BMW and Qualcomm partner for hands-free driving
BMW and Qualcomm's partnership will debut in the new iX3 and comes with hands-free highway driving, automatic lane changes and even parking assistance.
New Delhi: US chip company Qualcomm and German automaker BMW have announced an automated driving system, which would help attract customers with new features like hands-free driving assistance. The Snapdragon Ride Pilot driver-assistance system will debut in BMW’s electric iX3 and comes with hands-free highway driving, automatic lane changes and even parking assistance, the two companies said.
Qualcomm also said the technology has been validated for use in more than 60 countries. The plan is to expand to at least 100 countries by 2026. The driver is still responsible in terms of monitoring the vehicle, and the system isn’t a fully autonomous Level driving.
Qualcomm are leading supplier of chips used in smartphones, and have been pushing deeper towards automotive electronics, going from infotainment to advanced driver-assistance systems.
Automotive revenue has increased by 21 per cent in the third quarter, and the brand is expecting to go from $984 million at present to $ 8 billion by 2029 in annual automotive chip revenue.
The competition has increased in the automated driving market with both Mobileye Global and Nvidia trying to secure new clients with their chips and platforms. In fact, Qualcomm said Ride Pilot is available to global car makers and Tier-1 suppliers who either supply complete systems or important components directly to carmakers.
Both Tesla and General Motors also offer driver-assistance systems in their vehicles, though each have a different approach and even technology stack as the system gains traction.