Qualcomm Unveils 3rd Generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit & Ride Platforms For 2021

Fabless chipset maker Qualcomm has announced its 3rd generation Snapdragon automotive cockpit platform which will be embedded in the vehicles of many leading tier 1 automotive manufacturers. This will go into commercial deployment at the end of 2021. Qualcomm has partnered with a multitude of brands like Google, Panasonic, Google, Alpine technologies, Archemind, Bosch, Continental, Foxconn, BlackBerry, Garmin amongst other companies for the platform. Apart from this, Qualcomm also announced its next-generation cellular vehicle-to-everything C-V2X platform which embeds next-generation 5G modems which adds Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2. This is key for the connected car experiences. 

Nakul Duggal is Senior Vice President of Qualcomm's Automative division

"Qualcomm Technologies' heritage as an innovative wireless technology company has empowered us to engineer 4G and 5G platforms that unlock the potential of connected transportation, as well as advanced infotainment and telematics systems while delivering the promise of improved vehicle safety and autonomy," said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president & GM, automotive, Qualcomm. 

"The growth in the number of automakers, Tier-1 and Tier-2 customers and technology companies tapping into Snapdragon 4G and 5G Automotive Platforms is a testament to our commitment to developing premium driving experiences for the next-generation car," he added. 

The San Diego based semiconductor giant which dominates in the smartphone space also announced the expansion of its Snapdragon Ride Platform which is central for autonomous driving and ADAS. The new SoCs will be based on a next-generation 5nm process which is becoming prevalent in the smartphone space. 

It provides for NCAP level 1 advanced driver assistance systems and level 2 autonomous systems which will enhance the ADAS SoCs and the AI accelerators which can scale up to level 4 automated systems. 

They also couple as a homogeneous hub for high-performance computing, computer vision, artificial intelligence and multi-sensor processing. Qualcomm also integrates car-to-cloud software developer kits (SKUs) that will enable OTA updates. 

The Snapdragon Ride stack scales to 10 TOPs for windshield mount ADAS cameras at a sub-5-watt power budget to over 700 TOPs for fully self-driving solutions. 

Example of the Snapdragon-powered digital cockpit

"The Snapdragon Ride Platform portfolio uniquely accelerates the deployment of ADAS and autonomous technology to automakers that can be customized and scaled across vehicle segments," said Nakul Duggal.

"Our latest expansion of the Snapdragon Ride Platform portfolio and the integration of core ADAS/AD stacks for visual perception, drive policy, parking and driver monitoring holistically address the increasing complexity and computational demands that automakers are navigating today while also delivering automotive safety and functionality for drivers and passengers," he added.