systems that require stable, continuous operation and reduced startup time

・Provides an efficient development environment using Momentics IDE (Eclipse-based) and Visual Studio Code

・QNX OS can be developed, built, tested, and deployed on the cloud
・You can verify embedded software and build an automated development environment without using a physical development board.

・Reduces the burden of OS maintenance and provides an environment where you can focus on application development
・Technical support from a specialized support team provides smooth, long-term support from installation to operation.

4. Scalable expandability

QNX RTOS, QNX OS for Safety, QNX Hypervisor, and QNX Hypervisor for Safety are built on a common code base, allowing for flexible expansion while maintaining the flexibility of application assets.

・Future expansion is possible, including safety support and system integration
-Easy migration with a common code base
・Safety level changes can be handled smoothly
・Reusability of common development tools and verification assets
・Product deployment scalability

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Achieving high levels of efficiency, safety, and cost reduction

Proven track record is proof of reliability! QNX, the globally supported real-time OS

QNX announced that its software has been installed in over 255 million vehicles worldwide (as of October 15, 2024). According to a survey by TechInsights, a leading technology analysis and market research company, this represents an increase of 20 million vehicles using QNX software compared to the previous year and an increase of 80 million vehicles since 2020.
Source: https://www.blackberry.com/us/en/regions/ja/newsroom/press-releases/2024/qnx-embedded-technology-powers-255-million-vehicles-on-the-road-today

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have any questions or concerns about QNX products, please feel free to contact us here.

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