The solutions bring together Qualcomm AI Engine and 5G capabilities to enable applications to create smarter and safer robots
Qualcomm unveiled new 5G and edge-AI robotics solutions at the company’s annual 5G summit event.
The chipmaker noted that these new robotics solutions will help unlock new commercial scenarios including AMRs, delivery robots, highly automated manufacturing robots, collaborative robots, UAM aircrafts, industrial drone infrastructure and autonomous defense solutions, among others.
The solutions bring together Qualcomm AI Engine and 5G capabilities with the main aim of enabling applications and possibilities to create smarter and safer robots and environments including:
-Enhanced autonomy for delivery robots roaming the streets.
-Seamless fleet management coordination across AMRs in industrial spaces.
-Real-time data and insights that empower critical decision-making across manufacturing and logistics.
-Next-generation intelligence to support safe and autonomous urban air mobility transportation.
The company noted that the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 Platform and the Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design will support evolving applications for OEMs and robot manufacturers looking to integrate ground robots in industrial use cases across sectors including government service applications, logistics, healthcare, retail, warehousing, agriculture, construction and utilities.
“Building on the successful growth and traction of Qualcomm Technologies’ leading robotics solutions, our expanded roadmap of solutions will help bring enhanced AI and 5G technologies to support smarter, safer, and more advanced innovations across robotics, drones and intelligent machines,” said Dev Singh, senior director of business development and head of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines at Qualcomm Technologies. “We are fueling robotics innovations with 5G connectivity and premium edge-AI that will transform how we think and approach challenges and ever-evolving industry expectations in the digital economy.”
Specifically, the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform delivers 5G connectivity with support for global sub-6GHz and mmWave bands in mainstream, enterprise, and private networks. The firm also noted that the Qualcomm robotics platforms have flexible architecture with expansion cards to support evolving connectivity features allowing Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform to deliver support for 3GPP Release 15, and Releases 16, 17 and 18 features as cards become available in the future. The platform offers edge AI and video processing capabilities through the enhanced Qualcomm AI Engine, with support for 70 – 200 Trillion-Operations-Per-Second (TOPS).
Meanwhile, the chipmaker said that the Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference design offers integrated enhanced AI and 5G-capabilities, with the aim of helping accelerate development for commercial, enterprise, and industrial robots.
The Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform is comprised of an extensive set of hardware and software development tools. Qualcomm highlighted that developers have flexible software capabilities with a fully integrated AI Software Development Kit (SDK), the Qualcomm Intelligent Multimedia SDK. This kit brings together multimedia, AI and ML, computer vision (CV), and networking building blocks to support end to end deployment of robotic applications.
Qualcomm said it is currently working with Adlink, Akasha Imaging (an Alphabet company), Cyngn, ForwardX, FutureMind, Hyundai Robotics, inVia Robotics, LG Electronics, Microsoft Azure private MEC, ModalAI, Naver Labs, PuduRobotics, Samsung Electronics, Teledyne Flir and Thundercomm, to drive innovation in the 5G, edge-AI field.
“We are pleased to support new devices being developed on the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform to simplify enterprise 5G driven modernization, extending our joint vision of chip-to-cloud collaboration that brings together Microsoft Azure private MEC with Qualcomm Private Network RAN Automation and Qualcomm Robotics RB6 platform,” said Shriraj Gaglani, general manager for Azure for Operators, Microsoft.
The Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design is available for pre-sale now through ModalAI and the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 development kit is available for sale through Thundercomm.
