Qualcomm has historically been quiet about its automotive aspirations, preferring to focus attention on its Snapdragon mobile and laptop processor offerings. That might be changing. The company flew TechCrunch to its Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit on Maui to see its latest Snapdragon Elite chips. This year it is all about automotive. The Snapdragon Digital Chassis has been powering cars for a couple of years, but now Qualcomm is touting its Elite horn with Snapdragon Ride Elite and Snapdragon Cockpit Elite systems on a chip. And when Qualcomm says ‘Elite,’ it means power and AI. AI is coming to cars in a big way.[1] This doesn’t mean self-driving AI, though that is certainly a big part of Qualcomm’s technology. The new Snapdragon Ride Elite chipset can manage up to 40 different sensors at once. These might include radar, LiDAR, cameras, microphones, and infrared. It will use AI to manage all that data and assist with driving. Qualcomm suggests the Ride Elite will be able to handle Level 3 and Level 4 automated driving, which means you will still need to keep your hands on the wheel, or at least close to it.
Qualcomm AI means much more than driving automation. There will be new features tailor-made for an in-car experience, though a lot of what Qualcomm is showing off right now sounds like smartphone AI transported to the vehicle. One will be able to use AI to set a reminder, or it might find the closest Starbucks if it thinks you need some caffeine. And maybe your kids can ask for last-minute homework help on the way to school.
Some of those sensors managed by Snapdragon will be pointed inside the car. Qualcomm imagines car makers using infrared cameras to not only detect the number of occupants, but also to read our body positions and even facial expressions. This technology is like Apple’s FaceID, which also uses infrared cameras to read the contours of your face. Once the AI is aware of the passengers, it can help with safety features, like making sure you don’t leave pets or small children behind by accident. It will detect if you start to fall asleep and help keep you alert. It might also detect if your children in the back are asleep, and quiet the music and road alerts in their zone.
‘Zones’ will be a big part of the next generation of automobile cabins. Using AI, Qualcomm says the Snapdragon will be able to direct sound environments, climate changes, and other customizations only at one passenger or another. You might listen to music as you drive, while your passenger watches a movie and the kids in the backseat play games.
Getting Unreal graphics help from Epic Games - All of that will happen in the car, and Qualcomm imagines a car that has door-to-door displays. The new Snapdragon Cockpit Elite platform can drive up to 16 4K displays. Some of those will be your instrument gauge, your cockpit controls, and your rearview camera. Other displays will offer entertainment and controls to all your passengers. Overkill? Maybe not. The consumer will be the final judge.
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[1] https://www.techradar.com/vehicle-tech/qualcomms-next-ai-frontier-is-your-car
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