Canadian Real-Time OS Company QNX Proposes OS-Level Control for Physical AI Uncertainty and Launches Free Developer Program
At a Seoul tech forum, QNX outlined using deterministic operating systems to ensure physical AI safety and introduced a free program to expand its developer ecosystem.
Canadian real-time operating system company QNX held a technology forum in Seoul on October 22, 2026, proposing a solution to control AI uncertainty at the operating system (OS) level in response to growing safety concerns in robotics and autonomous driving. Kim Sung-chul, General Manager of QNX Korea, stated that as humanoid robots and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) become more widespread, risks of personal injury from unexpected behaviors are increasing, requiring more rigorous pre-action safety judgments for enterprises.
Justin Moon, Vice President of Core Product Engineering at QNX, pointed out that unlike digital AI which only processes data in software, physical AI acts directly in the real world, necessitating trust built from the ground up. He emphasized three conditions: safety, reliability, and determinism, defining determinism as the property of producing the same output for the same input within a fixed time. Moon argued that unpredictable timing is not just a performance issue but a safety one. QNX positions itself as the execution layer between AI decision-making and physical action, ensuring the entire system responds appropriately regardless of how the AI model operates.
Addressing industry claims that "AI runs only on Linux," Moon claimed that benchmark tests conducted by QNX under identical silicon, models, and workloads showed distinct differences, inviting external verification. Additionally, QNX showcased "Alloy Core," a platform co-developed with German automotive software company Vector, combining QNX's safety-certified OS with Vector's middleware. Recently, this platform secured QNX's largest-ever supply contract with a joint venture between Daimler Truck and Volvo Group.
To expand its developer ecosystem, QNX launched the "QNX Everywhere" program, offering QNX OS, hypervisors, and educational content for free to non-commercial users. Ryu Min-hee, Senior Manager at QNX Korea, stated this initiative aims to strengthen the ecosystem compared to Linux. According to Andy Gric, Director of Developer Ecosystems at QNX, the program has provided 30,000 development seats, partnered with over 100 universities worldwide, and ported 2,500 open-source packages to QNX. QNX plans to start its Asian academic outreach in South Korea before expanding to Japan and China, currently collaborating with Jeong Gu-min, a professor at Konkuk University, to establish a "QNX Center" introducing the OS into undergraduate and graduate education.