Chipmaker Qualcomm has announced the launch of a new version of its connected car reference platform that incorporates a a Gigabit-class LTE modem.
The new reference platform is designed to allow carmakers to easily integrate new wireless and networking technologies into their vehicles, including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, BLE and global navigation satellite system (GNSS).
Qualcomm has also developed a reference hardware module in two band configurations, one for North America and one for the rest of the world.
The module design can support up to four antennas to take advantage of the 4x4 MIMO capabilities of the integrated modem.
“Connected cars are becoming intelligent sensors on the road, not only using data for consumer use cases such as Wi-Fi hotspots and video streaming, but also collecting and transmitting critical, rich real-time information about road conditions, map updates and driver status,” Qualcomm SVP and GM for automative Patrick Little said.
“As a leader in car connectivity, Qualcomm Technologies is well positioned to address the tremendous data demand, helping automakers integrate the broad set of technologies required by a new generation of connected vehicles.”
Qualcomm separately announced it has established a new consortium with SWARCO Traffic Systems and the University of Kaiserslautern to carry out the first Cellular-V2X (Vehicle to Everything) trial based on the 3GPP Release 14.
The trial will focus on Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) and Vehicle-to-Pedestrian (V2P) direct communication, as well as Vehicle-to-Network (V2N) wide area communications.
The new Connected Vehicle to Everything of Tomorrow (ConVeX) consortium will conduct the trial with funding from the participating organizations as well as the German Federal Ministry of Transportation and Digital Infrastructure.