2.5. Automotive Requirements

Android Automotive implementation refers to a vehicle head unit running Android as an operating system for part or all of the system and/or infotainment functionality.

Android device implementations are classified as an Automotive if they declare the feature android.hardware.type.automotive or meet all the following criteria.

  • Are embedded as part of, or pluggable to, an automotive vehicle.
  • Are using a screen in the driver's seat row as the primary display.

The additional requirements in the rest of this section are specific to Android Automotive device implementations.

2.5.1. Hardware

Screen Size (Section 7.1.1.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST have a screen at least 6 inches in physical diagonal size.
  • [A-0-2] MUST have a screen size layout of at least 750 dp x 480 dp.

Navigation Keys (Section 7.2.3)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST provide the Home function and MAY provide Back and Recent functions.
  • [A-0-2] MUST send both the normal and long press event of the Back function (KEYCODE_BACK) to the foreground application.

Accelerometer (Section 7.3.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-SR] Are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to include a 3-axis accelerometer.

If Automotive device implementations include a 3-axis accelerometer, they:

  • [A-1-1] MUST be able to report events up to a frequency of at least 100 Hz.
  • [A-1-2] MUST comply with the Android car sensor coordinate system.

GPS (Section 7.3.3)

If Automotive device implementations include a GPS/GNSS receiver and report the capability to applications through the android.hardware.location.gps feature flag:

  • [A-1-1] GNSS technology generation MUST be the year “2017” or newer.

Gyroscope (Section 7.3.4)

If Automotive device implementations include a gyroscope, they:

  • [A-1-1] MUST be able to report events up to a frequency of at least 100 Hz.

Android Automotive-only sensors (Section 7.3.11) Current Gear (Section 7.3.11.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • SHOULD provide current gear as SENSOR_TYPE_GEAR.

Day Night Mode (Section 7.3.11.2)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST support day/night mode defined as SENSOR_TYPE_NIGHT.
  • [A-0-2] The value of the SENSOR_TYPE_NIGHT flag MUST be consistent with dashboard day/night mode and SHOULD be based on ambient light sensor input.
  • The underlying ambient light sensor MAY be the same as Photometer.

Driving Status (Section 7.3.11.3)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST support driving status defined as SENSOR_TYPE_DRIVING_STATUS, with a default value of DRIVE_STATUS_UNRESTRICTED when the vehicle is fully stopped and parked. It is the responsibility of device manufacturers to configure SENSOR_TYPE_DRIVING_STATUS in compliance with all laws and regulations that apply to markets where the product is shipping.

Wheel Speed (Section 7.3.11.4)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST provide vehicle speed defined as SENSOR_TYPE_CAR_SPEED.

Bluetooth (Section 7.4.3)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST support Bluetooth and SHOULD support Bluetooth LE.

  • [A-0-2] Android Automotive implementations MUST support the following Bluetooth profiles:

    • Phone calling over Hands-Free Profile (HFP).
    • Media playback over Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP).
    • Media playback control over Remote Control Profile (AVRCP).
    • Contact sharing using the Phone Book Access Profile (PBAP).

  • SHOULD support Message Access Profile (MAP).

Minimum Network Capability (Section 7.4.5)

Automotive device implementations:

  • SHOULD include support for cellular network based data connectivity.

Minimum Memory and Storage (Section 7.6.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST have at least 4GB of non-volatile storage available for application private data (a.k.a. “/data” partition)

USB peripheral mode (Section 7.7.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • SHOULD include a USB port supporting peripheral mode.

Microphone (Section 7.8.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST include a microphone.

Audio Output (Section 7.8.2)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST have an audio output and declare android.hardware.audio.output.

2.5.2. Multimedia

Audio Encoding (Section 5.1)

Automotive device implementations MUST support the following audio encoding:

  • [A-0-1] MPEG-4 AAC Profile (AAC LC)
  • [A-0-2] MPEG-4 HE AAC Profile (AAC+)
  • [A-0-3] AAC ELD (enhanced low delay AAC)

Video Encoding (Section 5.2)

Automotive device implementations MUST support the following video encoding:

  • [A-0-1] H.264 AVC
  • [A-0-2] VP8

Video Decoding (Section 5.3)

Automotive device implementations MUST support the following video decoding:

  • [A-0-1] H.264 AVC
  • [A-0-2] MPEG-4 SP
  • [A-0-3] VP8
  • [A-0-4] VP9

Automotive device implementations are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to support the following video decoding:

  • [A-SR] H.265 HEVC

2.5.3. Software

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST declare the feature android.hardware.type.automotive.
  • [A-0-2] MUST support uiMode = UI_MODE_TYPE_CAR.
  • [A-0-3] Android Automotive implementations MUST support all public APIs in the android.car.* namespace.

WebView Compatibility (Section 3.4.1)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST provide a complete implementation of the android.webkit.Webview API.

Notifications (Section 3.8.3)

Android Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST display notifications that use the Notification.CarExtender API when requested by third-party applications.

Search (Section 3.8.4)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST implement an assistant on the device to handle the Assist action.

Media UI (Section 3.14)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST include a UI framework to support third-party apps using the media APIs as described in section 3.14.

2.2.4. Performance and Power

Power-Saving Modes (Section 8.3)

For Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] All Apps exempted from App Standby and Doze power-saving modes MUST be made visible to the end user.
  • [A-0-2] The triggering, maintenance, wakeup algorithms and the use of global system settings of App Standby and Doze power-saving modes MUST not deviate from the Android Open Source Project.

Power Consumption Accounting (Sections 8.4)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST provide a per-component power profile that defines the current consumption value for each hardware component and the approximate battery drain caused by the components over time as documented in the Android Open Source Project site.
  • [A-0-2] MUST report all power consumption values in milliampere hours (mAh).
  • [A-0-3] MUST report CPU power consumption per each process's UID. The Android Open Source Project meets the requirement through the uid_cputime kernel module implementation.
  • SHOULD be attributed to the hardware component itself if unable to attribute hardware component power usage to an application.
  • [A-0-4] MUST make this power usage available via the adb shell dumpsys batterystats shell command to the app developer.

2.2.5. Security Model

Multi-User Support (Section 9.5)

If Automotive device implementations include multiple users, they:

  • [A-1-1] MUST include a guest account that allows all functions provided by the vehicle system without requiring a user to log in.

Automotive Vehicle System Isolation (Section 9.14)

Automotive device implementations:

  • [A-0-1] MUST gatekeep messages from Android framework vehicle subsystems, e.g., whitelisting permitted message types and message sources.
  • [A-0-2] MUST watchdog against denial of service attacks from the Android framework or third-party apps. This guards against malicious software flooding the vehicle network with traffic, which may lead to malfunctioning vehicle subsystems.