Qualcomm Technologies has unveiled the world’s first drone platform to offer both 5G and AI-capabilities.
The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform, powered by the Qualcomm QRB5165 processor, builds upon the company’s IoT offerings, and is designed to deliver a solution which will drive the next generation of high-performance, low-power, 5G drones.
The industrial 5G drone platform’s heterogeneous computing and ultra-low power consumption provides power efficient inferencing at the edge for AI and machine learning, enabling fully autonomous drones.
Furthermore, its camera capabilities deliver premium images and performance, with 5G and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Qualcomm said this platform enhances critical flying abilities beyond visual line-of-sight to support safer, more reliable flight. This means it can be deployed for security and emergency response, delivery, defence, inspection, and mapping.
The Qualcomm Flight RB5 5G Platform is also equipped with a secure processing unit to support modern drone demands for cybersecurity protections as a key enabler of data-protection and safety requirements.
Dev Singh, business development and general manager of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines, Qualcomm Technologies, said: “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.”
Qualcomm Technologies is working with Verizon to complete network testing of the flight RB5 platform for the Verizon 5G network.
