CASE STUDY SNAPSHOT
Customer : A leading Tier 1 instrument cluster manufacturer serving major two-wheeler OEMsSize : 200–1000
Project vertical : Automotive, Mobile Applications
Challenge : Enable seamless smartphone connectivity to a Renesas RH850-based TFT cluster for real-time navigation, notification mirroring, and OTA firmware updates
Solution : Cross-platform Smart Automotive Manager App on Android and iOS, powered by Embien's RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Application Stack
Services & Products Availed : Mobile Application Development, RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Stack, Embedded Software Development, UI/UX Design
Tools and Technologies:
- Target MCU: Renesas RH850 D1M1A
- Programming Language: Kotlin (Android), Swift (iOS)
- Frameworks: BLE GATT, Wi-Fi TCP Socket
- Embien Products: RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Application Stack
- Connectivity: AVRCP+A2DP Bluetooth Profiles, Wi-Fi TCP
- Map SDK: Google Maps, Apple Maps, MapMyIndia
Introduction
Modern two-wheeler riders expect their instrument cluster to be a seamless extension of their smartphone — displaying turn-by-turn navigation, mirroring messages, and handling calls without the rider ever touching the phone. A leading Tier 1 instrument cluster manufacturer serving major two-wheeler OEMs approached Embien to develop a smartphone application that would connect to their next-generation TFT cluster, built on the Renesas RH850 D1M1A MCU.
The result is the Smart Automotive Manager App — a cross-platform application for Android and iOS, powered by Embien's RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Application Stack on the cluster side, delivering a full connected cluster experience spanning navigation, communication, entertainment, and over-the-air updates.
Challenge
The core technical challenge was architecting an application that could manage two independent wireless channels simultaneously without conflict. Navigation and map mirroring demand high-bandwidth, low-latency data transfer, making Wi-Fi TCP the natural choice. Notification alerts, call events, and cluster control commands are lightweight and benefit from the always-on, power-efficient nature of BLE GATT. Sustaining both channels concurrently, with real-time responsiveness on a microcontroller-based RH850 cluster, required careful design on both the app and firmware sides.
Feature parity across Android and iOS added further complexity, given their differing Bluetooth stack behaviors and permission models. Supporting multiple map providers — Google Maps, Apple Maps, and MapMyIndia — each with distinct APIs and navigation data formats, required a flexible abstraction layer. The app was also required to support FOTA firmware updates for the cluster and connected ECUs, demanding secure, reliable large-file transfers over Wi-Fi.
Solution
RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Application Stack
On the cluster side, Embien's RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Application Stack served as the backbone for all smartphone connectivity features. The stack, pre-validated on the Renesas RH850 D1M1A platform, provided ready-to-use modules for BLE GATT profile management, Wi-Fi TCP session handling, notification parsing, call event processing, and FOTA update management. This significantly reduced cluster-side firmware development effort and provided a proven, production-ready communication foundation.
Dual-Channel Architecture
The mobile application was built natively — Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS — to ensure platform-optimised reliability. Two communication channels operate concurrently, each handled by the RAPIDSEA stack on the cluster side:
- BLE GATT manages always-on lightweight events: call alerts, message notifications, music playback commands, and cluster control signals
- Wi-Fi TCP Socket handles high-bandwidth sessions: live map data streaming, FOTA firmware packages, and theme or background file uploads
This channel separation ensures notification delivery is never blocked by a large file transfer, and vice versa.
Map Mirroring and Turn-by-Turn Navigation
The app intercepts active navigation sessions from Google Maps, Apple Maps, and MapMyIndia and streams processed turn-by-turn instructions to the RH850 cluster over Wi-Fi TCP in real time. Route details, street names, distance to next manoeuvre, and ETA are rendered on the TFT display, allowing the rider to navigate without glancing at the phone. The multi-provider abstraction layer makes adding new navigation sources straightforward.
Notifications and Communication
Incoming calls are instantly mirrored on the cluster display. Riders can accept or reject calls directly from handlebar controls, with audio routed through their Bluetooth headset. SMS and WhatsApp messages, along with notifications from Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, and Snapchat, are pushed to the cluster as concise alert banners — keeping riders informed without distraction.
Music Playback and Control
AVRCP + A2DP Bluetooth profile integration enables complete music playback control from the cluster — play, pause, skip, and volume — with track information displayed on screen.
FOTA and Personalisation
Secure OTA firmware updates for the cluster and connected ECUs are transferred over Wi-Fi and validated before flashing, ensuring reliability even if the connection is interrupted mid-transfer. Users can also upload custom themes and background images from the app, enabling a personalised cluster experience.
Benefits
- RAPIDSEA Smart Manager Stack Pre-validated on RH850 D1M1A, dramatically reducing cluster-side firmware development time
- Dual-channel BLE + Wi-Fi Independent channels managed concurrently for optimal, conflict-free performance
- Multi-map provider support Google Maps, Apple Maps, and MapMyIndia covered through a single abstraction layer
- Native cross-platform Kotlin and Swift implementations deliver full feature parity with platform-specific reliability
- Hands-free safety Call and notification management on the cluster reduces rider distraction
- Wireless OTA Cluster and ECU firmware updates delivered securely over Wi-Fi
- Personalisation Theme and background updates directly from the smartphone
Conclusion
The Smart Automotive Manager App demonstrates Embien's ability to combine a proven embedded stack — RAPIDSEA Smart Manager — with sophisticated cross-platform mobile development to deliver a production-grade connected cluster experience on the Renesas RH850 platform. By architecting a clean dual-channel communication model and supporting the full spectrum of smartphone connectivity features, Embien helped its Tier 1 customer bring a compelling, differentiated product to major two-wheeler OEMs in the Indian market.