CES 2024: Qualcomm claims new era of mobility and inks Bosch deal for digital cockpit

Qualcomm Technologies has used the CES show to announce a range of automotive products based on its Snapdragon Digital Chassis platform to support next-generation digital cockpits, connected car technologies, connected services, advanced driver assistance and automated driving systems.

Qualcomm believes connectivity remains integral to the global automotive industry’s digital transformation, powering an “unprecedented amount of innovation”.

With the Snapdragon Auto Connectivity Platform roadmap, Qualcomm Technologies said automakers were being equipped to meet the increasing needs for higher levels of safety and intelligence powered by LTE, 5G, connected services, vehicle-to-everything (V2X), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, satellite communications and precise positioning.

In addition, the company believes the digital cockpit continues to play a critical role in enabling the premium in-vehicle experiences consumers now expect and how automakers extend their brand.

It assures that the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform can deliver the required advanced functionality to help automakers create “highly immersive, intuitive and sophisticated” in-vehicle experiences by leveraging its enhanced graphics, multimedia and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that can be scaled across vehicle tiers and personalised for occupants.

The Snapdragon Digital Cockpit Platforms are currently available with generative AI capabilities as part of what Qualcomm’s commitment to bringing cutting-edge technological innovation to the automotive industry concurrently with its introduction into the consumer ecosystem, bringing AI forward.

In an example of where its automotive technology is being deployed, Qualcomm has signed a deal with Robert Bosch to introduce what it says is the automotive industry’s first central vehicle computer capable of running infotainment and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) functionalities on a single system-on-chip (SoC).

Bosch’s new central vehicle computer, known as the cockpit & ADAS integration platform, is based on the Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC. Together, the companies say they have successfully executed several in-vehicle infotainment projects and established a global customer base in this area.

The Flex SoC is designed to support mixed-criticality workloads, allowing for digital cockpit, ADAS and automated driving capabilities to be co-implemented on a single SoC. This capability, described as being unique, is designed to enable automakers to realise a unified central compute and software-defined vehicle architecture that scales from entry to premium tiers.

Bosch’s new vehicle computer is said to enrich user experiences through infotainment, vehicle lifecycle management, and digital cluster and ADAS features such as object/traffic light/lane detection, automated parking, intelligent and personalised navigation, voice assistance, control for multiple displays, as well as processing for camera radar and ultrasonic data.

Through the introduction of the cockpit & ADAS integration platform, and the combined hardware and software capabilities, Bosch is confident it can provide a distinct competitive edge on the cost roadmap, delivering “unparalleled” value to its customers.

“With the cockpit & 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,” said Christoph Hartung, president of the cross-domain computing solutions division at Bosch.

“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,” he added.

Nakul Duggal, senior vice-president and general manager for automotive and cloud computing at Qualcomm Technologies, said: “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 realise next-generation software-defined vehicles.”