San Diego is on the map when it comes to integrating technology into the automotive industry, thanks to the work being done at Qualcomm Technologies in Sorrento Valley.
With its suicide doors and futuristic looks, the Snapdragon Digital Chassis concept car may have you saying “hello,” but that’s nothing compared to what’s under the hood.
“It’s the combination of the Snapdragon cockpit platform, our travel platform and our telematics platform,” said Robert Yeh, senior director of automotive product management at Qualcomm Technologies.
We won’t get more technical than that, but know that together, these three platforms form the main driver of the Snapdragon vehicle.
“It will be a smartphone on wheels,” Yeh explained, indicating that the comparison could make it easier to understand the concept behind the technology.
Yeh pointed to touch screens for the driver and front and rear seat passengers. Sixteen cameras are used for a real-time navigation rendering experience, eliminating the need for mirrors. There is also a wide range of infotainment for everyone in the car: eight touchscreens in total and 23 speakers.
As Yeh turned on the car, a voice greeted him by name: straight “Knight Rider” vibes.
“As you can see, the vehicle recognized me, said my name through a facial recognition app, put me in my preferred color scheme, in this case blue, has my seat position and he’s playing my music,” Yeh said. , pointing out each of these features inside the car.
So much more than bells and whistles within seconds of getting into the car.
So we have to ask ourselves, “How safe is it to have so much technology inside a car when we travel?”
“Cars are becoming much safer because they are more aware of their surroundings,” said Nakul Duggal, who is Qualcomm’s senior vice president and general manager of automotive. “There are a lot of sensations around the vehicle: cameras, radar.”
Cars are becoming safer because they are more aware of their surroundings
Nakul Duggal, Senior Vice President and General Manager Automotive, Qualcomm Technologies
Duggal added that the industry as a whole is moving more towards driver assistance technology and not so much towards self-driving vehicles.
“One feature that automakers are starting to introduce is driver monitoring: Is the driver distracted? Is the driver asleep? Is he impaired in some way? Can the driver take over and bring the vehicle to a safe stop?
Duggal said the concept car shows how an automaker could have a more personal relationship with the driver and allow certain trucking and delivery companies to better manage their vehicles. He added that Qualcomm is proud to represent San Diego as the company enters the automotive industry through an international network of existing partners and customers. Not as car manufacturers, to be clear, but as drivers of the technology that is increasingly merging into the vehicles of the future.
“What we’re doing here is affecting the global automotive ecosystem,” Duggal said. “Now we’re participating, really, all over the world.”
Now, to be clear, Qualcomm isn’t becoming a carmaker, but instead selling its system to automakers, who would then include it in future vehicles they design and build.
Cadillac rolled out some of Qualcomm’s technology in its 2023 Lyriq. At least seven other automakers have signed on to incorporate the entire chassis or some components of it into future models.
