BlackBerry QNX 拓展至機械人與國防領域，佈局汽車以外市場

From left, BlackBerry QNX Vice President Justin Moon and BlackBerry QNX Korea head Kim Sung-chul. (Photo: THE ELEC)

BlackBerry QNX is expanding into the autonomous mobile robot (AMR) and defense embedded systems markets. The company is a leading player in automotive real-time operating systems (RTOS). Its strategy is to extend the safety technologies and virtual development expertise accumulated in the automotive sector into related industries.

"We aim to enter the AMR and defense sectors in the future," said Kim Sung-chul, head of BlackBerry QNX Korea, at QNX Tech Forum Korea 2026, held at Josun Palace in Gangnam, Seoul, on Oct. 22. "We intend to pursue these businesses through partnerships."

QNX is BlackBerry's embedded software division, specializing in real-time operating systems that control machinery and equipment. Its flagship product is Alloy Kore, an automotive software platform used in systems requiring real-time operation, such as airbags. Major automakers including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen and Volvo are among its customers. In South Korea, QNX works with Hyundai Mobis and LG Electronics' Vehicle Solutions (VS) division.

Justin Moon, vice president of BlackBerry QNX, emphasized in his keynote speech that errors in the digital world, such as grammatical mistakes in emails, can be corrected, but failures in physical AI environments can have far more serious consequences. Vehicle malfunctions can cause collisions, while errors involving collaborative robots can endanger human lives.

To address these risks, QNX emphasized four engineering architecture principles for building physical AI systems: Deterministic Timing, which ensures repeatability and predictability throughout a system from the ground up; Strict Isolation, which separates safety-critical and non-critical functions to minimize software bugs and exposure to cyberattacks; Fault Recovery, which enables fail-safe shutdowns or continued operation when equipment malfunctions; and Scale & Performance, which maximizes the use of expensive hardware resources to reduce latency.

"Robotics and industrial applications are increasingly demanding automotive-grade certifications," a QNX official said. "Linux is difficult to certify, but QNX has already obtained certifications in automotive (ISO 26262), industrial (IEC 61508) and medical (IEC 62304) applications."

QNX also highlighted the development efficiency of its products. Developers can build software in a virtual environment before transferring the completed software to physical equipment for execution. This approach reduces the burden of securing hardware during the early stages of development.

A robotic arm powered by QNX OS was demonstrated at the event. When a camera recognized an object, the arm picked it up and moved it to a designated location. A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor monitored the surroundings and stopped the arm just before a collision. The demonstration illustrated the progress QNX has made in expanding into robotics.

BlackBerry QNX reported revenue of $268 million for fiscal 2026, covering March 2025 through February 2026, up 14% from $236 million a year earlier.