Qualcomm launches palm-sized autonomous driving computer Snapdragon Ride, aiming to hit roads by 2023
- Qualcomm has spent years developing self-driving technology near its headquarters in virtual silence
- Its new computers for autonomous vehicles can fit in one hand and can handle everything from lane controls to full self-driving
Qualcomm on Monday announced a computing system for autonomous vehicles designed to handle everything from lane controls to full self-driving that it aims to have on the road by 2023.
The system, dubbed Snapdragon Ride, is the company’s first foray into a full system to power self-driving cars.
San Diego-based Qualcomm, known best as the world’s biggest mobile phone chip supplier, has been a major automotive supplier for more than a decade, but primarily for the modem chips that connect vehicles to the internet and chips for the infotainment systems that power screens inside vehicles.
Qualcomm has spent years developing self-driving technology near its headquarters in virtual silence while rivals such as Intel and Nvidia jumped into the market, spending billions on acquisitions supplying major carmakers for autonomous driving.
Patrick Little, the senior vice-president and general manager of Qualcomm’s automotive business, said the company is using the expertise it built in the mobile phone processor business developing powerful processors that consume little electricity and generate little heat.