Contents:

General Information

Welcome to the COVESA Automotive AOSP App Framework Standardization Expert Group Meeting!

Weekly Meeting: Monday, 5-6pm CEST (Zoom Link) (Subscribe to Community Calendar to stay up to date)

Slack: https://covesacommunity.slack.com/archives/C05EB6A6J5R

GitHub: https://github.com/COVESA/aosp-app-framework-standardizatiion

Chairs:

• @Sabine Hofschen , BMW

• @Richard Fernandes , General Motors

• @gabriel.gautron , FORVIA

Compliance statement:

Antitrust
Before we begin, we would like to make clear that COVESA is committed to compliance with the antitrust laws in all of its activities, and that it expects all participants to similarly comply with the antitrust laws.  We will not engage in--and members must refrain from--any discussion of, or understandings regarding competitively sensitive topics. If you have any doubts regarding whether a matter is appropriate for discussion, please consult with your antitrust counsel.

Open and Royalty-Free
Further, COVESA aspires to be an open and royalty-free organization. The discussions and contributions made during this session are governed by the COVESA Intellectual Property policy. If you are unfamiliar with that policy, please review it in detail prior to making any contribution that reads upon a patent.

Meeting Notes 2025

Minutes 2025-12-08

Participants: COVESA, Forvia, Allianz, BMW, Volvo Group Trucks Technology, Paradox Cat, Endava

Topics:

• AOSP VHAL: Evaluation Table of Use Cases revisited:

  • Thanks to Stefan and the team involved for providing a description of the Insurance Use Cases!

  • ToDo Sabine: Integrate Insurance Use Cases in the Table, High-Level Summary of arguments so far.

  • Next Steps:

    • fill the table,

    • extract the OEM argumentary

    • present to COVESA Board

    • aim: start a PoC with two use cases in February, might be a good idea to do it in an (online) workshop.

• Wrap-up Entertainment Work Stream Dec. 04 → very short, as only the co-chairs had time to dial in → we will plan a new date in 2026 and better advertise it before.

• Update CES Activities. Meet COVESA at CES

Minutes 2025-12-01

Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, BMW, RemotiveLabs, Allianz

Topics:

• The Entertainment Work Stream of the AOSP App Framework Standardization Group will be reinitiated, with our first meeting on December 04 at 11am ET / 5pm CET.

  We’ll discuss our goals for 2026, including:

  • Identifying key challenges in onboarding and long-term maintenance for apps

  • Developing and advancing standards that support both new and existing apps

  • Enabling the delivery of apps that go beyond a templated approach
    
    

• Update CES Activities:

  • Booth Number 6719 West Hall - RemotiveLabs Booth - Welcome to stop by!

  • COVESA table....... Jan. 06, Bellagio: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ces-2026-covesa-networking-showcase-the-bellagio-registration-1224739210949?aff=oddtdtcreator

  • Zoom presence? Press release COVESA and Zoom and involved parties ???? → maybe more to be known next week.

• Proposal for Re-orga of these pages, feedback welcome:

  • Automotive AOSP Projects→ our real AOSP Wiki, to contain - by and by - all the contents, clustered according to topics.

  • Automotive AOSP Meetings → for all our agendas and minutes, weekly Minutes of THIS meeting will be moved here.
    
    

• Reason Why / Benefits VSS-based VHAL and why to start a PoC:
  please contribute to the AOSP VHAL: Evaluation Table of Use Cases

Minutes 2025-11-24

Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, Appning by Forvia, BMW, Paradox Cat, Endava, Allianz, Spotify, RemotiveLabs, Ford, Elektrobit

Topics:

• Round table on use cases for VSS-Based VHAL Proof of Concept
  as described in COVESA AOSP VHAL Project - Wiki Front Page - COVESA
  
  Aim: find worthy use cases from different areas for a Proof of Concept.
  COVESA AOSP VHAL: Use Cases - Wiki Front Page - COVESA
  → next step as proposed in the round: add a table showing the value
  of different use cases to stakeholders involved as well as list first properties which would be needed.
  To be continued next week.
  
  

• Pre-Talk on what will happen at CES 2026.

Minutes 2025-11-17

Participants: BMW, GM, Forvia, Endava, Paradox Cat, Appning by Forvia, RemotiveLabs

Topics:

• Entertainment Stream welcome to our Co-Chair Chris from Appsfactory! next entertainment meeting planned beginning of December.

• VSS-Based VHAL Discussion from last week, see here:

Minutes 2025-11-12

Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, Appning by Forvia, BMW, Ford, Volvo Cars, Honda

Topic:
Presentation & round table discussion.

Outcome: work on the benefits an AOSP-VSS-Based VHAL would offer to its stakeholders before starting a PoC.

Minutes 2025-11-10

Participants: COVESA, GM, Appsfactory, BMW, Appning by Forvia, Paradox Cat, Endava, Allianz, RemotiveLabs

Short Roundtable Discussion

Minutes 2025-10-27

Participants: Forvia, GM, BMW, Allianz, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Paradox Cat

Topics:

Feedback from week's AMM

Link to In-Vehicle Payment White paper: In-Vehicle Payments Group

Round table discussion

Minutes 2025-10-13

Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, Appning, BMW, ParadoxCat, RemotiveLabs, Allianz, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Elektrobit, FORD, Endava

Topics:

VSS/VHAL revisited

AMM prep revisited

    Draft presentation:

Open

Emulator as well as App Host:

• find a way to communicate better via blog, WIKI e.g., first step: next AMM.

• get back to COVESA Board on getting a good adoption rate of any endeavours.

COVESA emulator restart

• summary so far: Viktor set up a first COVESA Emulator (Android 12, arm64 and x86).

• detailed discussions so far see COVESA AOSP Emulator Weekly - Wiki Front Page - COVESA and
  COVESA AOSP Emulator Requirements - Wiki Front Page - COVESA

• Presentation Viktor, José at AMM Berlin April 2025:  COVESA All Member Meeting ~ May 14-15, 2025
  https://covesa.atlassian.net/wiki/download/attachments/39067416/Spring%20AMM%202025%20-%20Day1_1100_Mukha_Freitas_Emulator_and_App_Host.pptx?version=1&modificationDate=1747674243301&cacheVersion=1&api=v2

• Emulator Achievements so far (source: presentation Mukha, Freitas), see info below.

• Next Steps:
  GitHub Issues: https://github.com/COVESA/aosp_device_covesa_emulator/issues

  Currently on the list (status may, to be updated):

  • Support for Additional Android Version(s) (source: presentation Mukha/Freitas)

    Open

    

  • Integrate UnifiedPush distributor apk → who volunteers?

  • Support for maps → waiting for AOSP App Host update → take it to Board again for OEM adoption rate ?
    New: new media templates (Android Auto at the moment) also do not work with the outdated App Host.
    https://developer.android.com/training/cars/apps/media

  • Support for templated apps

  • contributions from Forvia, see Droidcon Berlin like compatibility mode (Android 14).
    maybe pick out some example to check it at the OEMs.
    example of car compatible apps on Play Console:
    https://play.google.com/store/apps/streamchild/promotion_promotion_android_auto__car_ready_apps

Minutes 2025-10-06

Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, BMW, F-Droid, Allianz, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Paradox Cat, source.dev, Remotivelabs, FORD, Endava, Elektrobit, Cariad

Topics:

• VSS/VHAL - OEM feedback, news next week.

• AMM prep continued - select topics for the AOSP group working sessions, candidates:

  • Onboarding – how to make customers know about apps and how to onboard easily without google account

  • "Why OEMs need to implement...." Argumentary: Reasons why OEMs would implement and support

    • updated AOSP App Host (if Google brings it, OEMs need to do it).

    • Android VHAL 

  • What to do next at COVESA AMM: small groups working on proposals, then a summary.

    • (as a starting point, AMM Berlin and topic survey backlog).

    • might serve as a base for updated group Charter 

• COVESA All Member Meeting | October 22-23, 2025 | Ann Arbor, Michigan:

AOSP App Framework Standardization Expert Group - Community Update
10:00 AM - 10:25 AM

AOSP App Framework Standardization Expert Group - Working Session

11:00 AM - 11:25 AM

AOSP App Framework Standardization Expert Group - Working Session

• Entertainment topics from now on in this AOSP monday meeting. 
  
  

• Short intro from F-Droid, source.dev - thank you
  
  

• Roundtable: how to move towards Code first? some thoughts:
  
  

  • libraries, standard methods to develop Automotive apps & documentation

  • Automotive sample apps

  • reduce fragmentation, barrier on the entry side

  • one portal incl. marketing behind. maybe dev blog for Automotive

  • lack of transparency on where and when and if the app lands in which cars / brands.

  • poking around with properties which work in which cars.→ knowledge about that. every dev has to try on his/her own. also test data.

  • lack of tools → recording real drives.
    some simulators would be great.
    lack of automotive emulators for all machines.

  • Code first ..... some level of additional vehicle properties.

  • 3rd party devs:
    initial blocker is understanding difference between Android Auto and Android Automotive. Then difference between GAS and non-GAS vehicles. hard to find info in one place → might be task for COVESA.
    talk to AOSP devs community -→ centralize source of information. discussed already at source.dev.

  • really do stuff. provide set of tools that enable devs. dealing with non-GAS oems - standardisation there / providing codes. you have to have something on github.

  • app host missing
    vanilla non-gas emulator - different vs. of emulator maintenance, with Push etc., follow-up on https://github.com/COVESA/aosp_device_covesa_emulator/issues
    
    

  • next week: restarting emulator topic.

  • how to make it a contribution project out of it. licensing, etc., contribution guidelines.

  • documentation/examples for app devs who want to start.

Minutes 2025-09-29

Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, Appning by Forvia, BMW, Ford, Cariad, Paradox Cat, Allianz, Endava, Chris Simmonds, Antonio Roa-Valverde + ?

Topics

• Feedback Droidcon.

• Slides Droidcon: 

• AMM prep continued.

• Round table discussion: how do we move towards Code first?

Minutes 2025-09-22

Participants: COVESA, GM, BMW, Forvia, Appning by Forvia, FORD, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Paradox Cat, Endava, Allianz, Mavi, Spotify, Elektrobit, RemotiveLabs

Topics

• Droidcon last prep

• AMM prep continued

• Roundtable, topics:

  • 3pa devs ideally would get knowledge on:
    reach of the app in terms of car makers/models/sales volume/app store,
    android version, screen size and density, vehicle data
    downloads

Minutes 2025-09-15

Participants: COVESA, GM, FORVIA, BMW, CARIAD SE, Paradox Cat, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Endava, RemotiveLabs, Mavi

Topics:

• Discussion on Knowledge gap to be closed to make life easier for app devs:

  • discussion on how to proceed. volunteers?

  • articles and sample apps: how to .... back button, push notifications

  • which technical docs would be needed / which formats / who does it → revisited next week.

  • transparency / commercial topics / testing: 

    • what missing is not technical, more from the commercial point of view, what appning & Harman are able to offer technically.

    • overview of catalogue of apps for each app store.

    • on Google play you know these things, like for mobile. you know car model.

    • for Google app you have the possibility to test on rental test cars. beta distribution.

    • testing and validating app complex process.

    • what are the next steps once you have submitted the app. how to reach all OEMs. how to scale.

    • e.g. carchestra app.
      
      

• Droidcon Berlin preparation: 

  • any inputs from the team on AOSP market?

  • for automotive summit, see agenda for thursday, Sept. 25,  and friday, Sept. 26 on
    https://berlin.droidcon.com/agenda
     

• AMM preparation:

  Proposals for potential working sessions for AMM: are the topics valid ? who wants to take the lead?
  Who would participate (remotely):

  • Onboarding – how to make customers know about apps and how to onboard easily without google account

  • "Why OEMs need to implement...." Argumentary: Reasons why OEMs would implement and support

    • updated AOSP App Host (if Google brings it, OEMs need to do it).

    • Android VHAL 

  • What to do next at COVESA AMM: small groups working on proposals, then a summary.

    • (as a starting point, AMM Berlin and topic survey backlog).

    • might serve as a base for updated group Charter 

  • check if it makes sense/emulator: Code: Distributed developer workshop ? incl. push notifications, back button / compatibility mode

  • Documentation to close the knowledge gap for app devs: push, back button → tested by Antonio, is tested (slack).

  • Where could COVESA help regarding process 3pa dev - app store - OEM store - customer?

  • Media player - what is working, what not. vs. new media templates

  • Entertainment session → update on what has happened.

• pre-work on  Documentation to close the knowledge gap for app devs: push, back button, etc.
  
  

• Delete outdated page on Wiki fine for all? yes. deprecated - draft COVESA AOSP AMM Berlin 2025 - Prep Co-Chairs

Minutes 2025-09-08

• Participants: COVESA, Forvia, BMW, Ford, Volvo Trucks, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Endava, Mavi, Elektrobit, Paradox Cat.

• Topics:

• VHAL revisited:

  • Paul reached out to OEMs, there is a willingness to discuss it

  • Chairs to plan a meeting.

• Fall AMM revisited:

  • first hours on Wednesday morning planned for AOSP group → co-chairs to dial in.

  • Elektrobit will be there.

  • VHAL, what to do next, distributed dev workshop as ideas, documentation - see below.

• Droidcon revisited. Our COVESA talk in prep.

• Roundtable on Market and challenges for 3pa devs:

  • Which brands are in appning, harman would be interesting.

  • how many cars are shipped with a store and forecast. …. Difficult to get.

  • see what google play is offering for app devs.

  • today you dont know where your app is deployed. And what is and gets to the OEMs app store and how - you don’t know..

  • on google playstore: 1 gate only. You know brands and models which use it. AOSP: 2nd gate from the OEM.

  • Appning and Harman app stores:
    a transparent process on how to get to the OEMs is needed. what happens from first to second stage.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    how can app be promoted to the OEMs. How can app dev know where it gets to.
    how can COVESA help here?

• Knowledge gap app devs has to be closed. Articles, sample apps - how to back button, push notification etc.

• Onboarding → to be followed up with Spotify.

• Entertainment meeting: mid oct. with BASE, UK.

Meeting Cancelled 2025-09-01 (Public Holiday in the US)

Minutes 2025-08-25

• Participants: COVESA, GM, FORD, Antonio Roa-Valverde, ParadoxCat, Mavi, Appning, Elektrobit

• Round table

Minutes 2025-08-18

• Participants: COVESA, GM, FORD, Endava, Antonio Roa-Valverde, ParadoxCat, Mavi, Appning, Spotify

• Round table

  • Discussion to bring AI into the AOSP workstream.

Minutes 2025-08-11

• Participants: COVESA, GM, BMW, Ford, Antonio Roa-Valverde, Paradox Cat, Remotive Labs, Spotify, Elektrobit, Endava,  Allianz

• Review AOSP VSS VHAL Board Presentation for Aug 13.
  

• Droidcon revisited → potentially input Paradox Cat to COVESA talk.

• Feedback Google on Back button and App Host revisited.

  • CaRMA is available as part of AAOS 14 LTS7: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Car/SystemUI/+/refs/tags/android-automotiveos-14.0.0_lts7/src/com/android/systemui/car/systembar/CarAppFloatingButtonManager.java

    • would have to be tested ("uses feature automotive", meta data "compatibility true", AOSP emulator and go → back button should show.

    • to be followed up, once somebody tried to do it.

    • Long press on back button closes app.

  • https://wiki.covesa.global/display/WIK4/COVESA+AOSP+Entertainment+Minutes?preview=/103088310/133169278/2503-COVESA%20Entertainment-%20Meeting%20(06.03.2025).pdf

  • https://developer.android.com/training/cars/platforms/automotive-os/compatibility-mode

• Plans next entertainment meeting for Sept., Info from Tomek:

  We have been in contact with a group called BASE, which could be described as the COVESA representation for the entertainment industry in the UK.
  We would like to invite BASE members to join our monthly sync, connecting two worlds: automotive & entertainment.

• Round table discussion.

Minutes 2025-08-04

• Participants:  COVESA, GM, CARIAD SE, BMW, FORD, Mavi, Elektrobit, Allianz, Paradox Cat, RemotiveLabs, Chris Simmonds and Antonio Roa-Valverde

• Droidcon:

  Open

  

   

  Open

  

• Response mail from Google. Link to Carma, at the moment no timing promise for AOSP App Host

  • CaRMA is available as part of AAOS 14 LTS7: https://android.googlesource.com/platform/packages/apps/Car/SystemUI/+/refs/tags/android-automotiveos-14.0.0_lts7/src/com/android/systemui/car/systembar/CarAppFloatingButtonManager.java

• AOSP Vehicle Properties 

• Round Table discussion.

Minutes 2025-07-28

• Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, BMW, FORD, Geotab, Paradox Cat, 3SS, Allianz, Antonio Roa-Valverde

• Discussion on Entertainment App Back button

  • how is Google implementing it

  • Compatibility mode in the future might offer solutions? does it also come for AOSP?

  • app developer does not need to care.

  • do we need more, like DPI scaling, safe area?

  • some links:
    https://developer.android.com/training/cars/platforms/automotive-os/compatibility-mode

    https://cs.android.com/android/platform/superproject/main/+/main:packages/apps/Car/SystemUI/src/com/android/systemui/car/displaycompat/CarDisplayCompatSystemBarView.java

    carma: https://developer.android.com/training/cars/car-ready-mobile-apps

• Info on question to Google on AOSP App Host, AOSP Emulator and CARMA.

• Feedback vehicle data meeting Thursday, July 24 and Technical Steering Team on July 28:
  2025-07-24 AOSP Vehicle Data next steps meeting

• next topic from backlog. (or just CARMA revisited, if needed).

Minutes 2025-07-21

• Participants: COVESA, GM, Forvia, BMW, FORD, Mavi, Elektrobit, Allianz, Paradox Cat, Cariad SE
  
  

• info discussion vehicle data on July, 17: 2025-07-17 AOSP Vehicle Data next steps meeting
  please ask the chairs to get link for Thursday, July 24, 17:00-17:30 pm (CEST)
  
  

• COVESA AOSP blog
  
  

• AOSP App host. → how to get a timeline and contents (App Host only, Emulator as well?) from Google, Paul will reach out.
  additional question to Google after additional investigation: how can we include the CARMA-features (back button) and the compatibility mode to AOSP?

  https://developer.android.com/training/cars/platforms/automotive-os/compatibility-mode

  → draft mail to Google - set it up until/in next Monday.