Qualcomm has had a remarkable year with its expansion into the laptop chip market with the Snapdragon X Elite series. Now, the company is venturing into the automotive industry. At the annual Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm unveiled the new Qualcomm Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Ride Elite platforms.
These platforms serve different purposes and can be utilized together or individually. The Snapdragon Cockpit Elite is tailored for in-vehicle infotainment systems and services, while the Snapdragon Ride Elite is designed to power autonomous vehicle systems, including the array of cameras and sensors crucial for these systems.
At the core of both platforms lies the Qualcomm Oryon CPU, the same CPU found in Snapdragon-powered smartphones. This means vehicles running on the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite can potentially operate as fast as a smartphone, a significant improvement. This is crucial as automakers are moving towards creating software-defined vehicles (SDVs) to align with companies like Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid.
Software compatibility is key here. While Snapdragon chips in smartphones typically run on Android and on Windows in PCs, the automotive industry has a myriad of in-car operating systems. Qualcomm claims its platform will support all these systems, though performance impact remains to be seen.
The Snapdragon Cockpit Elite can also support future vehicles with multiple displays. Qualcomm states that it can drive up to 16 displays with 4K resolution, a significant feat.
AI integration is essential, especially for the Snapdragon Ride Elite designed for self-driving technology processing. Both platforms feature a dedicated neural processing unit, with the Snapdragon Ride Elite optimized for low-latency and precise processing to support over 40 multimodal sensors and up to 20 cameras for complete coverage.
Efficient operation is a priority. The lower the power consumption for processing, the more can be allocated to ensure better range.
Car software is notoriously slow, posing safety risks with delayed response times. As we move towards greater autonomous technology, efficient processing becomes increasingly critical.
Qualcomm plans to make the Snapdragon Cockpit Elite and Snapdragon Ride Elite available for sampling in 2025. While it may take some time before cars with these platforms hit the market, it’s a promising step towards enhancing automotive technology.
