Qualcomm launches RB5: its most advanced 5G/AI robotics platform yet

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Following up on Qualcomm’s RB3 robotics platform, the RB5 will include the company’s first chipset that supports 5G, AI, and machine learning.

Dev Singh, senior director, business development and head of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines, Qualcomm Technologies.
Dev Singh, head of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines, Qualcomm Technologies. (Image credit: Qualcomm)

Qualcomm has announced the launch of its new Robotics RB5 platform, which integrates key capabilities such as high-performance heterogeneous computing, 5G/LTE, hi-fidelity sensor processing for perception, odometry for localization, mapping, navigation, strong security, and Wi-Fi connectivity.

"With the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, Qualcomm Technologies will help accelerate growth in a wide array of robotics segments."

Dev Singh, Qualcomm.

"With the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, Qualcomm Technologies will help accelerate growth in a wide array of robotics segments such as autonomous mobile robots (AMR), delivery, inspection, inventory, industrial, collaborative robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), enabling Industry 4.0 robotics use cases, and laying the foundation for the UAV Traffic Management (UTM) space,” explained Dev Singh, senior director, business development and head of autonomous robotics, drones and intelligent machines, Qualcomm Technologies.

The Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform is designed for the next generation of high-compute, low-power robots and 5G drones for the consumer, enterprise, defense, industrial and professional service sectors. And developers can also access the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 Development Kit, which will provide added customization and flexibility, with the platform offering support for Linux, Ubuntu and Robot Operating System (ROS) 2.0, as well as pre-integrated drivers for various cameras, sensors and 5G connectivity.

The Qualcomm QRB5165 processor

The platform's Qualcomm QRB5165 processor is customized for robotics applications, offering what Qualcomm refers to as a “powerful heterogeneous computing architecture”, coupled with Qualcomm’s fifth gen AI Engine, delivering 15 tera operations per second (TOPS) of AI performance for running complex AI and deep learning workloads.

“The Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform allows us to leverage flexible design options for the development and commercialization of our RobotogoAI autonomous platform allowing us to rapidly move from new feature prototype to full commercialization," said Darin Andersen, chief executive officer, cofounder, NXT Robotics Corp, one of Qualcomm’s development partners.

Qualcomm has already partnered with more than 20 companies to test the platform, with another 30 already developing software or hardware products that utilize the Qualcomm Robotics RB5 platform, with products expected to be available this year. 

And for more information and to start developing products based on the platform, you can visit the Robotics RB5 Platform homepage.  

Dan Oliver
Dan Oliver

Dan is a British journalist with 20 years of experience in the design and tech sectors, producing content for the likes of Microsoft, Adobe, Dell and The Sunday Times. In 2012 he helped launch the world's number one design blog, Creative Bloq. Dan is now editor-in-chief at 5Gradar, where he oversees news, insight and reviews, providing an invaluable resource for anyone looking to stay up-to-date with the key issues facing 5G.