Qualcomm Launches World’s First 5G and AI-Enabled Robotics Platform
Key Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform technical features include:
- Powerful Heterogeneous Computing Capabilities: For high power computing performance, the Qualcomm QRB5165 processor of Qualcomm RB5 Platform integrates Octa Core Qualcomm® Kryo™ 585 CPU, powerful Qualcomm® Adreno™ 650 GPU, multiple DSPs (compute, audio and sensor) and ISPs. It also contains a dedicated, powerful AI engine, which includes the Hexagon Tensor Accelerator, and dedicated computer vision hardware block (EnhancedVideo Analytics engine)
- 5th Generation Qualcomm AI Engine: New dedicated Hexagon Tensor Accelerator is based on the leading fifth-generation Qualcomm Artificial Intelligence Engine, delivering a whopping 15 TOPS of AI performance with high AI and ML inferencing.
- Advanced Imaging Capability: Qualcomm Spectra™ 480 Image Signal Processor (ISP) captures fast, professional-quality photos and videos, and can process 2 Gigapixels per second. This Gigapixel speed supports superior camera features, including Dolby Vision video capture, 8K video recording (at 30 FPS) and 200-megapixel photos, and simultaneously captures 4K HDR video (at 120 FPS) and 64 MP photos with zero shutter lag. The hardware accelerator utilizes the Engine for Video Analytics (EVA) to handle all Computer Vision (CV) tasks. Additional ISP features include HEIF photo capture, slow motion video capture, and advanced video capture formats (including Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HEVC and HLG). Seven concurrent cameras facilitate simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM), object detection and classification, autonomous navigation and path planning to efficiently and safely perform tasks in complex indoor and outdoor settings.
- Security Support: The Qualcomm® Secure Processing Unit is designed to offer robust security without compromising power. The Qualcomm Secure Processing Unit includes secure boot, cryptographic accelerators, Qualcomm® Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) and camera security and is FIPS 140-2 certified. Additional security features include key provisioning security, malware protection, Qualcomm® Content Protection, Qualcomm® Mobile Security, Qualcomm® Processor Security, and secure token to support remote attestation and secure device provisioning. For advanced AI and ML security, the platform supports Biometric Authentication (including fingerprint, iris, voice, and face).
- Connectivity: The Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform supports long-range Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.1, and 4G and 5G, providing the highest level of connectivity available.
Customer and Partner Endorsements for Qualcomm Technologies’ Robotics Solutions:
“We are very excited to support the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform as the latest addition to the 96Boards.AI initiative,” said Dr. Yang Zhang, director, 96Boards. “Qualcomm Robotics RB5 featuring QRB5165 Robotics Processor, is the first 96Boards compliant platform offering 5G, AI, Heterogeneous Computing, Computer Vision Engine, Advanced ISP Multi-Camera Concurrency for a large range of applications. With our partners, we believe this product will revolutionize the robotic and drone market as we know today. We are pleased to see our member Qualcomm Technologies continue to deliver its commitment to the wider developer ecosystem, with a clear path for production.”
“EtherCAT is a simple, robust, affordable, ethernet-based industrial protocol with integrated safety that delivers exceptional performance in flexible topologies making it ideal for industrial robotics applications,” said Jon Waters, president and general manager, Acontis. “We are delighted to see Qualcomm Technologies recognize the importance of EtherCAT for robotics applications and making it available as part of the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Platform. We are excited to collaborate with Qualcomm Technologies to proliferate EtherCAT adoption across various robotics applications.”
“ADLINK is very pleased to support the launch of Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform. As a global leader in edge computing, ADLINK is committed to serving our customers across industries with cutting-edge technologies in AI, machine vision and Industrial IoT,” said Henry Hu, global business development director, ADLINK TECHNOLOGY INC. “We are excited to be one of the early adopters to embark on a series of new developments based on Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform. By harnessing the power of the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform’s Qualcomm AI Engine and 5G connectivity, ADLINK will be able to significantly leverage our deep expertise in heterogeneous computing and industry-grade ruggedness, and ultimately enable a broad range of next-generation applications such as autonomous mobile robots, industrial robots, and unmanned aerial vehicles.”
“Today’s Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform builds on our continued work with Qualcomm Technologies to help developers easily build intelligent robotics functions using AWS cloud services,” said Roger Barga, general manager, robotics and automation services, Amazon Web Services, Inc. “Our collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies is designed to give robotics developers a complete cloud to edge solution, accelerating development, providing intelligence out of the box, and easing robotic lifecycle management.”
“AutoCore.ai is pleased to announce its support of the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform product launch. AutoCore specializes in functional safety real time middleware and heterogeneous computing platform design. We are excited to enable AutoCore’s core offering onto the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, leveraging the rich feature sets, as well as its flexibility and power efficiency to benefit AutoCore’s target customers from the industrial automation, robotics and AGV market,” says Cheng Chen, chief technology officer, AutoCore.
“Autoware Foundation is also pleased to support Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform launch. Autoware Foundation is a non-profit organization founded to develop, support and promote autonomous system technology. Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform fits very well with the Autoware.io[1] heterogeneous computing platform strategy,” says Shinpei Kato, chairman, Autoware Foundation.
“Today’s global events have brought the value of automation and robotics sharply into focus, so it’s exciting to see Qualcomm Technologies address such a broad array of robotics categories and applications with its enhanced platform, which powers the world’s largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) operating in indoor public spaces through its BrainOS software technology. Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform will provide a big innovation boost to the industry at large, while enhancing San Diego’s reputation as a global hub for AI and robotics,” says Dr. Jean Baptiste Passot, vice president, platform and AI, San Diego-based Brain Corp.
“The new Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform is a game changer for drone and autonomous robotics, as its machine learning accelerators will allow adopters to replace manual inputs with AI,” says Lorenz Meier, chief executive officer, Auterion and chairman, Dronecode.
“We believe the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform will offer a critical advantage for our next-generation unmanned systems,” says, Roger Wells, vice president and general manager, unmanned systems and integrated solutions, FLIR.”
“LG is evaluating the Qualcomm Robotics RB3/RB5 Platform, and plans to introduce next-generation robotic products based on the platform next year,” says LG Electronics Inc.
“As the leading e-commerce platform for services, Meituan has invested in logistics and autonomous delivery for years and kept exploring the possibilities of industry applications with the innovations such as drones and driverless delivery vehicles. Meituan is expecting to cooperate with Qualcomm Technologies in the future to explore the cutting-edge use cases in the industry by implementing the capabilities of Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform in the areas including computing, AI, security and connectivity to deliver innovative services to our customers,” says Meituan Dianping.
“The incredible amount of AI processing and 5G capabilities built into the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform will enable new autonomous drone experiences, such as navigating quickly through tight spaces while mapping the environment for objects of interest. We look forward to working with Qualcomm Technologies and integrating the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform to build off of our existing work with the Defense Innovation Unit to expand the capabilities of our sUAS platforms,” says Chad Sweet, chief executive officer, ModalAI.
“The new Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform from Qualcomm Technologies is a dream chipset come true. The platform integrates key capabilities such as high-performance heterogeneous computing, 5G/LTE, the Qualcomm AI Engine for on-device inferencing and computer vision, hi-fidelity sensor processing for perception, odometry for localization, mapping, navigation, strong security, and Wi-Fi connectivity, all required for NXT Robotics’ two autonomous AI driven security patrol and public safety vehicles called Maverick and Scorpion. The Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform allows us to leverage flexible design options for the development and commercialization of our RobotogoAI autonomous platform allowing us to rapidly move from new feature prototype to full commercialization,” says Darin Andersen, chief executive officer, cofounder, NXT Robotics Corp.
“Open Robotics is the hub of a global community, creating and applying open software and hardware platforms for robotics. In our work we aim to lower the barrier to entry into the field for students, researchers, application developers, and entrepreneurs alike. So I’m excited to see the release of the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, which will help to spur yet more innovation in robotics across a variety of application domains,” says Brian Gerkey, chief executive officer, Open Robotics.