Qualcomm’s new drone platform offers both AI and 5G capabilities

Published  August 25, 2021   0
S Staff
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Drone-Qualcomm

Powered by the Qualcomm QRB5165 processor, builds upon Qualcomm Technologies’ latest IoT offerings, delivering a solution which will drive the next generation of high-performance, low-power, 5G drones

The US based global wireless and semiconductor firm Qualcomm unleashed the world’s first drone platform and reference design to offer both 5G and AI-capabilities, the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform. This has been launched after the tremendous success of launching Ingenuity Helicopter on Mars. This new Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G  solution helps accelerate development for commercial, enterprise, and industrial drones, and unleashes innovative possibilities for industries looking to adopt drone solutions and realize the benefits of the intelligent edge.

While accomplishing this mission, the inventors have witnessed flight barriers in space that are more troublesome than on the earth because signals took several minutes to arrive. Hence, the NASA and Qualcomm researchers were forced to design for the UAV to receive signals even those that were transmitted far away with a maximum of 22 minutes delay. There was another major impediment to make the helicopter consume low power when it would compute high volume of data. Compared to other traditional drones, Qualcomm’s Flight RB5 5G Platform has more benefits because it is equipped with neural processing units and image signal processors.

Now, according to Qualcomm, to perk-up communication in drones, the upcoming models will be furnished with cellular connection and AI. Researchers from LNM Institute of Information and Technology in India revealed that path planning and machine learning can be introduced into upcoming drones to enhance communication, and also the implementation of AI will decrease the danger of leakage of data from system security. When images are clicked by drones, it requires secure encryption to avoid consuming heavy power load away from the processing unit.

The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform brings cutting-edge capabilities to the drone industry by condensing multiple complex technologies into one tightly integrated drone system to support evolving applications and new use cases in sectors including film and entertainment, security and emergency response, delivery, defense, inspection, and mapping.

Dev Singh, senior director, business development and general manager of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines, Qualcomm Technologies, told media, "We have continued to engage many leading drone companies, enabling 200+ global robotics and drone ecosystem members in addition to consistently driving and promoting worldwide drone standardization and transformative 5G capabilities in organizations such as 3GPP, GSMA, the Global UTM Alliance, the Aerial Connectivity Joint Initiative (ACJA) and ASTM."