At the Embedded World Exhibition & Conference, Qualcomm showcased two new chips targeting the embedded and IoT ecosystem. These are the Qualcomm QCC730 Wi-Fi chip and the Qualcomm RB3 Gen 2 platform. These two chips reportedly enable on-device AI processing in the respective fields and also differ a high-performance yet power-efficient computing. Let’s discuss them in more detail one by one.
Qualcomm QCC730 Wi-Fi chip
To begin with, the company notes this chip as a “disruptive micro-power Wi-Fi system” purpose-built for IoT applications. As the naming suggests, the chip offers a whopping 88% lower power consumption as compared to its predecessor. The company also notes that the QCC730 Wi-Fi chip will be complemented with an open-source IDE and SDK. It will support cloud connectivity offloading for ease of development. This chip is shown off as an alternative to Bluetooth IoT applications for flexible design and direct cloud connectivity.
Additionally, Qualcomm is also offering two other IoT chips – the QCC711 and QCC740. The first one is a tri-core “ultra-low power” Bluetooth chip and the second one is an all-in-one solution that supports Thread, Zigbee, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
Qualcomm RB3 Gen 2 platform for robotics
Qualcomm noted the RB3 Gen 2 platform as a “comprehensive hardware and software solution designed for IoT and embedded applications.” The RB3 Gen 2 utilizes the QCS6490 chip and offers a 10x increase in on-device AI processing. Additionally, it can manage data from four 8MP+ camera sensors, supports computer vision, and also integrates Wi-Fi 6E. Notably, the RB3 Gen 2 is expected to be used in a wide range of products, including various types of robots, drones, industrial handheld devices, industrial and connected cameras, AI edge boxes, intelligent displays, and more.
You can now pre-order the RB3 Gen 2 and experience it yourself with two integrated development kits and support downloadable software updates. It will help you build projects and proof-of-concepts. The RB3 Gen 2 also supports the recently announced Qualcomm AI Hub, which contains a library of continuously refreshed pre-optimized AI models for superior on-device AI. GSMArena expects that this new platform could become available in June.
With these new chips, various product categories like wireless earphones, drones, and cameras will offer higher battery life and more capable processing. We have previously seen substantial improvements in wireless audio transmission thanks to the company’s S7 Pro chip. Notably, the company will also introduce a new industrial-grade platform to address the functional safety, environmental, and mechanical handling requirements in industrial applications.
2024-04-10 15:09:50