Qualcomm is displaying off the kind of drones that would wind up being constructed on its devoted Flight RB5 5G platform. The chip-maker has launched a brand new reference design that comprises all the newest connectivity and processing tech it has been speaking up since final summer time. That’s the exoskeleton above, which is provided with a Qualcomm Spectra 480 Image Signal Processor that may seize 200 megapixel photographs and 8K video at 30 FPS. In addition, the drone can document in 4K at 120 FPS with help for HDR. 

At its core, the Flight RB5 5G platform makes use of the QRB5165 processor and Kryo 585 CPU and Adreno 650 GPU, primarily based on the Snapdragon 865 CPU. The AI enhancements come by the use of the Hexagon Tensor Accelerator within the Hexagon 698 DSP. Third-parties that use the platform will even get entry to a trio of software program improvement kits for neural processing, pc imaginative and prescient and multimedia functions. 

As its identify implies, Qualcomm’s drone platform contains help for 5G connectivity — together with mmWave and sub-6 GHz bands — and WiFi 6. The chip-maker says the networking tech might help help drone-to-drone communications and drone swarms. Both use circumstances are being explored throughout industries, from delivering and transporting items to aerial gentle shows to navy warfare. The reference drone is obtainable to pre-order now, forward of a late Q3 transport date, at ModalAI for $400 sans 5G and $500 with 5G. Those will even need to put down a $1,000 deposit to order it.

On a macro degree, Qualcomm will likely be hoping the devoted platform can speed up drone improvement by leveraging the facility of its newest cellular chips. This is much from an experiment for the corporate. It threw its weight behind drones again in 2015 and extra not too long ago waded into robotics. Last 12 months, the corporate mixed each fields beneath the RB5 platform and now it is focusing its efforts on aerial UAVs. Giving firms a reference on which to base their drone designs may assist get the wheels (or propellers) turning on its long-running venture.