The Qualcomm chips will provide the computing power for the
all-electric Celestiq, the company's planned flagship sedan. The automaker says
that Ultra Cruise will allow for hands-free driving on both surface streets and
freeways to account for up to 95% of roads in the United States and Canada,
going beyond GM's current Super Cruise feature that only works on highways.
"It's a supervised system, so you still have to pay
attention. But essentially what we're doing is giving the driver a hands-free
experience in a much larger domain," said Jason Ditman, chief engineer for
Ultra Cruise.
At the heart of the system will be a computer about the size
of two laptops sandwiched together. GM will provide the software to make the
system work, and Qualcomm is providing key chips - two processor chips and then
one chip designed to speed up specific functions.
The deal is a milestone for Qualcomm, which dominates chips
for mobile phones and has been diversifying its business. While it Qualcomm has
numerous deals with automakers to provide chips for infotainment centers and 5G
connectivity, but GM is the first automaker to use Qualcomm's "Snapdragon
Ride" chips for self-driving features.
Qualcomm is competing against rivals like Nvidia Corp and
Intel Corp's Mobileye to win deals with automakers for self-driving chips. The
energy efficiency of the chips is a key requirement for automakers in electric
vehicles, where computers must compete for limited battery life with the drive
train.
Qualcomm has aimed to use its history making chips for
phones, where battery life is a key selling point, to lure automakers. GM's
Ditman would not disclose how much power the Ultra Cruise computer uses, but
the device is air-cooled, meaning the chips likely consume less power and
generate less heat than rival offerings that need liquid cooling.
"We're very conscious of what our power consumption
is," Ditman said.
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