QNX and neueHCT Win Global ADAS Platform Design Deal
QNX and neueHCT have announced a major automotive design win with a leading German automotive group, bringing the companies’ smart-driving technology to a global passenger-vehicle platform.
The program centers on HCT Luna, an all-in-one front-view smart camera that combines Horizon Robotics’ automotive computing platform with QNX’s safety-certified real-time operating system.
Mass production is scheduled to begin in 2027, with shipments projected to reach several million units during the first three years. The vehicle program is expected to launch in China before expanding into Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India, and other international markets.
🚗 From China Launch to Global Vehicle Platform #
The agreement represents a shift from deploying HCT Luna on individual vehicle programs toward broader platform-level commercialization.
Key Program Details #
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Customer | Leading German automotive group |
| Solution | HCT Luna front-view smart camera |
| Production | Planned for 2027 |
| Volume | Several million units projected over first three years |
| Initial Market | China |
| Expansion | Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, India, and other markets |
| Primary Use | Front-view ADAS and intelligent driving |
The unnamed automaker’s global platform gives neueHCT an opportunity to deploy the same underlying technology across different regional vehicle programs and road environments.
🧠 HCT Luna Hardware and Software Architecture #
HCT Luna combines automotive compute hardware from Horizon Robotics with QNX’s safety-oriented software foundation.
Horizon Journey 6B #
The smart camera is built around Horizon Robotics’ Journey 6B automotive processor.
Journey 6B provides the computing foundation for the camera’s perception and ADAS workloads, allowing the system to process front-facing camera data within a compact vehicle electronics platform.
QNX OS for Safety 8.0 #
The software stack is powered by QNX OS for Safety 8.0, QNX’s safety-oriented real-time operating system.
The RTOS architecture provides deterministic execution, process isolation, and low-latency behavior—characteristics that are important when perception and vehicle-control functions must operate predictably.
By separating software components through the operating system’s isolation mechanisms, the platform can also provide a structured foundation for integrating safety-relevant ADAS functions with other software workloads.
🛣️ ADAS Capabilities #
HCT Luna is designed to support several core driver-assistance functions.
Automatic Emergency Braking #
Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) can detect potential forward collisions and initiate braking intervention when the system determines that emergency action is required.
Lane Departure Warning #
Lane Departure Warning (LDW) monitors the vehicle’s position relative to detected lane boundaries and can alert the driver when unintended lane departure is detected.
Traffic Light Recognition #
The system also supports traffic light recognition, allowing the front-view camera to identify traffic signals as part of the vehicle’s environmental perception pipeline.
🧭 Handling Challenging Road Scenarios #
The platform is designed to maintain vehicle positioning and perception performance across scenarios that can complicate conventional lane-detection systems.
These include:
- Vehicles cutting into the host vehicle’s lane.
- Sharp curves.
- Construction zones.
- Faded lane markings.
- Missing or partially obscured lane boundaries.
A modular algorithm framework allows the same general architecture to be adapted across different vehicle platforms and regional driving environments.
This is particularly important for a global program because road markings, traffic infrastructure, driving behavior, and regulatory requirements can differ substantially between countries.
🛡️ Functional Safety and Cybersecurity #
Automotive safety certification is a central part of the platform’s positioning.
ISO 26262 ASIL D #
HCT Luna is described as meeting ISO 26262 ASIL D, the highest Automotive Safety Integrity Level defined by the ISO 26262 functional-safety framework.
ASIL D imposes stringent requirements on the development, verification, validation, and safety architecture of automotive electronic systems.
For ADAS platforms, the safety framework is particularly relevant because software and hardware failures can potentially affect vehicle behavior.
ISO/SAE 21434 #
The platform has also been evaluated against ISO/SAE 21434, the automotive cybersecurity engineering standard.
Cybersecurity requirements have become increasingly important as vehicles gain connected computing architectures and increasingly software-defined functions.
Global Market Requirements #
The solution is designed to support 5-star Global NCAP-oriented safety requirements and applicable regional regulations.
Actual regulatory and consumer-safety ratings remain dependent on the complete vehicle, its equipment configuration, and the relevant market’s testing procedures.
🌍 Scaling ADAS Across Multiple Markets #
One of the most significant aspects of the program is its geographic scope.
HCT Luna is expected to begin deployment in China before expanding into markets including:
- Australia
- New Zealand
- Japan
- South Korea
- India
- Other international markets
A common modular software architecture can reduce duplicated engineering work when the same ADAS platform needs to be adapted to different vehicles and regional road conditions.
Algorithm Portability #
The modular algorithm framework is intended to make it easier to reuse and adapt perception and driving functions across different hardware and vehicle configurations.
This approach can help OEMs maintain a more consistent software architecture while accounting for market-specific requirements.
🤝 QNX and neueHCT’s Automotive Technology Model #
The partnership combines two complementary parts of an automotive computing stack.
Horizon Robotics contributes the Journey automotive processor and smart-driving technology, while neueHCT integrates these capabilities into a production-oriented vehicle solution. QNX provides the real-time operating-system foundation through QNX OS for Safety 8.0.
The result is an architecture that brings together:
- Automotive AI compute.
- Camera-based perception.
- ADAS algorithms.
- Safety-oriented real-time software.
- Automotive cybersecurity considerations.
- Cross-platform software modularity.
For global OEM programs, this type of separation between computing hardware, algorithms, and safety-certified software can make it easier to reuse technology across vehicle generations and markets.
📈 What the 2027 Production Program Means #
The planned 2027 production launch places HCT Luna on a path from individual vehicle deployments toward large-scale platform commercialization.
Projected shipments of several million units over the first three years would also make manufacturing scale and software portability important parts of the program—not just raw perception performance.
More broadly, the deal illustrates a development model in which China-origin automotive computing and intelligent-driving technology is combined with an internationally established automotive RTOS and safety-software foundation.
If the program proceeds according to schedule, HCT Luna will provide the underlying ADAS camera platform for a global vehicle rollout beginning in China and subsequently extending across multiple international markets.
Reference: QNX and neueHCT Win Global ADAS Platform Design Deal
