
Qualcomm opens German office to be closer to car makers
Qualcomm Technologies has opened an engineering software office in Berlin, focused on supporting its European automotive customers with the latest Snapdragon Digital Chassis devices. This follows Qualcomm’s acquisition of Swedish LiDAR pioneer Veoneer last year which brought Swedish vision software stack developer Arriver into the company.
The Berlin office will be working on the latest advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD) via the 4nm Snapdragon Ride Platform, Snapdragon Auto Connectivity Platform for LTE, 5G connected services, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and precise positioning, telematics and next-generation Snapdragon Cockpit Platforms for digital cockpit and infotainment systems.
The company this week announced deals with Volvo Cars (owned by Geely of China) for the next generation electric SUV and Polestar 3 and with Renault as well as Honda and Chinese developer Desay SV. It already has a deal with BMW.
- BMW picks Qualcomm for Automated Driving systems
- Qualcomm continues to expand positions in automotive
Europe is an epicenter for technology research and development (R&D) leadership says Qualcomm with many of the world’s leading automotive manufactures headquartered in region. Qualcomm Technologies has multiple office sites in Europe supporting custom engineering, R&D and product marketing in Germany, France, Italy and the UK. It also has an ASIC hardware design centre in Cork, Ireland.
The Snapdragon Digital Chassis combines open and scalable cloud-connected platforms designed for automotive telematics and connectivity, digital cockpit, as well as driver assistance and autonomy, in a unified architecture. The Digital Chassis connects multiple sub-systems that feature common hardware and an open, software-partner supportive architecture that allows automakers to easily select individual modules or comprehensive sets of packaged technologies to provide the features customers want and deserve. This flexibility makes it easy for car designers to adopt a wider array of powerful and power-efficient Snapdragon automotive platforms while continuing to control and customize the in-vehicle digital experience for their customers.
Qualcomm has also launched an open, scalable, and modular computer vision software stack built on a 4nm process technology system-on-chip (SoC) designed for front and surround cameras in ADAS and AD designs. This will combine the 4nm Snapdragon Ride SoCs with the next generation vision perception software stack from Swedish developer Arriver, acquired as part of the $14.5bn Veoneer deal in October 2021. Arriver has around 800 employees in Germany, Sweden, Romania, the US and China.
“As we further collaborate with the automakers and Tier 1 suppliers, our latest Snapdragon Ride Vision System aims to address a growing need for a more open, adaptable and scalable platform for computer vision solutions,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president and GM, automotive at Qualcomm Technologies. “Snapdragon Ride focuses on the extensive automated driving needs of our customers, ranging from scalable SoCs to integrated AD stacks and development platforms, and tools, that provide a comprehensive solution for L2-L3 automated driving, while maintain the flexibility to accommodate automakers and Tier-1 suppliers to bring their preferred solutions. The Snapdragon Ride Vision System can offer automakers the opportunity to customize more advanced driving experiences for every vehicle class.”
The Snapdragon Ride Vision System is expected to be available in vehicle production in 2024 with the Snapdragon Ride Software Development Kit (SDK) available now.
“The office opening is further evidence of the company’s commitment to bring new and exciting technologies to the Automotive sector,” said Enrico Salvatori, senior vice president and president Europe/MEA, Qualcomm Europe. “I am incredibly proud of the talented team we have in Europe, and our teams globally. I am excited to deepen the relationships we have with our automotive customers by creating open, scalable, and comprehensive automotive platforms that encompasses semiconductors, systems, software and services. We are empowering the broader automotive ecosystem to rapidly transform their vehicles for the digital era.”
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