Qualcomm Snapdragon 820E: tanta potenza, computer visione ed IA per IoT, VR e robotica

Cosimo Alfredo Pina
Cosimo Alfredo Pina
Qualcomm Snapdragon 820E: tanta potenza, computer visione ed IA per IoT, VR e robotica

Quando si parla di Snapdragon tra gli appassionati di tecnologia consumer, la prima cosa che viene in mente sono i chip degli smartphone. Eppure Qualcomm propone questa linea di SoC anche in altri ambiti, come ad esempio il nuovo Qualcomm Snapdragon 820E svelato oggi.

Si tratta di un chip basato sulla stessa piattaforma hardware vista sui terminali mobile top gamma di un paio di generazioni fa, ma questa volta ottimizzata per altri ambiti un po' più lontani dalle tasche degli utenti: IoT, realtà virtuale, cartellonistica digitale, robotica e più in generale quegli ambienti dove solitamente si utilizza i cosiddetti sistemi embedded.

CPU Qualcomm Kyro, una quad-core ARMv8 a 64-bit, affiancata da GPU Adreno 530 e DSP (processore di segnali digitali)  Qualcomm Hexagon 680. Nel SoC c'è spazio per un fornito comparto connettività, ossia Bluetooth, Wi-Fi e GPS. Completa il tutto il supporto all'audio multicanale.

Come avrete intuito si tratta di un prodotto che non si interfaccia direttamente con l'utente. Infatti la prima implementazione dello Snapdragon 820E sarà sulla scheda di sviluppo (immaginatevi una specie di Arduino molto potente) DragonBoard 820c di Arrow Electronics.

Un'evoluzione che renderà migliori i servizi digitali che nei prossimi anni troveremo in negozi, luoghi pubblici e sistemi di trasporto. Un esempio concreto? Allomind è un'azienda che con questa piattaforma creerà dei visori di realtà aumentata pensati per rendere meno noiosi i voli più lunghi.

Qualcomm Extends its Embedded Computing Portfolio and Brings its Premium Tier
Processors for Cutting-Edge IoT Applications
— Powerful, Energy-Efficient Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820E Embedded Platform Now Available Through Third-Party Distribution with Long-Term Support and Availability —

SAN DIEGO — February 21, 2018 — Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) today announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., introduced the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820E embedded platform and extended its embedded computing portfolio to support premium tier, cutting edge applications for the Internet of Things (IoT). The solution showcases how Qualcomm Technologies uses its mobile expertise in both computing and connectivity for commercial IoT products. The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform is designed to support connected computing, and powerful yet power-efficient multicore processing for computer vision, artificial intelligence and immersive multimedia – all in one package for next generation of IoT applications such as virtual reality, digital signage, smart retail, robotics and more.

The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform is being made available globally by third party distributors, initially through Arrow Electronics, for 10 years from commercial sample (until 2025). With the new DragonBoard™ 820c development board offered by Arrow Electronics, end customers and ecosystem participants can begin their evaluation and invention with the Snapdragon 820E embedded platform. DragonBoard 820c, is a 96Boards compliant open hardware specification, making it a highly expandable starting point for invention.

Device manufacturers, solution providers, and system integrators now have a rich set of options for speeding commercialization of products based on the Snapdragon 820E embedded platform through using a variety of off-the-shelf and custom modules, as well as the freedom for chip-on board design for a cost-optimized approach unique to their requirements. The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform joins the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 410E and 600E embedded platforms in a tiered offering designed to address the needs of highly diverse consumer, enterprise and industrial embedded device categories.

“We are excited to introduce the award-winning premium tier Snapdragon 820 platform series to our extended life embedded portfolio, helping innovators everywhere create exciting and innovative IoT products,” said Jim Tran, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies. “The Snapdragon 820E is a powerful and versatile embedded platform that is designed to support both complex connected computing and immersive visual graphics while providing the ultimate in performance and power efficiency that is ideal for small form factors and a wide variety of cutting-edge IoT applications.”

The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform is being made available globally by third party distributors, initially through Arrow Electronics, for 10 years from commercial sample (until 2025).

With the new DragonBoard™ 820c development board offered by Arrow Electronics, end customers and ecosystem participants can begin their evaluation and invention with the Snapdragon 820E embedded platform. DragonBoard 820c, is a 96Boards compliant open hardware specification, making it a highly expandable starting point for invention. Device manufacturers, solution providers, and system integrators now have a rich set of options for speeding commercialization of products based on the Snapdragon 820E embedded platform through using a variety of off-the-shelf and custom modules, as well as the freedom for chip-on board design for a cost-optimized approach unique to their requirements. The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform joins the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 410E and 600E embedded platforms in a tiered offering designed to address the needs of highly diverse consumer, enterprise and industrial embedded device categories.

“We are excited to introduce the award-winning premium tier Snapdragon 820 platform series to our extended life embedded portfolio, helping innovators everywhere create exciting and innovative IoT products,” said Jim Tran, senior vice president of product management, Qualcomm Technologies. “The Snapdragon 820E is a powerful and versatile embedded platform that is designed to support both complex connected computing and immersive visual graphics while providing the ultimate in performance and power efficiency that is ideal for small form factors and a wide variety of cutting-edge IoT applications.”

“The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform will support an entirely new category of exciting IoT products and solutions,” said David West, senior vice president of global marketing and engineering at Arrow Electronics. “Arrow looks forward to helping our customers fast-track their innovative and next-generation IoT products with the DragonBoard 820c development board, based on the Snapdragon 800E embedded platform.”

The Snapdragon 820E embedded platform, featuring a 64-bit ARMv8 -compliant quad-core Qualcomm® Kryo™ CPU, is an ideal processor for building advanced systems with multi-core performance and immersive 3D graphics, thanks to the Qualcomm® Adreno™ 530 GPU and Qualcomm® Hexagon™ 680 DSP. The embedded platform also supports Bluetooth/Wi-Fi, six position location satellite systems and high quality multi-channel audio.

With its expertise in both connectivity and compute, Qualcomm Technologies is well positioned to help deliver the technologies needed in IoT, and has already brought other Snapdragon 820E embedded solutions to diverse products such as Allomind’s immersive reality glasses for in flight entertainment, RetailNext’s Aurora v2 retail analytics sensor and Nanolumens’ AWARE cloud-based platform for digital displays. For more information visit the Snapdragon for embedded computing page.