RIM subsidiary QNX Software Systems announced an HTML5 software development kit for its QNX CAR 2 application platform, which it said is “designed to tear down these barriers and to enable new partnerships between the mobile and automotive worlds”.

It is described as an extension of the BlackBerry WebWorks framework, specially optimised for automotive environments.

The tools are designed to enable developers to write, test, and package automotive apps based on HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript and other open standards. It is also said to provide the “missing glue” between high-level apps and the car, through specialised APIs that provide access to automotive devices and hardware.

Also provided is an emulator that allows developers to see how apps would look and function in a car, based on the open source BlackBerry Ripple emulator, “used by thousands of mobile developers”.

QNX also said it is planning to create a virtual marketplace that will enable developers to make their apps available to car manufacturers.

This will provide “common ground for app developers and automakers to work together”, the company continued, and allow manufacturers to review the applications that “best fit their brands and satisfy their customers”.

The QNX CAR 2 application platform is currently being evaluated by “select” automakers and “tier one” suppliers for use in next-generation infotainment systems, QNX said. The platform will be released in December, with the HTML5 SDK and virtual marketplace available to “qualified” developers early in 2013.