Canada's BlackBerry Ltd will open an autonomous driving research center on Monday, as it tries to make itself an indispensable under-the-hood piece of the automotive industry's weaponry in the self-driving vehicle arms race.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will attend the launch by the Waterloo, Ontario-based smartphone pioneer, the prime minister's office said on Sunday. A Blackberry spokeswoman deferred any comment on the project until Monday.
Blackberry, once known for its phones but now betting its future on the more profitable business of making software and managing mobile devices after largely ceding the smartphone market to the likes of Apple and Samsung, is expanding subsidiary QNX's Ottawa facility to focus on developing advanced driver assistance and autonomous vehicle technology.
After a detour where QNX's industrial-focused software was used to reinvent the now-discarded BlackBerry phone operating system, BlackBerry is focused on how its embedded software interacts with the explosion of sensors, cameras and other components required for a car to drive itself.
But while deep-pocketed Silicon Valley has invested heavily in the artificial intelligence and machine learning required for autonomy, more financially-constrained BlackBerry has not, eyeing instead a niche role as a trusty sidekick.
"What QNX is doing is providing the infrastructure that allows you to build higher-level algorithms and to also acquire data from the sensors in a reliable manner," said Sebastian Fischmeister, a University of Waterloo associate professor who has worked with QNX since 2009.
"Our play in this is that we provide the software foundation for these high-performance compute platforms," QNX head John Wall said in an interview on Friday .
BlackBerry and the university's research teams got the green light to test Ford Motor Co Lincoln vehicles with autonomous features on Ontario's public roads late last month. The company has also inked a deal to work directly with the Detroit-based carmaker as it works to get fleets of robot ride-sharing vehicles to market by 2021.
Wall said the company is in advanced discussions with "more than one or two" other major global automakers about similar partnerships, but also cautioned that the hype of robot cars would take a long time to be fully realized.
QNX already powers infotainment and telematics systems in millions of cars, giving an option to automakers watching the speed at which firms such as Tesla Motors Inc, ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc, and Alphabet Inc's Google have advanced their self-driving projects.
"If they can prove that they have the whole package and the security, they could absolutely dominate the market" for autonomous vehicle operating systems, said Sam Fiorani, an analyst at Auto Forecast Solutions.
Risks remain, including the challenge from chipmakers such as Intel Corp who, eyeing demand for their processors in future robot cars, could discount or give away their own security and safety software in order to sell more hardware.
"Some of these companies can afford to lose a lot of money in their pursuit of adoption and market share," said Chris Rommel, who leads embedded technology research at VDC Research.
Reuters
Mon Dec 19 2016
A Blackberry logo hangs behind a Canadian flag at their offices on the day of their annual general meeting for shareholders in Waterloo, Canada June 23, 2015. REUTERS
Tiada lagi ulang tayang Piala FA
Semua video ulang tayang perlawanan Piala FA dari perlawanan pusingan pertama akan dibatalkan mulai musim depan.
Niaga SPOTLIGHT: Financial Inclusion via Innovative FinTech
12% of Malaysia ie; 7 million Malaysians, primarily from rural areas are unbanked - meaning they cannot access any financial services.
This is a dire need in Malaysia due to the country’s fast growth rate in mobile banking and e-money transactions, which quadrupled to RM800 billion in 2021.
Moreover, the existence of financial inclusion gaps among underserved communities such as women, gig workers, and lower-income earners requires significant attention.
Niaga Spotlight speaks with Nisa Ismail, CEO, Sedania As Salam Capital Sdn Bhd (SASC) about the latest in Financial Inclusion via FinTech to help close socioeconomic gaps, especially in rural areas.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaSPOTLIGHT
This is a dire need in Malaysia due to the country’s fast growth rate in mobile banking and e-money transactions, which quadrupled to RM800 billion in 2021.
Moreover, the existence of financial inclusion gaps among underserved communities such as women, gig workers, and lower-income earners requires significant attention.
Niaga Spotlight speaks with Nisa Ismail, CEO, Sedania As Salam Capital Sdn Bhd (SASC) about the latest in Financial Inclusion via FinTech to help close socioeconomic gaps, especially in rural areas.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaSPOTLIGHT
Niaga AWANI: Pendidikan AI sekolah rendah: Pembangunan masa depan digital
Di sekolah rendah di Malaysia, pelajar akan diperkenalkan kepada asas AI dalam mata pelajaran baharu yang dipanggil Teknologi dan Digital bermula dari 2027. Apakah persiapan yang diperlukan setiap sekolah untuk memastikan pelahar lebih muda dibawa masuk ke dunia penggunaan AI yang bertanggungjawab?
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Niaga AWANI: MOSTI sasarkan penubuhan 900 pemula niaga menjelang 2026
Kementerian Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi (MOSTI) menyasarkan untuk memudahkan penubuhan sehingga 900 pemula niaga kecerdasan buatan AI menjelang 2026 melalui program perintis AI Sandbox 2024.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Klopp terima kenyataan kurang ancaman punca Liverpool tewas
Mohamed Salah kurang menunjukkan prestasi terbaiknya sejak kembali dari kecederaan hamstring.
Niaga AWANI: Sinergi diperlukan bagi merealisasikan aspirasi mampan negara
Kenyataan itu juga mengatakan bahawa RHB telah mencapai kemajuan yang ketara ke arah operasi neutral karbon, mencapai pengurangan 43 peratus dalam pelepasan gas rumah hijau (GHG) operasi berbanding garis dasar 2016, merangkumi Skop 1, 2, dan 3 (Perjalanan Perniagaan melalui Jalan dan Udara.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
AWANI Pagi: Raya Oh Raya: Alamak! Poket dah "kering" ni
Diskusi 8.30 pagi Jumaat bersama Dr Nur Lalua Rashidah Mohd Rahsiad, Pengurus, Perhubungan Korporat Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU) mengenai pengurusan kewangan selepas berdepan perbelanjaan yang banyak dimulai sesi sekolah dibuka diikuti puasa dan hari raya. Ini termasuk bagaimana pengurusan yang baik boleh membantu membawa keluar keluar daripada pergelutan kewangan sementara menunggu gaji bulan seterusnya.
Niaga AWANI: RHB tingkatkan sasaran perkhidmatan kewangan kepada RM50 bilion menjelang 2026
Menjelang 2030, RHB menyasarkan untuk mencapai pengurangan 20 peratus dalam sektor ini. Menjelang 2050, matlamat RHB adalah untuk mencapai pengurangan sehingga 96 peratus dalam pelepasan yang dibiayai merentas lima sektor.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Niaga AWANI: Reformasi Ekonomi: Antara subsidi, mekanisme & kesejahteraan rakyat
Pengarah dan Penganalisis, Research Institute for Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore (ITS) Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Dr Md Shukri Shuib mengulas berkenaan usaha rasionalisasi subsidi petrol yang akan dilaksanakan kerajaan, serta impak kepada reformasi ekonomi ini.
#NiagaAWANI
#NiagaAWANI
Iran beri amaran Israel terhadap tindakan kententeraan lanjut
Seorang komander Pengawal Revolusi Iran berkata, Iran boleh mengkaji semula "doktrin nuklear" berikutan ancaman Israel.