Qualcomm’s been really busy this past year – after launching a number of impressive AI-powered chipsets for mobile and computing solutions, the company has its sights set on dominating the automotive market as well. With that in mind, Qualcomm recently announced during CES 2024 that it’s been working alongside Bosch to develop the automotive industry’s first central vehicle computer, which will be capable of running infotainment and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), all on a single SoC. Nakul Duggal, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Automotive & Cloud Computing at Qualcomm states:
“We are pleased to work with Bosch to have our Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC enable their new central vehicle computer, further underscoring our shared commitment to technological innovation within automotive… The fusion of infotainment and ADAS functionalities on a single SoC is a milestone for the industry, offering a high performance, scalable solution for automakers to realize next-generation software-defined vehicles.”
With that being said, Bosch’s central vehicle computer is based on the Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC, which has been developed to support mixed-criticality workloads, allowing for digital cockpit, ADAS and automated driving (AD) capabilities to be done on a single SoC. With this, automakers will be able to work with a unified central compute and software-defined vehicle architecture for different segments including entry-level up to premium machines.
For those unfamiliar, Qualcomm says that the Ride Platform is enhanced by a comprehensive and scalable AD stack and perception solution that targets Active Safety to L2+/L3 functions and employs a forward-thinking architecture, in addition to data-driven development approaches made possible via the Snapdragon Ride Cloud solutions and generative AI simulation capabilities. Essentially, it provides drivers and passengers with a smarter and more convenient traveling experience.
Given the continued adoption of AI into different industries, it’s unsurprising to see it on automotive efforts as well, especially with more manufacturers incorporating AI features into newer and current products on the market.
Bosch says that its new vehicle computer will be able to implement features including infotainment functionality, vehicle lifecycle management, digital cluster and ADAS features such as object/traffic light/lane detection, automated parking, intelligent and personalized navigation, voice assistance, control for multiple displays as well as processing for camera radar and ultrasonic data. Christoph Hartung, President of the Cross-Domain Computing Solutions Division at Bosch comments:
“With the cockpit and ADAS integration platform, we can once again demonstrate our outstanding cross-domain expertise and experience. We are proud to be the world’s first Tier 1 supplier to demonstrate the interaction of system functions from previously separated domains in a single central computer in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies… With this cost-effective solution we are paving the way for bringing even more ADAS functions into vehicles, including in the entry-level and mid-range segment.”
At the moment, neither company has revealed when exactly we could expect to see such new tech on the road, although it should be exciting to witness once it becomes market-ready.
