Qualcomm said on Tuesday it was working with Alphabet Inc’s Google to provide a combination of chips and software that would allow automakers to develop their own artificial intelligence voice assistants using technology from both companies.
Qualcomm, whose chips have long powered phones running Google’s Android operating system, has expanded into automotive, with its chips powering car dashboards and self-driving systems used by General Motors and others. On Tuesday, Qualcomm said it was working with Google to create a version of the company’s Android automotive operating system that would run smoothly on Qualcomm chips.
While many consumers are familiar with Google’s Android Auto and Apple’s CarPlay, which display apps from your phone when plugged into a vehicle, Google’s Android Automotive OS is what automakers use behind the scenes to power vehicle computing systems. Qualcomm and Google said automakers will be able to use joint products and Google’s artificial intelligence technology to create voice assistants that are unique to the automakers and can work without relying on a driver’s phone.
“Normally, we operate together but independently — we plan a lot of things together, but we go to customers separately,” Qualcomm Automotive Division Manager Nakul Duggal said of Qualcomm’s relationship with Google. “We decided we should think about this differently because it would reduce a lot of friction and confusion.”
Qualcomm also unveiled two new chips on Tuesday, one called Snapdragon Cockpit Elite to power the dashboard and another called Snapdragon Ride Elite for self-driving capabilities. Mercedes-Benz Group plans to use the Snapdragon Elite Cockpit chip in future vehicles, the company said, although the companies did not specify when or in which vehicles the chip would appear.
© Thomson Reuters 2024
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