At its annual 5G Summit (opens in new tab) event, Qualcomm (opens in new tab) has unveiled a new platform as well as a new reference design for 5G (opens in new tab) and edge-AI (opens in new tab) robotics solutions.
With the introduction of its new Qualcomm Robotics RB6 Platform and RB5 AMR Reference Design, the company’s new solutions will support the creation of more productive, autonomous and advanced robots.
However, these new solutions will also help unlock new commercial applications including autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), delivery robots, highly automated manufacturing robots, collaborative robots, urban air mobility (UAM) aircrafts, industrial drone infrastructure, autonomous defense solutions and more.
By bringing together Qualcomm’s own AI Engine (opens in new tab) and 5G capabilities, cutting-edge applications and possibilities including enhanced autonomy for delivery robots (opens in new tab), seamless fleet management across AMRs in industrial spaces, next-gen intelligence to support safe and autonomous UAM transportation and more will now be feasible.
RB6 platform and RB5 AMR Reference Design
The Qualcomm Robotics RB6 Platform and the Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design will allow OEMs and robot manufacturers to integrate ground robots in industrial use cases across a number of industries including government, logistics, healthcare, retail, warehousing, construction and more.
The RB6 Platform delivers state-of-the-art 5G connectivity with support for global sub-6GHz (opens in new tab) and mmWave (opens in new tab) bands in mainstream, enterprise and private networks. Qualcomm’s robotics platforms also have a flexible architecture thanks to expansion cards that can be added to existing devices.
Meanwhile, the Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design is the world’s first AMR reference design that offers tightly integrated AI and 5G capabilities. This new solution will help accelerate development for commercial, enterprise and industrial robots.
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Senior director of business development and head of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines at Qualcomm, Dev Signh provided further insight on the company’s latest releases in a press release (opens in new tab), saying:
"Building on the successful growth and traction of Qualcomm Technologies' leading robotics solutions, our expanded roadmap of solutions will help bring enhanced AI and 5G technologies to support smarter, safer, and more advanced innovations across robotics, drones and intelligent machines. We are fueling robotics innovations with 5G connectivity and premium edge-AI that will transform how we think and approach challenges and ever-evolving industry expectations in the digital economy."
The Qualcomm RB5 AMR Reference Design is now available for pre-sale through ModalAI while the Qualcomm Robotics RB6 development kit is available for sale through Thundercomm.
