Qualcomm Technologies has developed a new reference platform aimed at helping car manufacturers adopt increasingly complex levels of connectivity.
The Qualcomm subsidiary said the platform is designed to help tackle issues surrounding wireless coexistence, future proofing and support for car makers.
The platform includes two of Qualcomm’s LTE modems, as well as support for satellite connectivity, vehicle to everything communication, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy and broadcast capabilities.
It can scale from a basic telematics control unit right up to a highly integrated wireless gateway that would do the likes of over the air software upgrades, data collection and analytics.
Qualcomm said the platform is open to upgrades, allowing car makers to plan beyond LTE into 5G. The platform can support the various kinds of wireless connectivity concurrently.
It will be made available commercially by the end of this year.
Nakul Duggal, Vice-President, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, said: “With the Connected Car Reference Platform, Qualcomm Technologies has developed a platform for automakers, module OEM customers, and developers that emphasizes scalability, modularity and security for integrating and managing multiple cutting-edge wireless technologies inside vehicles.
“We are pleased to introduce this platform to help enable best-in-class advanced connectivity solutions and services in upcoming vehicle designs.”
Gartner has predicted that a quarter of cars on the roads by 2020 will be connected, giving drivers in-vehicle services and automated driving. This will amount to 250 million connected vehicles.
The research agency said the increasing proliferation and sophistication of digital content was driving this demand, creating opportunities for vendors.