Qualcomm Technologies – a subsidiary of Qualcomm – has brought out two new processors for Internet of Things (IoT) applications.
The Snapdragon 600E and 410E processors are designed for embedded applications, such as digital signage, set-top-boxes and industrial robotics.
The products will be globally available through third party distributors for a minimum of 10 years.
Qualcomm says this is the first time stand-alone Snapdragon processors are available by distributors, making them accessible to manufactures of all sizes for embedded computing and IoT products.
Typically used in mobile devices, Qualcomm is moving the Snapdragon family beyond smartphones.
Related: Philips teams up with Qualcomm to deliver connected health solutions
The Snapdragon 600E features a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Krait 300 CPU. The company claims it is the ideal processor for building advanced systems with multi-core performance and immersive 3D graphics.
The Snapdragon 410E features a 1.2GHz quad-core GPU and Hexagon DSP. It supports Bluetooth 4.1/LE, 802.11 b/g/n and GPS, supposedly making it ideal for IoT use cases in smart homes, digital signage, medical equipment, industrial automation, digital media players and smart surveillance.
“Snapdragon is a powerful and versatile processor with many potential applications in a wide variety of IoT applications and we can now offer this technology to a much wider range of customers with the additional benefit of long-term support and availability,” said Raj Talluri, senior vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies.
Qualcomm ‘Invent-off’ stimulates innovation
Not content with launching its new processors, Qualcomm has also been busy stimulating innovation among IoT developers.
According to CIO Magazine, the company set up a competition, known as ‘Invent-off’, saw two teams of three people pitted against one another over a three day period.
Armed with a basic set of tools, computers, phones, sensors, a 3D printer, a Qualcomm Dragonboard 410c each, and a large room, their task: to invent technology that could save a life. The winning team received $25,000 to take their invention to the stage.
While both teams faced an uphill struggle to achieve this in three days, that doesn’t seem to have been the point. This was more about stimulating development of Qualcomm’s technology in the IoT market. A smart move.
Qualcomm is clearly serious about the IoT. Its developer program is testament to that. CIO Magazine notes that, had either team created a technology that was suitable for a broad audience, a developer could have found themselves a job.
Related: Qualcomm looks to extend LTE to additional IoT devices