Qualcomm and the holistic digital chassis
The future of mobility – a catchphrase that is currently making the rounds and encompasses a wide variety of topics. It is clear that the car as we know it now is a discontinued model. The analog car with a combustion engine is currently experiencing its final years. The digitization of the entire market and especially of the cars themselves will completely turn the industry upside down. The traditional manufacturers in particular are under pressure.
They have to carry out a comprehensive structural change. Above all, this also means that manufacturers have to invest more money and know-how in software. And that’s a problem. Because car manufacturers are not software companies. Many therefore seek the help of companies that are particularly knowledgeable in the field and Qualcomm is one of them.
Qualcomm takes a holistic approach to looking at the car of today and tomorrow. Don Dahlmann and I sat down with Thomas Dannemann, Director of Product Marketing at Qualcomm CDMA, to get a better understanding of their technology and approach to autonomous driving and the future of mobility.
So far, OEMs have tried to introduce new technology by simply adding more and more CPUs to the car. This led to a highly complex and confusing number of control units in the vehicles, which in turn could not communicate with one another. In order to eliminate the chaos, you have to rely on central computers. which in turn can serve the different levels.
Qualcomm has four pillars of technology: Telematics, the technology that connects the car to the Internet. This includes connectivity via WiFi and Bluetooth as well as V2X technology. Then the digital cockpit, which controls all the displays in the car and thus the user experience for the driver. In addition, there is the technology of autonomous driving and all the necessary technologies. Finally, we have the car-to-cloud business model, where the OEMs are offered new services and business models to keep the cars up to date.
As soon as the car is connected, the car manufacturers can offer subscription services such as breakdown assistance, software updates, video streaming, upgrades or new functions at the customer’s request. These car-to-cloud services will open up new sources of income for the automotive industry and are intended to improve the driving experience.
So the car is a smartphone on wheels. Qualcomm’s digital chassis centralizes the vehicle’s computing power, which can control all relevant digital levels with its technology. This gives them access to a comprehensive technology package for the development of networked and intelligent vehicles that are highly adaptable, experience-oriented and upgradeable.
Qualcomm is not a newcomer to the automotive industry. The company has been working with automobile manufacturers since 2004, providing 3G and 4G chips for streaming and on-board telematics, connecting cars to the cloud and delivering computer solutions for a wide range of vehicles. But there will be more going on in the next decade: Qualcomm is already working with 23 of the 26 largest car brands and has a 10-year package worth $ 10 billion in the pipeline.
The interesting thing about Qualcomm is that the company has the experience to replicate in the automotive industry what it did in the wireless industry. The company has decades of experience developing a horizontal platform that forms a robust, sustainable ecosystem. That’s what the automotive industry is currently lacking, and it’s one of Qualcomm’s core competencies.
