ICS and The Qt Company Leverage Amazon Alexa Auto SDK to Deliver New AGL Applications

Media, Navigation and Voice Chrome Apps Showcased on Automotive Grade Linux at CES 2019 

WALTHAM, MA; ESPOO, FINLAND — January 8, 2019 Integrated Computer Solutions (ICS), creators of embedded, touch and voice-enabled devices, today announced that it has created three Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) demo applications for Amazon Alexa, in collaboration with The Qt Company. The Media, Navigation and Voice Chrome apps are written in Qt and are among the first publicly shown applications to leverage AGL’s multi-assistant speech framework and the new Alexa Auto SDK.   

The Media application enables support for Amazon Music by allowing voice control over cloud-based music services with a visually appealing user interface. The Navigation application allows voice-controlled input of destinations – e.g. “Alexa, where is the nearest pet store?” – and turn-by-turn directives as found on smartphone-based solutions. Voice Chrome gives visual feedback about the state of the Alexa service to allow for intuitive operations while driving.

ICS’ Boston UX division designed the AGL apps to fit seamlessly into the Alexa Auto experience. Boston UX designs touchscreen interfaces for high-impact embedded and connected medical, industrial and consumer devices for companies like MilliporeSigma, Intel, Boston Engineering and Zoll Medical Corporation.

The reference applications can be seen at CES 2019 in the AGL Booth (#1614) at Tech East at Westgate in the Smart Cities exhibition.

“ICS is pleased to provide Amazon with these three applications to be included with the Amazon Alexa Auto SDK,” said ICS CEO Peter Winston. “Our experience contributing to Tier 1 automotive infotainment systems, our voice-enabled Alexa development efforts, and our user experience (UX) design expertise allow us to innovate in this space. We’re proud to use our expertise to help Amazon simplify the integration of Alexa into IVI systems.”

“This is a true example of innovation in the automotive space,” said Petteri Holländer, Senior Vice President, Product Management at The Qt Company. “We are excited to see Qt used by our partners for innovative use cases, such as virtual assistants. It is important for Qt partners like ICS to extend the capabilities of the framework and enable new use cases for automotive customers. We are very encouraged to see the richness of services available for our development work and customers through the Alexa service.”

About ICS

At the intersection of custom software development, engineering and UX design, Integrated Computer Solutions (ICS) has been helping Fortune 1000 companies create transformational products for over 30 years. It has developed countless modern user interfaces, connected products and touchscreen-enabled applications for global companies like Boeing and Intel; everything from agriculture equipment, defibrillators and restaurant equipment to air traffic control systems, self-driving autos and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems. The largest independent source of Qt expertise and training in North America, ICS is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. and is co-located with Boston UX.

About The Qt Company

Qt Group (Nasdaq Helsinki: QTCOM) is a global software company with a strong presence in more than 70 industries and is the leading independent technology behind millions of devices and applications. Qt is used by major global companies and developers worldwide, and the technology enables its customers to deliver exceptional user experiences and advance their digital transformation initiatives. The company's net sales in year 2017 totaled 36,3M € and it employs some 300 people. http://qt.io.

Media Contact:

Heidi Boie
hboie@ics.com
(508) 846-5307