The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform is expected to help fast track and scale the development of purpose-built 5G drones
Qualcomm has unveiled the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform for drone manufacturers. (Credit: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.)
Qualcomm Technologies has launched a 5G and artificial intelligence (AI) powered drone platform called Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform.
According to the US semiconductor giant, the new solution helps in speeding up development for commercial, industrial, and enterprise drones. Furthermore, the platform is said to offer innovative possibilities for industries planning to adopt drone solutions and tap the advantages of the intelligent edge.
Powered by the Qualcomm QRB5165 processor, the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform builds upon the company’s latest offerings in the Internet of Things (IoT). It will provide a solution for driving the next generation of high-performance, low-power, 5G drones, claimed the semiconductor major.
By condensing various complex technologies into a tightly integrated drone system, the platform is said to provide cutting-edge capabilities to the drone industry in order to support evolving applications as well as new use cases.
Qualcomm Technologies business development senior director and autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines general manager Dev Singh said: “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 standardisation and transformative 5G capabilities in organisations such as 3GPP, GSMA, the Global UTM Alliance, the Aerial Connectivity Joint Initiative (ACJA) and ASTM.
“We are proud to continue our momentum of enabling the digital transformation of global industries by unveiling the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform, a solution that is purpose-built for drone development with enhanced autonomy and intelligence features, bringing premium connected flight capabilities to industrial, enterprise and commercial segments.”
The new drone platform uses a Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit for providing cybersecurity protection to modern-day drones.
Qualcomm Technologies said that it is collaborating with Verizon to complete network testing of the platform for the latter’s 5G network.
The company expects to offer the 5G mmWave capable Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform through the Verizon Thingspace Marketplace.
Qualcomm Technologies also said that the Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G drone reference design has been made available for pre-sale via ModalAI. Its development kit, on the other hand, is anticipated to be available in the fourth quarter of this year, said the company.
Earlier this month, the company had proposed to acquire Veoneer, a Sweden-based automotive technology company, for $4.6bn in an all-cash deal.