New Qualcomm Tech Could Lead to the Ultimate Drone
New Qualcomm Tech Could Lead to the Ultimate Drone
By TIM MOYNIHAN GEAR 09.11.15
IN RECENT YEARS, a whole lot of high-end Android phones
have been built around Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 series SoCs (system on a
chip). There’s a reason why it’s called a system on a chip: It’s a tiny piece
of silicon with a multi-core processor, a graphics-processing engine for
everything from games to 4K video to photos, components that help you squeeze
more out of your battery, GPS and wireless radio, display drivers for high-res
screens, and all the brains and guts of what a modern phone can do.
Now, Qualcomm is trying to become the default central
nervous system for the next generation of drones, too. The Qualcomm Snapdragon
Flight puts a Snapdragon 801 SoC with a quad-core 2.26GHz processor, dual-band
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, support for real-time flight control systems,
a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, 4K video processing, and
support for speedy recharging onto a little board that’s the size of a business
card.
According to Qualcomm, the first drone to use the
Snapdragon Flight reference platform will be a UAV made by Yuneec slated to
launch in 2016. But if the board and the drone market both meet expectations, a
steady stream of UAVs built around the Flight platform will be right around the
corner.
“We first concepted Snapdragon Flight more than a year
ago. It grew out of conversations and requests we were having with customers,
as well as a need we were seeing in the market,” Raj Talluri, Qualcomm’s SVP of
product management, told WIRED via email. Though he would not say which
companies besides Yuneec Qualcomm is working with, he added that the company is
“in talks with a number of OEMs looking at this space.”
The idea behind the Snapdragon Flight reference platform
is that drone manufacturers can use it to build cheaper, lighter, smaller, and
more energy-efficient UAVs with advanced capabilities. Along with the video and
navigation tools on board, Qualcomm says the board’s processing mettle is strong
enough to support automated obstacle-avoidance features.
“The board, including the Snapdragon 801, is combined
with advanced drone software and development tools, making Snapdragon Flight
more like a reference design than anything else,” Talluri writes. “Drone or
robotic developers and OEMs using Snapdragon Flight can create more innovative
designs with advanced features in faster time-to-market and with reduced
development costs. This is achieved because Snapdragon Flight integrates
virtually all the key elements developers need, and they’re already optimized
to work together.”
In theory, these UAVs would fill a big gap in the market
right now. In today’s world, anyone thinking about buying a drone is generally
faced with a decision between an expensive, powerful UAV, and a cheap toy. They
can buy a heavy, serious drone, with high-end imaging and stabilization, a lot
of flight options, and a price tag of $700 or more. Those are the DJI Phantoms,
3DRobotics Solos, and Yuneec Typhoons of the world.
In the other corner, there are smaller, cheaper, and more
toy-like UAVs with lower-end cameras, no gimbal-based stabilization mounts, and
less-impressive features. But those are generally safer, lighter, and easier to
manage: Things like Parrot’s AR.Drone and MiniDrones. No matter the price or
size, today’s drones usually get around 20 minutes of flight time per
charge—and they normally have recharging times of at least an hour.
With those limitations in mind, Qualcomm hopes its little
board can be used to create the holy grail of drones en masse: Something with
the big-time processing power and imaging capabilities of a pricey drone, the
smaller and ultimately safer size of a toy-like drone, and better charging
speeds and battery life than either of them.
The timing could be perfect for Qualcomm to enter the
market, as drone sales are gaining serious momentum. The Consumer Electronics
Association estimates that the worldwide drone market will reach $1 billion in
three years, about a tenfold increase from the $105 million in projected
revenue this year. But of course, there are growing pains: People are doing
dangerous things with drones, and the FAA is still wrestling with regulation
questions.
“Action cameras are moving into the mainstream, and
drones are a natural extension of that with the market poised for major growth
this year and beyond. We believe Snapdragon Flight will help drive it to the
next level,” Talluri says.
Comments
Post a Comment