Qualcomm: A central computer for all tasks in the car

0
23
qualcomm a central computer for all tasks in the car.jpeg
qualcomm a central computer for all tasks in the car.jpeg

The Snapdragon Ride Flex is intended to control numerous tasks in the car – from the cockpit displays to infotainment to automated driving.

 

With a new central processor, Qualcomm wants to reduce the number and type of control units in cars and thus significantly change the architecture compared to the current state. The chip called “Snapdragon Ride Flex” should take over the entire range of tasks – from assisted driving to infotainment. In order to be able to address different price and vehicle classes, there should be different expansion stages and combinations with co-processors or additional AI accelerators.

 

As part of the “Automotive Investor Days” Qualcomm named four examples of such gradations. Accordingly, the degree of assisted driving – from level 1 to level 5 – as well as the level of equipment in terms of infotainment and digital cockpit are decisive for the respective configuration. A vehicle that can drive independently according to Level 2 and has average infotainment equipment is therefore sufficient for a smaller version of the “Snapdragon Ride Flex” in conjunction with the ADAS processor “Snapdragon Ride Vision” (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, driver assistance system) out. This results in computing power in the lower two-digit TOPS range.

A larger version of the flex chip together with a “Snapdragon Ride Vision” should already achieve a three-digit TOPS value. In the maximum configuration, Qualcomm wants to achieve around 2000 TOPS, which according to its own statements is sufficient for automated driving according to levels 4 and 5. However, this requires two “Snapdragon Ride Flex” and AI accelerators.

SEE ALSO  New Zenfone 11 Ultra announced: Asus makes the leap to large screens to compete against the iPhone

 

In the conversation, however, Nakul Duggal, Senior Vice President and responsible for Qualcomm’s automotive division, pointed out that despite the central processor, there will be no single point of failure (SPOF, single point of failure). Because redundancies are to be created in various ways, for example by connecting the few control units – four to ten depending on the vehicle – with one another. However, these are no longer classic, domain-based control units with their respective fixed areas of responsibility. Instead, zone control devices (zonal controllers) are used, which are primarily responsible for connecting components in their own physical area in the vehicle.

Qualcomm will not comment on the specific structure of the “Snapdragon Ride Flex” and the detailed differences between the individual versions until January 2023 at the next CES. The company has only announced the names of parts of the chip so far, including a cryo CPU and an Adreno GPU. This is reminiscent of the company’s smartphone chips, such as the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. However, processors adapted to the automotive sector are likely to be behind them.

According to Qualcomm, it has already won the first vehicle manufacturers for the “Snapdragon Ride Flex”. However, the company left unanswered what it is and when the first models equipped with this will be available. Most recently, Qualcomm was able to win numerous manufacturers as customers for its automotive products, which belong to the Snapdragon Digital Chassis. In the future, BMW and VW will use Snapdragon Ride components for assisted driving, while Volvo and Mercedes will use components from the Snapdragon Cockpit Platform for infotainment and telematics functions. Overall, the orders are worth about $30 billion, according to Qualcomm. 11 billion alone come from deals within the past two months.

SEE ALSO  Flurry of news: Samsung will show all this at MWC 2024