Blink once to turn right: Samsung asks software dev Teleca to talk Tizen

Symphony Teleca is the company the big equipment manufacturers go to when they want software written. Unlike most development houses it doesn't do apps for iPhone and Android and, er that's it. Teleca writes low level code and was commissioned by Samsung to look at the Tizen engine.

Teleca head of mobile and media biz, Andrew Till, explains that this has led to a lot of development work on Tizen apps – and the lack of any phones at MWC does not mean they will not appear. Teleca's Tizen work doesn't stop at phones though.

It is doing quite a bit of work for Intel's automotive division and you can expect to see Tizen driving cars for the model years of 2015 or 2016.

The car industry is keen to see closer integration between phones and cars, but Tizen rather than Android is the car OS of choice because until recently Google had no clearly defined automotive strategy. The incumbent car OS, pen-source Genivi, is moving too slowly. Till expects Hyundai to lead the charge on launching cars with Tizen.

Teleca's man says that the car companies are becoming increasingly interested in the possibilities of having an OS in cars that can be upgraded over the air - saving on product recalls - and which can be used to sell value-added apps to customers and no doubt give the car a cheerful and sunny disposition. The ability to improve the UI dynamically will appeal to anyone who has used early and recent versions of BMW's iDrive system.

Software, particularly apps, will have to tread a line between safety and driver distraction and Till expects that apps will have to know if they are running on the dashboard or on seat-back screens.

Till also sees a place for Tizen in wearables, and this is an area where Teleca sees growth – maybe not just with Tizen. The company is doing a lot with Google Glass, working on blink and facial recognition to issue commands, says the mobile chief. Till cites the example of a surgeon who might not be able to touch any controls or speak while working and wearing a Google Glass, but who might use facial muscles to control software. Perhaps GUI will soon stand for Gurning User interface... ®