Qualcomm Flight gives microUAV big Smartphone capabilities

Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight

Snapdragon Flight reference drone

First public demo of Snapdragon Flight robotics dev platform in one of world’s smallest 4K drones | Qualcomm
Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight was announced at the Qualcomm: Accelerating Robotics event, where Matt Grob, CTO of Qualcomm Technologies, shared our vision for robotics with investors, media, and analysts. Hugo Swart, senior director of product management, made the announcement, followed by a live demo of the Snapdragon Flight reference drone—one of the world’s smallest 4K flying cameras that showcases the power of Snapdragon Flight.
The event also marked the culmination of Qualcomm Robotics Accelerator, powered by Techstars--a four-month mentorship program designed to help 10 robotics start-up companies take their ideas to the next level. The event included a Demo Day where each of the 10 companies pitched their ideas to investors and media.

Qualcomm mobile SoCs take to the skies with Snapdragon Flight | AndroidAuthority

Qualcomm Announces Reference Platform with High-end Performance Capabilities to Advance Consumer Drones
The Snapdragon Flight features advanced processing power, real-time flight control on the Qualcomm® Hexagon™ DSP, built-in Qualcomm® 2x2 Wi-Fi® and Bluetooth® connectivity, and a leading global navigation satellite system (GNSS) optimized to support highly accurate location positioning. The Snapdragon Flight is designed to enable the advanced features that drone consumers want most, including:

• 4K Video – 4K high resolution camera support, image enhancement and video processing capabilities and simultaneous 720p encoding for first person view
• Advanced Communication and Navigation – Dual-band 2x2 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and 5 Hz GNSS location capabilities with advanced real-time flight control on Hexagon DSP
• Robust Camera and Sensor Support – 4K stereo VGA, optic flow cameras, inertial measurement unit (IMU), barometer sensor support and ports for additional sensors
• Qualcomm® Quick Charge™ Technology – Supporting fast battery charging in between video/picture sessions

New Qualcomm Tech Could Lead to the Ultimate Drone | WIRED

Qualcomm is trying to become the default central nervous system for the next generation of drones, too. The Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight puts a Snapdragon 801 SoC with a quad-core 2.26GHz processor, dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, support for real-time flight control
systems, a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver, 4K video processing, and support for speedy recharging onto a little board that’s the size of a business card.

The idea behind the Snapdragon Flight reference platform is that drone manufacturers can use it to build cheaper, lighter, smaller, and more energy-efficient UAVs with advanced capabilities. Along with the video and navigation tools on board, Qualcomm says the board’s processing mettle is strong enough to support automated obstacle-avoidance features.


“The board, including the Snapdragon 801, is combined with advanced drone software and development tools, making Snapdragon Flight more like a reference design than anything else,” Talluri writes. “Drone or robotic developers and OEMs using Snapdragon Flight can create more
innovative designs with advanced features in faster time-to-market and with reduced development costs. This is achieved because Snapdragon Flight integrates virtually all the key elements developers need, and they’re already optimized to work together.”

Qualcomm Wants To Make Drones More Like Cellphones | Popular Science

“Today, drones are made from multiple component vendors providing separate solutions for photography, navigation and communications, adding to the cost and bulk of consumer drones,” said Raj Talluri, Qualcomm's senior vice president of product management, in a press release. “The Qualcomm Snapdragon Flight brings together the technologies that have defined the mobile industry onto a single board, enabling OEMs to build drones that are lighter, smaller, easy to use and affordable with long battery life and superior functionalities.”

The features Qualcomm says its new Snapdragon will offer support for 4K video, Bluetooth Wi-Fi and satellite navigation systems, sensor support, and fast charging. This news is primarily aimed at drone-makers, though it’s not hard to see what a universal powerful support board could do for hobbyist drones. Qualcomm is already working with Yuneec, a Chinese drone manufacture that rivals the popular DJI drone family.