Microsoft Look Out! Toyota Planning Its Own In-Car Operating System

Windows? Linux? OS X? None of the above, says Toyota, which plans to develop its own automotive operating system to boost efficiency and safety, cut software development costs, and trump the competition. The Nikkei business daily reports that Toyota has a team in place and plans to have working code by 2015.

Standardizing in-car software might seem like an obvious step, given the inefficiency of the current industry standard: writing code from scratch for every function in each new model. Toyota reportedly intends to cut costs and speed development further by consolidating the 60-odd electronic control units found in a typical car today.


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kpaxx - 4/4/2007 8:59:51 AM

+1 Boost

Waste of time! Linux can already be tailored to do anything that any car manufacturer desires.

Agent009 - 4/4/2007 9:09:05 AM

+3 Boost

Actually this is nothing new to the industry, but Toyota chose to make their decision public.

Designer1 - 4/4/2007 11:55:59 AM

+1 Boost

True Linux can do that, but I think all car manifacturers use their own OSs, I don't think this is something new. The navigation systems might run on different off the shelve OSs, so maybe Toyota will incorporate that into their new OS?
The company has too much money, let them provide more jobs, shshshshs! :-)

raydata - 4/4/2007 9:59:02 AM

+1 Boost

Yeah, maybe they could use Apple's OS X embedded OS; the one thats in their Apple-TV set top box and thats going into their iPhone.

izfuney - 4/4/2007 1:41:55 PM

+1 Boost

Given the push MS has made to get into embedded systems, this is big news for them . Losing Toyota as an account is a bad precedent.
Plus the last thing you want is your potential clients making their own solutions.

Westside7th - 4/4/2007 11:34:16 AM

+1 Boost

Toyota once agains uses their PR department to make the public think everything they do is innovative.

indifferent - 4/4/2007 12:31:31 PM

+1 Boost

isnt microsoft a promient supplier of OS for car companies. I believe BMW and Ford both use Microsoft OS. I could be wrong though.

Why would Toyota spread themselves thin? They are a car manufacture.

jt716 - 4/4/2007 1:02:37 PM

+1 Boost

i thought Microsoft is with Ford's Sync..its interesting Ford is learning reliability and quality from Toyota when Toyota is some technology from Ford.

Will_ - 4/4/2007 1:45:38 PM

+1 Boost

If this were BMW or Mercedes, no doubt the word "innovation" would've been flashed a couple hundred times by now. (Hey, I'm just sayin'...)