By James Blackman
Qualcomm has launched its latest drone platform, and its first (and “the world’s first”) to introduce 5G and AI into the mix. The new Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G platform and reference design will spur the industrial market to deploy autonomous drones for infrastructure inspections, agricultural monitoring, and public safety, in particular. Qualcomm has also cited interest for logistics supply, via drone deliveries, and the film and entertainment industry.
The company said the new Flight RB5 5G platform supports Release 16 5G, and will be upgradeable to Release 17 and 18 as the specifications come available. The platform offers low power 5G and long range Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, it said, based on Qualcomm’s QRB5165 processor, and features 8K30 and 4K120 cameras, shooting 8K or 4K resolution video at 30 or 120 frames per second, with electronic image stabilization, digital zoom, horizon leveling, and multi-camera concurrency.
It also features 360 obstacle avoidance, using depth estimation and obstacle detection. Qualcomm claims the solution offers high performance and low power edge computing and AI and ML inferencing, and “breakthrough” camera capabilities. “With 5G and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity, this platform enhances critical flying abilities beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) to support safer, more reliable flight.” The unit is equipped with a ‘secure processing unit’ to support cybersecurity protections and data-protection and safety requirements, it said.
A statement said: “This new solution helps accelerate development for commercial, enterprise, and industrial drones, and unleashes innovative possibilities for industries looking to adopt drone solutions and realize the benefits of the intelligent edge. The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform builds upon Qualcomm Technologies’ latest IoT offerings, delivering a solution which will drive the next generation of high-performance, low-power, 5G drones.”
Qualcomm is working with Verizon to complete network testing of the RB5 platform on the Verizon 5G network. It said it expects the platform, which is 5G mmWave capable, to be offered via Verizon’s Thingspace Marketplace. The reference design is available for pre-sale now; the development kit is slated for the fourth quarter. Qualcomm expects the first commercial products based on the platform to start to hit the market by the middle of 2022.
The Flight RB5 5G platform is the company’s third-generation drone platform, following the 2015 Flight version, notably used by NASA to collect images from the unmanned Ingenuity Helicopter on its mission to Mars, and the 2018 Flight Pro, part of a high-profile drone-delivery test campaign by ModalAI and Uber Eats.
Senior director for business development and general manager of autonomous robotics, Dev Singh drones and intelligent machines at Qualcomm, said: “We have continued to engage many leading drone companies, enabling over 200 global robotics and drone ecosystem members in addition to consistently driving and promoting worldwide drone standardization and transformative 5G capabilities.
“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.”
Among the supporting quotes provided with the press release, China Unicom said: “Qualcomm has been working with China Unicom to drive integration of 5G and IoT into vertical use cases and provide products such as 5G modules and 5G industrial gateways for automation and robotics use cases, with focused areas including industrial equipment, iron and steel manufacturing, transportation and port, mining and energy, and healthcare… The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform will benefit more use cases.”
