Automotive Grade Linux gets expanded with new members on board

Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), an open source project backed by the Linux Foundation, has crossed the base of 90 members with adding entities such as ARM, DrimAES and Telenav. The initiative was launched in July 2014 to bring Linux-based connected car systems and saw 60 percent membership growth in 2016.

In the list of new members, DrimAES has joined AGL at the Silver level while ARM, Elektrobit, RealVNC, Telenav and Tuxera has participated at the Bronze level.

“Our new members represent a wide group of skills and expertise, from location-based services to digital storage, which will be valuable as we continue to enhance our UCB infotainment platform and expand into other automotive applications like telematics and instrument cluster,” said Dan Cauchy, executive director of AGL.

AGL has major automotive players including the recent ones like Suzuki and Daimler. Also, there are silicon giants such as Qualcomm and Texas Instruments.

All the members are coming from diverse fields but have faith in “common software architectures” that would uplift the present connected car model.

“By supporting Automotive Grade Linux, we contribute to the ecosystem of OEMs and system integrators that build these efficient systems, enabling them to take full advantage of shared software across the industry,” said Richard York, vice president of embedded marketing, ARM.

At CES 2017 in January, the Linux Foundation participated with member companies to launch the third version of the AGL Unified Code Base distribution. The upgraded infotainment platform includes 70 to 80 percent of the starting point to help automakers get a reference for their production projects. Moreover, there is improved hardware support from hardware enablers including Renesas, Qualcomm Technologies, Intel, NXP and Raspberry Pi to bring Linux to the mainstream in the world of in-car entertainment.