Qualcomm and Bosch show off ‘milestone’ smart car central computer

Announced from CES today, the product is catchily called ‘cockpit & ADAS integration platform’ and is based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Ride Flex System-on-Chip (SoC).

Qualcomm claims it is the automotive industry’s first central vehicle computer capable of running infotainment and Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) functionalities on a single system-on-chip (SoC). The announcement describes the fact that all the fancy digital cockpit, ADAS and automated driving functionality can be handled on a just one SoC as a ‘unique capability’.

Building out smart car innards in this way ‘enables automakers to realize a unified central compute and software-defined vehicle architecture that scales from entry to premium tiers,’ we’re told.

“We are pleased to work with Bosch to have our Snapdragon Ride Flex SoC enable their new central vehicle computer, further underscoring our shared commitment to technological innovation within automotive,” said Nakul Duggal, senior vice president and general manager, automotive & cloud computing, Qualcomm. “The fusion of infotainment and ADAS functionalities on a single SoC is a milestone for the industry, offering a high performance, scalable solution for automakers to realize next-generation software-defined vehicles.”

Christoph Hartung, president of the Cross-Domain Computing Solutions division at Bosch added: “With the cockpit and ADAS integration platform, we can once again demonstrate our outstanding cross-domain expertise and experience. We are proud to be the world's first Tier 1 supplier to demonstrate the interaction of system functions from previously separated domains in a single central computer in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies. With this cost-effective solution we are paving the way for bringing even more ADAS functions into vehicles, including in the entry-level and mid-range segment.”

It’s not crystal clear from the release what noticeable benefits having a smart car platform run on one SoC would present to an end-user, but going by lines like ‘Bosch is in a position to provide a distinct competitive edge on the cost roadmap, delivering unparalleled value to its customers’, and the use of the term ‘cost-effective solution’ in the above canned quote, the point of all this seems to be that Bosch and Qualcomm have come up with a cheaper way of building a smart car brain.

It’s currently on display ‘by invitation only’ at the Bosch booth at CES.