Qualcomm has been facing some pretty stiff competition when it comes to the smartphone chipset market, with big brands like Apple and Samsung opting to develop and use their own instead of using Snapdragon. But now they are looking to branch out in a whole new other market, creating a new division called Qualcomm Automotive Solutions which focuses on creating products for “the connected car”. A new partnership with Mercedes-Benz looks at wirelessly charging both your devices and your e-car as well.
Daimler, Mercedes’ parent company, has entered into a deal with Qualcomm for the latter to provide 3G/4G connectivity that will allow the cars to be connected and even have OTA software updates. But more importantly, these cellular modems that will be built in will allow devices to be wirelessly charged. When it comes to that, there are two kinds of technology at play here. Qualcomm WiPower is baked into Snapdragon 810 and it allows your smartphone or tablet to power up when placed on top of a charging pad.
Qualcomm HALO Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging meanwhile, is a different version of the same technology, but this time it will allow your electric car or hybrid to top up when you park it on top of a charging pad in your garage, and maybe soon, in gasoline stations that will have their own pads as well. This technology is actually already being used in Formula-E racing, but this time will be applied to non-racing cars like the Mercedes EV.
Qualcomm earlier this year partnered with QNX to demo a voice-controlled Maserati that had a lot of cameras, in order to show that they can create technology that is more than just about charging and simply connecting to the Internet. Let’s see if this partnership with Mercedes will also lead to other automotive connectivity solutions not just for the company but for the whole industry as well.
VIA: SlashGear
