science

MirrorLink

MirrorLink is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand MirrorLink rather than just read about it. In short: MirrorLink is a device interoperability standard that offers integration between a smartphone and a car's infotainment system. It transforms smartphones into automotive application platforms where apps are hosted and run on the smartphone while drivers and passengers interact with them through the steering wheel controls, dashboard buttons and touch screens of their car's In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) system.

Key takeaways

MirrorLink belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect MirrorLink to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of MirrorLink from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

MirrorLink is a device interoperability standard that offers integration between a smartphone and a car's infotainment system. It transforms smartphones into automotive application platforms where apps are hosted and run on the smartphone while drivers and passengers interact with them through the steering wheel controls, dashboard buttons and touch screens of their car's In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) system. MirrorLink utilizes a set of well-established, non-proprietary technologies such as IP, USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Real-Time Protocol (RTP, for audio) and Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). In addition, MirrorLink uses Virtual Network Computing (VNC) as the baseline protocol to display the user interface of the smartphone applications on the infotainment system screens and to communicate user input back to the mobile device.

Beginnings Researcher Jörg Brakensiek and Raja Bose, from Nokia Research Center in Palo Alto, US, took results from the noBounds! project invented by researcher Bernd Steinke from the Nokia Research Center in Bochum, Germany and applied them to the automotive domain. The initial approach applied by Bernd Steinke contained three specialised sub-protocols for optimal power efficiency: 2D, 3D and Media. Support for 2D graphics composition via X11 mirroring was only needed by the requirements of the chosen source device, a Nokia N800 mobile Linux device, and the desire to speed up demo availability to show mirroring use cases. OpenGL ES was used for fast 3D graphics and alpha based Porter-Duff compositing for shine-through 2D effects. To make this future relevant approach available on the limited N800 Mesa 3D was used for local playback. High Definition Media streaming was implemented via OpenMAX, RTP and a timed sideband control to allow synchronous displayed streaming of the original video file without transcoding. The Initial implementations have remoted the GUI, Games and media content of an Nokia N800 and later an N810 mobile Linux device. This demonstration of, at that time, not expected capabilities of mobile devices, was widely reported. First ideas have been published and demonstrated using a Nokia N810 Internet tablet at IEEE CCNC 2009 conference. Together with two other researchers, Raja Bose and Keun-Young Park, from Nokia Research Center in Palo Alto, and in close collaboration with the Consumer Electronics for Automotive (CE4A) group of German car manufacturer, the original Terminal Mode concept has been created. The name Terminal Mode originated from the name of the Expert Group within the CE4A, which created a Positioning Paper. Nokia, together with Magneti Marelli, publicly demonstrated a first Terminal Mode concept, during a Navteq Connection event, in conjunction with the Frankfurt International Auto Show (IAA) in September 2009. A first car integration was shown at Geneva Auto Show in March 2010, using a Nokia N97 prototype implementation of Terminal Mode, integrated into a Valmet concept car. A draft 0.9 specification version was released in March 2010. In July 2010 the Terminal Mode was presented, integrated to a VW Passat at MobileBeat 2010. A first real live demonstration can be seen in from September 2010, shortly before the Terminal Mode specification became public on 6 October 2010. The collaboration between Nokia and CE4A on Terminal Mode led to the formation of the Car Connectivity Consortium. The Car Connectivity Consortium brought together major players in the automotive and mobile device industries including a large number of Tier-I suppliers and even a few network providers. On 12 September 2011, Terminal Mode was renamed as MirrorLink and became a commercial trademark owned by the Car Connectivity Consortium. In September 2021 the Car Connectivity Consortium announced to terminate all MirrorLink operations by September 30, 2023.

Global standard The Car Connectivity Consortium, made up of various auto and electronic manufacturers, has joined together to establish an industry standard for certifying apps and devices that are both safe and useful for drivers, called MirrorLink. The joint effort by car manufacturers and phone makers is aimed at developing open standards to define operations of smartphones linked to cars. MirrorLink has the ability to show the smartphone interface from a variety of mobile OS platforms on the audio head-unit display.

MirrorLink implementation MirrorLink currently works with Symbian phones (only Nokia Belle phones, not S60v5 phones from many manufacturers), Samsung Galaxy series (on Android Lollipop (5.0); Samsung support for MirrorLink ended 1 June 2020), and Sony Xperia Z series Android phones.

See also CarPlay Android Auto Open Automotive Alliance

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with MirrorLink

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what MirrorLink claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to MirrorLink before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about MirrorLink ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of MirrorLink

In research: MirrorLink appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses MirrorLink in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: MirrorLink is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dashboard head units, Interoperable communications, Telecommunications standards, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for MirrorLink outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study MirrorLink in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what MirrorLink means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain MirrorLink out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is MirrorLink in simple terms?

Why does MirrorLink matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study MirrorLink?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on MirrorLink.